By Neill Bo Finlayson
Like many European countries, this summer, Scotland experienced one of its most “significant and resource-intensive ” wildfires earlier this season. The physical impact is plain to see: 25 sq. km of moorland and forestry was destroyed in the Cairngorms, leaving the national park “unrecognisable”. However, the fallout from such disasters often extends beyond the debris they leave behind.
A British newspaper columnist claimed this month that rewilding projects are to blame for the recent spate of wildfires in the UK. This was soon followed by accusations that Richard Tice, deputy leader of the UK’s joint-most popular political party, Reform UK, had spread misinformation, downplaying the extreme weather as something to be relished. Although their proponents will defend these opinions as sincerely held and given in good faith, they exemplify how climate science denial narratives still permeate our mainstream media, despite contradicting the scientific consensus.
Wildfires have become flashpoints for a more malicious flavour of climate disinformation[1] in other parts of the world recently. In Spain, Prime Minister Sánchez was prompted to warn the public about the danger of disinformation in slowing down wildfire rescue efforts. In France, conspiratorial claims that the extreme weather was a result of a “heatdome” built to manipulate weather circulated online. And finally, in Canada, “AI slop” perpetuating false information about the locations and severity of the wildfires undermined evacuation protocols.
What drives climate disinformation?
These cases are not incidental. Extreme weather events provide fertile ground for climate disinformation to flourish, as recent Climate Action Against Disinformation reporting shows. Wildfires, floods and other high-profile disasters are especially potent: they are emotionally charged, create uncertainty and generate significant online attention, creating the perfect vehicle through which malign actors can exploit confusion, amplify grievances and deepen division.
The Centre for Climate and Security found in their December 2025 report that climate-related disasters create valuable opportunities for hostile state actors to undermine trust in Western governments, question the effectiveness of emergency responses and aggravate existing political grievances. Analysis by French think tank, IRIS , points to the same broader trend: climate disinformation is an increasingly vital component of information warfare, with states exploiting it to achieve various strategic goals not necessarily related to the climate.
The picture is slightly more complicated than that, however. Research from the EU Disinfo Lab found that climate disinformation intersects with several different information ecosystems, from conspiracy theories to culture-war narratives. Outright denial of climate science is no longer necessarily the dominant form – narratives portraying climate action as authoritarian, elitist or tyrannical are increasingly finding traction.
Why is this relevant for Scotland?
For Scotland, where there is a high risk of similarly devastating wildfires occurring again, the threat of climate disinformation should not be underestimated. Recent incidents show that our information environment is already vulnerable to influence: whether it was the Iranian bot networks stoking Scottish independence debates; the Israeli BlackCore Operations targeting the Scottish Government; or the far-right movements that mobilised protestors in Glasgow using online misinformation.
Given the current climate – environmentally and digitally – attention should turn towards Scotland’s information resilience, specifically against climate disinformation. When the next climate emergency inevitably rears its head, can we be sure that people have access to the right information at the right time? Can we be sure that Scottish communities will not face the same disinformation narratives seen in Spain, France and Canada this year?
The question is, therefore, not only whether we are prepared to respond to future wildfires physically but whether we are prepared for the information storm that may accompany it.
How to build information resilience to climate disinformation?
The new Scottish Strategic Action Plan on Wildfires rightly recognises the importance of communication and education in reducing wildfire risk. With 95% of wildfires in Europe caused by human activity, ensuring people understand the risks is an essential part of physical resilience. But this only addresses part of the challenge.
We also need to build resilience to the information threats that come along with these environmental crises. And that means more than just reactive correction to false information. Factchecking, narrative monitoring and bot detection is still important as the first line of defence.
However, to properly build resilience we need a more proactive approach to preparedness in our information environment. This means educating people about what climate disinformation is, why it occurs and what effects it is trying to create. Inspiration can be taken from the emerging concept of inoculation theory: that mis- or disinformation can be treated as a virus by building cognitive immunity to false information through controlled exposure.
The problem is also not just informational – effective responses to disinformation need a holistic, whole-of-society approach. Recent work by Scotland’s National Centre for Resilience and the Scottish Council on Global Affairs outlines some of the policy groundwork needed for this. Building information resilience also means bolstering democratic resilience.
Against the backdrop of worsening climate disasters, rapidly evolving AI and a tumultuous geopolitical landscape, the Centre for Climate and Security predicts that government institutions will need to play an increasingly central role in countering climate disinformation.
Scotland would be wise to heed that warning.
[1] Disinformation is defined as false information that is deliberately intended to mislead, deceive or cause harm. This differs from misinformation, which is false information spread unintentionally and without malicious intent.
Author Bio
Neill Bo Finlayson is an applied researcher specialising in information threats, behaviour influencing and societal resilience within the strategic security domain. Currently based in the Netherlands, he has a background in social sciences and the humanities, holding a Research Master’s (MSc) in Political Communication and a Joint Honours degree in Law and Politics (LLB). Before moving into research, Neill Bo worked as a journalist in his native Scotland for over three years.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neill-bo-finlayson-6a3a2a16a/
REFERENCES
Abdelbost, A (2026, July 20). How state actors are exploiting climate crises to spread disinformation. France 24; The France 24 Observers. https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260720-foreign-state-actors-exploiting-climate-crises-spread-disinformation
Bains, I (2026, August 13). Rewilding link to record fires: After 1,017 wildfires ALREADY this year, eco-dogma is blamed for turning the country into a tinderbox. The Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16048529/Rewilding-record-wildfires-eco-blamed-tinderbox.html
BBC News. (2026, June 12). Israeli tech firm accused of targeting First Minister in election. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c77yje7n287o
Calder, J. (2026). Very high risk wildfires reported in parts of Scotland. The National. https://www.thenational.scot/news/26458235.very-high-risk-wildfires-reported-parts-scotland/
Climate Action Against Disinformation. (2026). A summer of extreme lies: Heatwave and wildfire climate disinformation in 2026. CAAD Reports. https://caad.info/analysis/reports/summer-of-extreme-lies/
Cyca, M. (2026, August 5). Wildfire misinformation is mutating online, thanks to AI slop. The Narwhal. https://thenarwhal.ca/wildfire-misinformation-2026/
Duffau, É., Guillaume, S., & Jourde, M. (2026). Climate disinformation and information warfare: State interference and security implications. The French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS) https://www.iris-france.org/en/climate-disinformation-and-information-warfare-state-interference-and-security-implications/
Ellison, T. (2025). Putin, permafrost, and propaganda: Russian information manipulation in a changing climate. The Centre for Climate & Security; Council on Strategic Risks. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2025/12/01/putin-permafrost-and-propaganda-russian-information-manipulation-in-a-changing-climate/
EU DisinfoLab (2025. HEAT: Harmful Environmental Agendas & Tactics. EU Disinfo Lab & Logically. https://www.disinfo.eu/heat-harmful-environmental-agendas-and-tactics/
Hardman, R. (2026). Rewilders are ignoring the wisdom of the past and making Britain a tinderbox. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/debate/article-16036949/ROBERT-HARDMAN-rewilders-ignoring-wisdom-making-Britain-tinderbox.html
Learmont, A. (2026). Glasgow protests, far-right, housing and summer unrest. The Herald. https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/26291212.glasgow-protests-far-right-housing-summer-unrest/
Paternoster, T., & Thomas, J. (2026, July 31). False claims about funding cuts and solar farms spread in Spain during wildfires. Euronews. https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/07/31/false-claims-about-funding-cuts-and-solar-farms-spread-in-spain-during-wildfires
Sijstermans, J., Soyaltin Colella, D., Collins, B., Beauregard, P. & Gaudet, A. (2026). Misinformation & disinformation in Scotland. Scottish Council on Global Affairs. https://scga.scot/2026/08/18/misinformation-disinformation-in-scotland/
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (2026, August 14). Cairngorms wildfire: Incident timeline overview. SFRS News https://www.firescotland.gov.uk/news/cairngorms-wildfire-incident-timeline-overview/
Scottish Government. (2026, March 5). Wildfires: Strategic action plan. https://www.gov.scot/publications/strategic-action-plan-wildfires/
van der Linden, S., & Roozenbeek, J. (2021). Psychological inoculation against fake news. In R. Greifeneder, M. E. Jaffé, E. J. Newman, & N. Schwarz (Eds.), The psychology of fake news: Accepting, sharing, and correcting misinformation (pp. 147–169). Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429295379-11
Villegas, S. (2025, August 25). Iranian bots behind thousands of Scottish independence posts. Holyrood. https://www.holyrood.com/news/view,iranian-bots-behind-thousands-of-scottish-independence-posts
Vinter, R.. (2026, July 27). Swathes of Cairngorms unrecognisable after 12 days of ‘cataclysmic’ wildfires. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/27/swathes-of-cairngorms-scotland-unrecognisable-after-12-days-of-cataclysmic-wildfires
Disclaimer: The views expressed in blogs & articles are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Centre for Resilience (NCR) or the University of Glasgow.
