The Climate Disinformation and Obstructionism Research Cluster is an interdisciplinary research initiative focused on identifying climate change disinformation—using both traditional social science methods and newly emerging computational approaches—and on developing strategies to counter obstruction of climate action.
Formed in 2025, the Cluster responds to growing concerns about climate change disinformation and obstruction—whether organized or individual—which can weaken public understanding, undermine democratic processes, and delay effective climate action.
A central goal of the initiative is to establish the Cluster as a research hub and scholarly network equipped to engage with the public and to support key communities in addressing the challenge of climate disinformation and obstruction. Its ultimate goal is to develop strategies and techniques that can be used by governmental decision-makers, journalists, researchers, NGOs, and civil society actors to counter climate mis- and disinformation.
Team
The Cluster comprises 21 members, based primarily at the University of British Columbia, with additional collaborators at other institutions.
Understanding and combating climate disinformation is a deeply interdisciplinary challenge. The Cluster therefore brings together a highly multidisciplinary ensemble of scholars with expertise spanning climate science, climate policy and justice, communication and media, social media platforms and algorithms, computer science, politics and political processes, social science research methods, social movements, artificial intelligence, network analysis, and related knowledge domains.
Partner Organizations
The Cluster works in collaboration with three partner organizations:
The David Suzuki Institute
EcoAnalytics
The Social Media Research Foundation