Climate Disinformation Silences Indigenous Voices in Pakistan, New Study Reveals

A comprehensive report published by International Media Support (IMS) and the Institute for Research, Advocacy and Development (IRADA) has uncovered the pervasive spread of climate disinformation across Pakistan, significantly undermining indigenous communities’ participation in critical climate policy discussions.

Researchers Humera Qasim Khan and Waqas Naeem found that false information about climate change proliferates particularly during environmental crises, spreading rapidly through social media platforms with emotionally charged, conspiratorial, or fatalistic messaging.

For Pakistan’s indigenous peoples—including tribal communities, fisher folk, pastoralists, ethnic minorities, and mountain dwellers—this disinformation crisis compounds their already precarious position on the frontlines of climate change. Their traditional knowledge systems are being eroded, further excluding them from meaningful participation in climate policy development.

The findings are especially significant considering Pakistan’s high climate vulnerability. Despite contributing less than 1% to global emissions, Pakistan ranks among the world’s ten most climate-vulnerable nations. Indigenous communities face disproportionate harm due to their ecosystem-dependent livelihoods, lack of formal recognition, and limited access to reliable climate information.

The research identified five predominant categories of climate disinformation circulating throughout Pakistani media. Alarmist and sensationalized content dominated the landscape, accounting for approximately 70% of the 219 social media posts analyzed. These posts typically feature exaggerated death tolls, artificially generated visuals, and panic-inducing narratives that undermine trust in early warning systems.

Conspiracy-driven narratives represent another significant category, promoting unfounded claims of foreign sabotage, geoengineering, or deliberately released dam water causing floods. Similarly, some content attributes smog to “eastern winds” entering Pakistan, politicizing disasters while undermining scientific consensus and institutional credibility.

The report also highlighted the prevalence of denial or delay narratives that frame climate change as either a “natural cycle” or a “Western agenda,” effectively discouraging urgency and adaptive policy measures. Oversimplified solutions constitute the fourth category, wherein short-term interventions like tree planting or cloud seeding are misrepresented as comprehensive solutions to complex climate challenges.

Religious fatalism rounds out the five categories, with climate disasters frequently portrayed as divine punishment or inevitable occurrences, a framing that reduces community preparedness, evacuation responses, and proactive adaptation efforts.

This disinformation primarily spreads through Facebook, TikTok, and WhatsApp, taking various forms from short videos and memes to voice notes and AI-generated visuals. Content typically surges during disasters when official information is delayed. Indigenous communities, who often rely on informal networks rather than government alerts, are particularly vulnerable to these misleading narratives.

The report criticizes Pakistan’s climate journalism landscape as predominantly reactive, event-driven, and sensationalized. A shortage of trained climate reporters and inadequate fact-checking protocols further exacerbate the problem. Digital platforms’ algorithms that prioritize virality over accuracy compound these issues, while legal approaches to combat disinformation risk enabling censorship rather than fostering solutions.

To address these challenges, the researchers propose several recommendations for different stakeholders. Government and UN bodies should integrate information integrity into climate policies while ensuring alignment with international commitments on indigenous rights. Media organizations are urged to establish dedicated climate desks, provide specialized training for journalists, and institutionalize fact-checking protocols.

Civil society organizations and NGOs could build community-based verification networks and promote digital literacy in indigenous languages while amplifying traditional knowledge. Technology companies are called upon to implement algorithmic accountability for climate content, prioritize verified information, and develop rapid-response alerts during emergencies.

Finally, the report suggests indigenous communities themselves develop peer-led digital literacy programs and collaborate with independent media outlets to counter disinformation that affects their communities.

As climate disasters intensify across Pakistan, addressing this dual crisis of climate change and disinformation becomes increasingly urgent for protecting vulnerable communities and ensuring inclusive climate adaptation strategies.