Under the slogan “Don’t feed the troll,” the Ecologistas en Acción campaign gathers accessible explanations to counter environmental hoaxes about climate, water, wolves, or electric cars. On the 20th, it will begin to spread on social networks without ridiculing those who believed them.
Hoaxes are false, simplistic, or distorted pieces of information that aim to sow confusion. In fact, they are often used as a political tool to discredit the fight against climate change, electric mobility, and/or environmental protection.
Several surveys have shown that in Spain people are aware that there is too much misinformation and environmental hoaxes circulating on social networks, but young people in particular do not feel responsible for spreading them or for checking them against evidence.
For this reason, Ecologistas en Acción will launch a new campaign that, with a lot of humor and respect, uses the aesthetic of a bowling alley, through the figure of a ‘buloteca’—a place where for each hoax there is a fact that explains why not to believe it and provides arguments to debunk it.
The article cites two reports on the issue of environmental hoaxes and misinformation and explains the tool that Ecologistas en Acción has created with the aim of providing explanations and arguments to enable debate, without blaming those who may have believed or spread them.
Environmental hoaxes: fighting them with humor
Ecologistas en Acción presents La Bolera. National Troll Federation, a new campaign with the motto “Don’t feed the troll.” It seeks to help detect and debunk hoaxes about ecologism and the environment from a lighthearted and humorous, yet rigorous, perspective.
The initiative targets a broad audience, but pays special attention to young people. Its aim is to provide tools that are simple and accessible to recognize misinformation and environmental hoaxes, contrast the statements made, and respond with data and valid arguments.
It also aims to help understand how certain environmental discourses can be used to generate confusion, discredit ecological proposals, and/or foster distrust.
The campaign starts from a simple idea: it isn’t enough to know that certain environmental hoaxes circulate; we also need resources to know how to respond to them. And doing so does not have to require specialized knowledge, nor does it have to turn into an endless debate.
Disinformation and concern
Public concern about misinformation is very high. According to the study “Misinformation and Humor” conducted by the Center for Sociological Research (CIS) and published in May 2026, 90.1% of those surveyed say that many or quite a few hoaxes circulate in Spain, and 85.1% believe that misinformation poses a serious threat to democracy.
This concern is also present among younger people. The study titled “How Much Does a Lie Cost?”, produced by Evercom in collaboration with the Complutense University of Madrid and with advice from Fad Juventud, shows that 67% of young people surveyed do not fully trust the information they find on social networks.
The same report notes that 8 out of 10 young people report finding false or dubious information on social networks, and 88% of the youth believe they do not have a personal responsibility to curb the spread of environmental hoaxes and misinformation in general.
In light of this scenario, Ecologistas en Acción has set out to move from concern about environmental hoaxes to daily action. La Bolera is conceived as a tool that allows anyone to consult verified information, recognize when they are faced with misleading arguments, and share understandable and clarifying responses.
A lot of humor, far from blame
Is it true that electric cars do not pollute? Is it no longer possible to pick even a pineapple in the countryside? Does drinking tap water alter people’s sexual orientation? Are there too many wolves and is it necessary to kill them to protect livestock?
These are some of the statements collected in this buloteca, where the trolls or environmental hoaxes appear alongside their corresponding fact, which is an explanation based on data, evidence, and scientifically verified arguments that will help understand what is true, false, or misleading in each claim.
The campaign uses both the aesthetics and the language of a bowling alley with the aim of turning responses to misinformation and environmental hoaxes into something more approachable and recognizable. The trolls are placed on the lanes and the facts knock them down with arguments. Because, as the project recalls, “we don’t give the trolls any credence: we send them to the lane.”
Humor is an essential part of this proposal. But it is crucial to emphasize that the clear objective is the hoaxes and their contradictions, and that the project does not involve targeting the people who may have believed and/or shared them. The organization wants to steer completely away from blame-oriented approaches and from the idea that fighting misinformation means making those who think differently look ridiculous.
La Bolera also rests on the idea that some misleading statements lean on real concerns. Mobility restrictions create difficulties, wolf attacks on livestock exist, and new technologies have both advantages and drawbacks.
Being able to recognize that these nuances exist is precisely what allows us to distinguish between legitimate debate and environmental hoaxes or a simplistic or false explanation. Therefore, the main purpose of the Buloteca is not to shut down conversations, but to open them by presenting better arguments.
A long and hopeful campaign ahead
The National Troll Federation takes its first steps with the launch of its website, where 16 environmental hoaxes are gathered. They are organized in a buloteca and accompanied by their corresponding facts.
The content covers issues such as climate change, mobility, energy, biodiversity, water, food, and environmental education. Each entry offers a brief and accessible explanation for users and a more detailed development for those who wish to delve deeper.
The website launch is only the first step of this future project. On October 20, one week after the presentation, the campaign will address individually each of the environmental hoaxes on social networks, through periodic posts that will allow users to pause on each topic, where the key points will be explained and arguments will be provided to help respond to misinformation.
Additionally, the goal of the buloteca is to continue growing and adding new trolls and facts, so that La Bolera becomes a valid resource for consultation and dissemination and remains available as a reference tool from now on.
With this initiative, the NGO Ecologistas en Acción invites all citizens to look at assertions circulating about ecologism and the environment with a critical spirit and to actively participate in debunking them. Because against every troll there is a fact waiting to land a strike.
