Africa: Fossil Fuel Giants Block Pro-Climate Audiences From Seeing Ads On X, Investigation Finds

A new Global Witness report reveals the tactics fossil fuel companies employ to exclude potential critics from seeing their ads on X

New research by Global Witness uncovers how major fossil fuel companies use ad targeting to hide their advertising from millions of X users that are most likely to challenge them.

The report reveals how fossil fuel giants and their financiers including BP, Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies, Glencore, Barclays and Société Générale use ad targeting tools on X to exclude people interested in a range of progressive topics – from “human rights” and “greenwashing” to “Greta Thunberg” and “Palestine.”

By filtering out audiences who’ve recently engaged with these issues, firms can ensure that those most likely to question their environmental and human rights records are not shown their ads at all.

Campaigners at Global Witness say this points to a calculated strategy that uses the personal data of X users to sidestep scrutiny, stifle informed debate and present a misleadingly favourable image of their activities.

By preventing these ads from ever reaching more progressive audiences, fossil fuel companies can effectively silence criticism before it begins – reducing the likelihood of comments that raise legitimate objections to their activities.

Global Witness Senior Campaigner, Rosie Sharpe said:

“In a ‘new normal’ marked by near-daily climate emergencies, Big Oil is working overtime to sanitise its increasingly fragile public image.

“Everyone in the world is impacted by these companies and their senseless pursuit of profit at the expense of our shared future. By making sure that more critical audiences never even see these ads, fossil fuel firms can polish their image while avoiding accountability for their role in what is arguably humanity’s greatest threat.”

Advertising tools on X allow companies to include or exclude audiences based on keywords tied to users’ recent activity, including posts they have liked, shared or searched for. While such tools are commonly used to align ads with relevant audiences, these findings show that they are also enabling the suppression of legitimate criticism.

The scale of exclusion is significant, underscoring the fragility of the industry’s public relations. Chevron alone excluded more than 300 terms, including references to environmental damage, legal cases, politicians and activism.

The findings raise serious concerns about how digital advertising tools can be used to quietly exclude large segments of the public from important debates, and the complicity of Big Tech in the systematic silencing of progressive voices.

Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters

Success!