Scientist claims Facebook page removed after climate change discussion

A scientist claimed a Missouri weather Facebook page he ran was removed by Meta after there was a discussion about tornadoes and climate change.

Professor Anthony Lupo, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Missouri, was debating with a Facebook user on the Midwest Missouri Weather page he ran on the platform for more than five years.

The pair were discussing the state’s busy tornado season and the possible impacts of the weather phenomenon La Nina or climate change, he told The College Fix.

Shortly after the exchange, Lupo’s personal account was locked and when he regained access on June 8, he discovered “the weather page was gone.”

He described the discussion as mildly “combative” but not overtly hostile in an interview with the college outlet. The other user argued that the busy tornado season was linked to climate change, not La Nina, as the professor posted.

The scholar said that Meta did not give him a reason for removing the page. He added that he only had circumstantial evidence and reasoned that the page could have been taken down for other reasons.

The Independent has contacted Meta for comment.

Lupo said his page shared weather forecasts and summaries of the climate in Missouri.

“Occasionally, when I’ve done that, I got messages about violating community standards,” Lupo told The Fix. He said these instances were “just summarizing numbers.”

“I would get this warning that your post may violate community standards and that would appear on the page itself for a short time,” he added.

Experts warned that climate misinformation could spread far rapidly since Meta decided to bring in X-style community notes and remove its third-party fact-checking.

It comes as Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has implemented policy shifts that are more closely aligned with President Donald Trump since he was elected.

“The trend is towards living in a world where there basically are no facts. This is just sort of another step down the road,” Andrew Dessler, a climate scientist, previously told Politico.

In April 2024, Meta blocked links on all of its platforms to a piece criticizing the company’s alleged suppression of climate change content.

Meta said it occurred due to a “security error.”