An analysis of the EDMO fact-checking network. Organizations that contributed to this analysis: Pagella Politica/Facta news; AFP; Correctiv; Demagog.cz; Demagog.pl; DPA; EFE Verifica; Knack; The Journal Fact-Check; TjekDet; Verificat.
Sometimes they are said to freeze, sometimes to burn or explode. Various false stories are leveraging opposite phenomena allegedly concerning electric vehicles with the same goal: spreading mistrust toward more sustainable means of transportation. In the recent past, false stories in several EU countries focused on depicting EVs as easily flammable or explosive but, with the arrival of lower temperatures, this long-running false narrative within climate-related disinformation has found new ways to portray them as unreliable, dangerous or ineffective.
False narrative #1: EVs stop working in cold weather
The photo of a highway blocked by dozens of snow-covered cars stuck on the road went viral in December, purporting to show a German road “collapsed” allegedly because of electric cars “empty-charged in the cold” and impeding traffic. In fact, the picture was old and unrelated, showing a huge storm in Chicago in 2011 with cars blocked by rapidly falling snow. Nonetheless, it was re-shared, accompanied by captions such as “This is not footage from an apocalyptic movie, it’s today’s Germany and electric cars that have run out of charge in the cold” or, ironically, “How smart to have electric vehicles”. This false story circulated in various EU...
The authority has also cautioned all beauty clinics, wellness centers, and service providers in India using CoolSculpting machines to strictly comply with these norms. The Central Consumer Protect...