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Facebook Letting API Lie about Fossil Fuels

WASHINGTON

New reporting by Channel 4 this morning shows that the American Petroleum Institute has funneled more than $647,000 to Facebook to promote misleading, anti-climate ads on behalf of its member companies. Despite Facebook's community guidelines forbidding ads that contain "misleading information," API's ads purport that fossil fuels are a source of clean and climate-friendly energy -- a claim that has been debunked by leading climate scientists.

"It appears the American Petroleum Institute has expanded its costly misinformation campaign to Facebook, using ads on the platform to lie about science in order to serve its heavy polluting member companies," said Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US. "Fossil fuels are a leading cause of climate change, no matter how hard the oil and gas industry tries to hide it. Once again, API is trying and failing to pull the wool over the public's eye while its member companies rampantly pollute communities and undermine efforts to combat climate change."

API has a proven history of attempting to appear supportive of climate action while the group and its member companies quietly pursue and promote policies that degrade the environment and endanger the nation's natural resources. Recently, Channel 4 revealed that an Exxon lobbyist admitted that the oil company allegedly uses the American Petroleum Institute (API) as "whipping boys" to take the blows for Exxon's worst anti-climate behaviors -- all while the company tries to greenwash its actions and publicly paint itself as an environmental advocate.

Accountable.US is a nonpartisan watchdog that exposes corruption in public life and holds government officials and corporate special interests accountable by bringing their influence and misconduct to light. In doing so, we make way for policies that advance the interests of all Americans, not just the rich and powerful.