Meta Put a Climate Change Denier in Charge of Fighting AI Bias

Influencer Robby Starbuck interviewed on CNBC

A conservative political activist recently appointed to be Metaโ€™s new artificial intelligence anti-bias advisor is a well-known climate change denier, DeSmog has learned. Robby Starbuck โ€” best known for opposing corporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, particularly among brands popular with conservatives โ€” has a track record of denying the science of climate change. These […]

‘Consistently Superb’: DeSmog Wins Two Covering Climate Now Awards

DeSmog has won two awards for its work exposing the role of the advertising and public relations industry in delaying climate action at the 2025 Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards. Investigative reporter TJ Jordan was named an Emerging Journalist of the Year for coverage including his story revealing how a British-owned PR firm hired social […]

Pro-Trump Climate Denial Group Meets With Far-Right European Politicians in Florida

Members of the European Parliament flew 5,000 miles to Florida this summer to meet with the head of a U.S. climate denial group, DeSmog can reveal. Freedom Party of Austriaโ€™s Harald Vilimsky and Alternative for Germany (AfD) MEP Markus Buchheit, vocal critics of EU climate policy in their respective far-right parties, met with James Taylor, […]

Revealed: โ€˜Chillingโ€™ Surveillance of Activists by Meat and Dairy Industry

The U.S. meat industry has engaged in intrusive surveillance of animal rights groups, including monitoring relationships between activists and tracking employees of leading charities. The industry-funded Animal Agriculture Alliance (AAA) shared information with livestock companies about the romantic partners and even biological ties of those in animal rights organisations. Documents seen by DeSmog show that […]

Trump Ambassadorโ€™s Fortune Intertwined With Big Tech Trade Push

President Donald Trumpโ€™s UK ambassador holds investments in the companies set to develop flagship tech projects across the country. U.S. financial records show that Warren Stephensโ€™ family-owned investment firm owns shares worth at least $800 million in tech companies, including $169 million in Microsoft, $118 million in Nvidia, and $114 million in Alphabet (Googleโ€™s parent […]

Developers Push Huge Server Farm in Another Rural Georgia County

A county in rural Georgia is due to hold a crucial vote on a proposal to build one of the worldโ€™s largest and most power-hungry data centers on Thursday, just a few weeks after the plans were made public. The five commissioners in Twiggs County will meet to consider an application submitted last month by […]

Revealed: EPP-Linked Tax Group โ€˜Collaboratedโ€™ With Far-Right Party on Criminal Complaints

A taxpayers group with close ties to the European Peopleโ€™s Party (EPP) coordinated with Austriaโ€™s far-right in the latest escalation of the NGO funding debate, DeSmog can reveal. The Taxpayers Association of Europe (TAE) filed a criminal complaint with the EUโ€™s top prosecutor on July 23, alleging that two former commissioners behind the EU Green Deal โ€” Frans Timmermans […]