To most of us, nature is an object or a resource. A thing. But since 2008, the Constitution of Ecuador has declared that nature has rights. And last year, nature won its first case in court. 

Hugo Echeverria is a lawyer who refers to nature as “she.” He does this to show respect to indigenous peoples and to signal his alliance with their respect for the Earth. In indigenous cultures, nature is a being, not a thing. Echeverria has been nature’s voice in court, arguing on her behalf against powerful adversaries who see nature only as a resource to be exploited. 

In this episode, Hugo discusses  the rights-of-nature global movement and its part in the public agenda. As he says in our interview with Kirsty Lang, “the battle begins now, because the rights of nature were not taken seriously by anybody other than the ecologist in Ecuador. Now, the rights of nature have begun to be taken seriously by everybody, including the economic sector, and they are upset, they are concerned. And let's see how they react.”

In 2008, Ecuador became the first country in the world to recognize the legal rights of nature. In 2017, Columbia granted legal personhood to the Atrato River. As of March 2021, the rights of nature have been included in the Constitution of Bolivia, and applied in the courts of Colombia and India.  

Planet v. Profit is a podcast from Global Witness that holds power to account. Join us every month for new episodes as we take you into the heart of our investigations. Find all episodes of Planet v. Profit on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, as well as on the Global Witness website and wherever you like to listen to podcasts. To stay up-to-date with all of our work, you can also join our mailing list, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram. 

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Global Witness campaigner Mai Rosner and host Kirsty Lang discuss how Facebook’s algorithm serves users posts that can reinforce existing beliefs and amplify inaccurate reporting about the climate crisis. 

If a user joins the platform with a tendency toward skepticism about climate change, for example, “likes” a post that denies the climate crisis, Facebook will present that user with posts that reinforce that position. On the other hand, if a different user wants to know more about changes the climate emergency will bring, and “likes” a post from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), Facebook will serve that user posts to reinforce that opposite position. 

To study Facebook’s tendency to serve climate disinformation to users who  “like” disinformation posts, Mai created an online “persona.” This persona, called “Jane,” was a blank slate at first, with no biographical background to offer to Facebook’s algorithm. But then, Mai directed “Jane” to “like” one climate disinformation page, and this single action set in motion a series of climate disinformation posts for Jane to read and be influenced by. 

Mai and Kristy also discuss how social media companies are disincentivized from reducing disinformation on their platforms and what regulatory change it might take for them to change this harmful behavior. The algorithmic design that reinforces users’ existing belief, and potentially amplifies climate disinformation, is not only present on Facebook, but other social media platforms such as TikTok and Twitter. 

Planet v. Profit is a podcast from Global Witness that holds power to account. Join us every month for new episodes as we take you into the heart of our investigations. Find all episodes of Planet v. Profit on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, as well as on the Global Witness website and wherever you like to listen to podcasts. To stay up-to-date with all of our work, you can also join our mailing list, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram. 

FIND THE FACTS | EXPOSE THE STORY | CHANGE THE SYSTEM

Read the full Climate Disinformation Report: https://gwitness.org/ClimateDisinformation

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In this interview with Kristy Lang, climate activist Disha Ravi discusses the events that led up to her arrest on sedition charges after she posted an online toolkit provided by the youth climate organization Fridays for Future. Disha endured ten days in jail, as well as public attacks by Indian mainstream media and social media trolls.  

Kirsty and Disha discuss how the Indian government is using sedition charges and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) to suppress climate activism. Disha shares how her arrest has made her feel more brave about her activism, even in the face of criticism online and off. 

Planet v. Profit is a podcast from Global Witness that holds power to account. This series of audio investigations provides a new way for you to engage with our reporting and keep you informed about the climate crisis and human rights issues that matter to you. 

Month by month, as our investigations unfold, you’ll experience the relationships between autocratic governments and extractive corporate power, human rights and the climate emergency. 

Planet v. Profit  reveals the tangled relationships among the powerful and their thirst for profit, the fight of indigenous peoples to protect their ancestral land, and how governments and corporations go to extreme lengths to mislead us all about it. 

Join us every month for new episodes as we take you into the heart of our investigations using immersive audio storytelling as well as audiobook-style long reads of our most compelling investigative journalism. To stay up-to-date with all our investigations, you can also join our mailing list, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram. 

Find all episodes of Planet v. Profit on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, as well as on the Global Witness website and wherever you like to listen to podcasts. 

FIND THE FACTS | EXPOSE THE STORY | CHANGE THE SYSTEM

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