FactCRICIS: European Fact-Checking Response in Climate Crises, also known as the EuroClimateCheck project, set out to support fact-checkers to identify and debunk disinformation campaigns related to climate change and other crises, fostering more rapid, impactful and coordinated responses within and across European borders.
For the project, the EFCSN and 21 of its member organisations worked alongside TU Dortmund, Newtral, Maldita.es, Science Feedback, and Ontotext.
The project’s goal was to establish a comprehensive package of practical resources—combining cutting-edge AI tools with climate expertise—to strengthen the preparedness of European fact-checkers to respond to climate mis- and disinformation and to foster cross-border collaboration. Over the course of the project, this package supported 30 EFCSN member organisations, collected data on more than 1,100 climate-related fact-checks, structured over 80,000 data points, identified 20 cross-border narratives and 52 sub-narratives, and connected fact-checkers with more than 200 verified climate experts across Europe and beyond.
Although the FactCRICIS project concluded in late 2025, the EuroClimateCheck datasets remain available for research purposes. Researchers, journalists, and policymakers may continue to access and use the data for academic or journalistic work. Access is granted on a case-by-case basis and requires contacting the EFCSN with a clear explanation of the intended, appropriate use of the data.
To gain access to data please fill out access form and reach out to Jakub Śliż, EFCSN project manager at [email protected].
These reports emerge from the EuroClimateCheck project’s research, which tracked and analyzed climate-related misinformation across Europe. They examine how false narratives about climate solutions spread and take root in different national contexts.
This report by EFCSN members Faktograf and Raskrinkavanje examines EV-related misinformation narratives in six Mediterranean countries, identifying three primary false claims: that EVs are unsafe, that climate policies are harmful, and that science on EVs is untrustworthy. The analysis uses the EuroClimateCheck database to cross-reference dominant narratives with country-level indicators to identify factors driving misinformation in each context.
This analysis by Verificat, supported by the EFCSN, reveals how the oil industry and online communities use vague, overly optimistic language about biofuels while downplaying their real environmental limitations and lifecycle COâ‚‚ emissions. The study shows that accounts promoting biofuels on social media frequently spread misinformation about electric vehicles, a techno-optimistic framing that risks delaying meaningful climate action.
This joint report by Science Feedback and Newtral, based on EuroClimateCheck data, reveals that climate disinformation on transport is a complex phenomenon deeply rooted in local political, economic, and cultural realities, thriving through strategic doubt, distortion, and emotional appeal rather than outright climate denial. Analyzing Spain, France, Germany, and the UK, the report demonstrates how misleading narratives exploit country-specific anxieties about personal freedom, economic costs, national identity, and technology to create psychologically manipulative and politically mobilizing effects.
