A University of Queensland-led study has found Australians are increasingly susceptible to misinformation about electric vehicles (EVs), with conspiracy thinking – not education – emerging as the key driver.
Surveys conducted across Australia, Germany, Austria and the United States have found that belief in false claims – such as EVs being more likely to catch fire, producing no real emissions savings, or emitting harmful electromagnetic fields – was more widespread than disbelief.
Alarmingly, even EV owners were more likely than not to accept the misinformation.
“Misinformation about EVs has become deeply embedded in public thinking, and that’s proving a barrier to the uptake of sustainable transport,” said Dr Chris Bretter from the UQ Business School.
“The fact that even owners are buying into it shows how far these myths have spread.”
Published in Nature Energy, the research surveyed over 6,000 respondents and found that belief in misinformation was most strongly predicted by conspiracy mentality – a worldview marked by mistrust in institutions and assumptions of hidden agendas.
This same mindset has also been linked to resistance to other science-backed technologies like wind farms and vaccines.
“Education level didn’t affect belief in these false claims,” said Professor Matthew Hornsey, co-author of the study.
“Instead, we saw that people who perceive the world through a lens of corruption and secrecy were more likely to accept misleading narratives about EVs.”
For Australians, false beliefs that EVs are purposefully built to prevent DIY maintenance or battery upgrades were among the most common.
To test potential solutions, the researchers trialled two interventions: traditional fact sheets and AI-led conversations with ChatGPT. Both approaches modestly reduced belief in EV misinformation, even 10 days after exposure.
This is the first study to demonstrate the lasting impact of generative AI in reducing belief in climate-related misinformation.
“These findings suggest AI could become a useful tool for countering misinformation at scale,” Dr Bretter said.
“Of course, we must balance this with the environmental footprint of the technology itself.”
The study suggests a strong need for Australia’s renewables and transport sectors to integrate targeted communication strategies to build public trust and tackle misinformation.