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Semahat Ece Elbeyi, PhD, is a postdoctoral researcher employed at the University of Copenhagen under the GREENWATCH project, funded by the European Research Agency. The project aims to investigate the intersection of the green transition and the Internet of Things (IoT) through a comprehensive and comparative approach assessing the ethical and political dilemmas of green surveillance and its implications for governance, climate justice, and societal acceptance. In addition to their postdoctoral research, Elbeyi serves as a consultant scientist for the International Panel on the Information Environment’s (IPIE) Scientific Panel on Information Integrity about Climate Science. Ece Elbeyi completed a PhD at the University of Copenhagen, funded by the Carlsberg Foundation, focusing on human-AI interaction and companionship,the cultural history of AI, and critical AI and algorithm studies. The research combined theoretical inquiry with empirical investigations into individuals’lived experiences of AI-based technologies. Elbeyi’s broader research interest lies at the intersection of technology and society, with a particular focus on science and technology studies, AI, climate, and information integrity. They have expertise in both qualitative and digital/computational methods, applying critical technical practices to examine the evolving dynamics of digital transformations and their societal impact. Elbeyi holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and a master’s in Media and Communication Studies.

Can you trust climate information? How and why powerful players are misleading the public

Professors Klaus Bruhn Jensen and Semahat Ece Elbeyi are media and communication researchers focusing on environmental communication. Recently, they joined a team of 14 researchers who investigated misinformation about climate change for the International Panel on the Information Environment. Our team carried out the most comprehensive review to date of scientific research on climate misinformation and disinformation. Climate misinformation is when people make mistaken claims about climate change and spread incorrect information. Climate disinformation is where false information is spread deliberately – for example, corporations that “greenwash” their products so that they can sell more. (Greenwashing is where false claims are made that products or services are environmentally friendly when they aren’t). They reviewed 300 studies published between 2015 and 2025, all of which centred on climate misinformation. Our study found that the human response to the climate crisis is being obstructed and delayed by the production and circulation of misleading information. They found that this is being done by powerful economic and political interests, such as fossil fuel companies, populist political parties, and some nation states.

Subjects: Climate Change, Energy, Environmental Law, Legal Research