Decoding Electric Vehicle Narrative Attacks: Myths, Facts, and Future Implications

Despite being described as essential for tackling transport emissions, electric vehicles (EVs) have been central to various long-running narrative attacks in significant economies. Whether portrayed as likely to explode or as a “climate hoax” symbol, the goal is often unique: to create or increase distrust of this means of transportation to undermine efforts to combat climate change. While other online actors have sought to raise awareness of ethical and environmental issues related to EVs, climate change deniers have also leveraged these concerns.

Blackbird.AI’s RAV3N Narrative Intelligence and Research Team analyzed some of the most prominent narratives targeting EVs in nearly 850,000 online conversations on digital platforms over three weeks – focusing on misleading claims, coordination, and inauthentic activity. Drawing on insights from Blackbird.AI’s Constellation Narrative Intelligence Platform and Compass by Blackbird.AI, we deep-dived into eight narratives focusing on EVs as a threat to democracy, national security, employment, public order, safety, human rights, energy consumption, and even the environment itself. 

LEARN MORE: What Is Narrative Intelligence?

Narrative 1: EV production depends on Congolese child labor 

A majority of hyper-agenda-driven communities – representing 25% of activity in this narrative – circulated over 4,000 posts leveraging human rights organizations’ reports on Congolese child labor in the cobalt mining sector – a mineral central to the production of electric cars. The use of nearly identical messaging, “over 40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars,” together with the same video purporting to show Congolese workers in a cobalt mine, accounted for over 80% of anomalous bot activity – indicating strong signs of coordination. A smaller portion of foreign malign influencers targeting an African audience were also detected, exploiting this campaign to reinforce perceptions that clean energy advocates and efforts – including citizens’ tax contributions – are inextricably linked to human rights issues and slave labor in Congo. 

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a significant source of cobalt – essential for lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles. Of the estimated 255,000 Congolese mining for cobalt, according to some estimates, approximately 40,000 are children, some as young as six years old, working in informal and hazardous conditions despite being illegal. Efforts to combat this issue include initiatives such as Cobalt for Development – aiming to improve conditions and eliminate child labor in the mining sector–and legal action against major tech companies for their alleged involvement in these supply chains. However, the direct link to specific products, such as electric cars, is more nuanced, as these products are part of a broader supply chain issue involving multiple stakeholders.

LEARN MORE: Social Media Narrative Attack Readiness and Response Checklist

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Narrative 2: EVs are unsafe, expensive, and impractical

In over 11,000 posts, a well-known network of harmful actors spread a longstanding anti-EV talking point, misrepresenting EVs as expensive and ineffective at reducing greenhouse gas emissions but also as explosive and, therefore, more dangerous than internal combustion engine vehicles. Many posts included videos of accidents allegedly showing new cases of EVs spontaneously exploding and releasing toxic gas into the environment to reinforce claims that this transportation is a “disaster waiting to happen” – without any information to corroborate the footage’s recency and accuracy in most cases. Others painted a similar dichotomy between EVs and gasoline-powered cars, claiming that EV batteries were more explosive and impossible to extinguish during a fire. High levels of bot-like activity were detected, particularly around claims that EV explosions are extremely common. 

The rhetoric that EVs are more likely to catch fire or explode than fossil-fuel vehicles is misleading and exaggerated. Although it requires more time and water to extinguish an EV battery fire—particularly due to the nature of lithium-ion batteries—these incidents are rare, and the likelihood of an EV catching fire is lower than for traditional gasoline-powered vehicles. 

In addition, a bot-driven narrative caused a spike in engagement as they leveraged and spammed the same headline that “California police call EVs ‘nearly unusable’” and “make cops’ job more difficult” to argue that EVs are not ready nor made for widespread demand. The main issues described included inadequate interior space for officers and equipment, high costs of retrofitting, and operational challenges such as charging infrastructure. 

Narrative 3: EV incentives are crushing traditional automotive jobs

This narrative experienced a significant engagement spike on October 21 on traditional social media platforms, with nearly 6,000 posts using alarmist messaging to blame EV incentives for mass layoffs at US auto companies. Hyper-agenda-driven actors – who comprised over half of the post volume – leveraged and organically amplified the same videos showing laid-off autoworkers citing reduced labor needs for EV production compared to traditional vehicles – resulting in high negative sentiment detected. These posts often referenced specific figures for auto companies’ alleged financial losses, future layoffs, and at-risk manufacturing jobs as a direct consequence of “imposed electric vehicles mandates decimating the auto industry” to call for their ban.

The transition to EVs is causing shifts in the automotive industry, particularly in jobs associated with internal combustion engine vehicles. However, the same transition also creates new opportunities in EV manufacturing, battery production, and related technologies as the EV market grows, driven by consumer interest and technological advances – rather than incentives alone. While there are concerns regarding job displacement, the overall impact on employment is nuanced, with the potential for job losses in traditional sectors and gains in new areas of the EV industry. 

LEARN MORE: Use Case: Why Government Leaders and Policymakers Need Narrative Risk Intelligence

Narrative 4: Chinese EVs pose an economic and security threat

Over 5,000 posts debated the imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, resulting in high polarization throughout October and November. Foreign malign influence was identified in 22% of posts, generating the highest engagement and expressing displeasure with the tariffs – claiming that Americans are not allowed to drive Chinese EVs “because they’re better, cheaper, and more advanced.” These well-known actors leveraged and amplified news articles on the matter to denigrate the West as inevitably defeated by allegedly superior and “unstoppable” Chinese technologies despite tariffs. 

Conversely, other posts asserted that tariffs are necessary to protect Western workers from unfair trade practices and to strengthen the economy. In this regard, these users frequently praised tariffs and denounced Western figures’ alleged adoption of Chinese EVs – seen as a hypocritical move benefiting the “biggest threat in the US economy” while “taxpayers pay billions to preserve the industry.” A subset of this conversation capitalized on portrayals of Chinese EVs as a threat to call for a ban on EV incentives.

Narrative 5: Power grids will not allow a complete EV transition

Over 3,000 social media posts from hyper-agenda-driven communities – accounting for over 31% of posts – presented claims that the electric grid cannot handle EV incentives as a fact and an “overlooked flaw of electric vehicles.” These actors, known for spreading climate denialist rhetoric, spread alarmist allegations that the power grid is already overloaded and unable to charge all EVs, resulting in an inability to use them in emergencies – such as natural disasters. This network also cited power outages in some US states. It claimed that new homeowners must choose between an EV charger and a heat pump to argue that EV incentives are not viable and that citizens should stick with traditional vehicles.

LEARN MORE: Communication Leaders Narrative Attack Readiness Checklist

Narrative 6: EV adoption is forced on citizens in the name of a climate change hoax

This long-standing narrative was sustained throughout the period, with conspiratorial actors posting over 2,500 times on social media platforms as they sought to portray climate change and countermeasures as a hoax designed to enrich global elites. The word “scam” was present in over half of posts and accounted for high levels of abnormal and bot-like activity – indicating a likely coordinated and inauthentic attempt to amplify climate change denial rhetoric. These actors frequently demonized the government as forcing a “radical climate activism” agenda at taxpayers’ expense, describing EVs as “a solution that doesn’t work for a problem that doesn’t exist.” In addition, a small subset of this conversation rejected EV incentives and climate change in general as a hoax designed to restrict people’s mobility by imposing reduced car ownership and, ultimately, enslave them.

While some governments, such as the European Union, have set ambitious goals for EV adoption to reduce carbon emissions, these are not mandates forcing individuals to purchase EVs. Instead, they are part of broader policy frameworks aimed at switching to cleaner energy sources to combat climate change. Secondly, the overwhelming consensus among climate scientists is that climate change is real and mainly due to human activities, such as the use of fossil fuels. Although some individuals and groups are skeptical of climate change, most scientific evidence does not support their views. Therefore, the narrative needs to include more information regarding the nature of EV adoption policies and the reality of climate change.

Narrative 7: EVs are more harmful to the environment than gasoline-powered cars

Hyper-agenda-driven communities again drove a narrative, asserting that electric vehicles and their batteries are more polluting than traditional car emissions – thus pointing to the alleged hypocrisy and ineffectiveness behind their use as a countermeasure to global warming. This narrative weaponized existing environmental issues advocates’ concerns that EVs and other green initiatives are not radical enough to save the climate and instead contribute to maintaining a “high-tech industrial civilization.” Nearly 30% of bot-like amplification was detected, particularly on narratives that large amounts of fossil fuels are needed to make EVs, that expired batteries’ disposal will lead to increased pollution, that Western countries export coal to China to manufacture lithium batteries, and that EVs are part of a “greenwashing” agenda.

The claim that coal is used for lithium battery production is misleading. In contrast, coal is used in various industrial processes, while lithium battery production primarily involves lithium, cobalt, and nickel, not coal. In addition, EVs generally have a smaller carbon footprint over their lifetime, even when accounting for battery production and electricity generation.

LEARN MORE: 8 Ways for Security Leaders to Protect Their Organizations from Narrative Attacks

Narrative 8: EV charging stations can be hacked, revealing dangerous security gaps 

Self-described hackers drew attention to reports that EV charging stations can be hacked using Bluetooth technology, suggesting risks of deliberate explosion, power grid blackouts, and personal information leaks. A few hyper-partisan-driven bots – representing high levels of inauthentic amplification – leveraged these reports to spread exaggerated claims that 90% of public EV charging stations are hacked, allegedly disrupting power supplies and stealing consumer information.

Although EV charging stations present cybersecurity risks, such as unauthorized access and data theft, no verified data indicates that 90% of these stations have been compromised. Reports suggest that EV charging stations may be vulnerable to cyberattacks due to their connectivity to networks and the power grid, which hackers could exploit to disrupt services or steal data. Therefore, while concerns about the security of EV charging stations are legitimate, this claim is exaggerated and lacks credible evidence.

The Way Forward 

In recent months, EV adoption has slowed in some parts of the world. While relevant concerns have been regarding these vehicles’ cost, safety, resale value, and ethics, narrative attacks have also contributed to this trend. In particular, hyper-agenda-driven communities have encouraged damaging myths and campaigns—similar to those targeting other green energy initiatives—and sought to exploit and exaggerate genuine and organic concerns.

Here are five takeaways for organization leaders:

• Narrative Attacks are Sophisticated. Organizations need to understand that narrative attacks against EVs (and likely other climate initiatives) aren’t just random posts – they’re often coordinated campaigns with sophisticated networks using identical messaging, bot amplification, and multiple angles of attack. This requires a strategic approach to communications and stakeholder management.
• Legitimate Concerns Can Be Weaponized Leaders should recognize that genuine issues (like cobalt mining ethics or battery disposal) can be exploited and amplified by bad actors to undermine broader initiatives. This suggests the importance of proactively addressing real challenges while distinguishing them from exaggerated or false claims.
• Cross-Border Information Threats The analysis reveals that foreign malign influencers actively target specific audiences (like African audiences regarding cobalt mining) and attempt to shape narratives around international competition (like Chinese EVs). Organizations need to consider geopolitical dimensions in their communication strategies.
• Multiple Stakeholder Impact These narrative attacks affect consumer perception, investor confidence, regulatory support, employee morale, and supply chain relationships. Leaders should consider how narrative attack campaigns can impact all stakeholders, not just end consumers.
• Data-Driven Monitoring is Essential The article demonstrates how modern AI tools can discover and analyze narrative attacks across hundreds of thousands of conversations. Organizations should consider investing in similar narrative intelligence monitoring capabilities to detect and respond to emerging narrative threats before they significantly impact public confidence or business operations.

LEARN MORE: The Evolution of Narrative Attacks and Their Organizational Risk

Narrative attacks as part of a climate denial agenda have become increasingly prominent, not least because they dismiss or distort the existence of a climate crisis or, in other cases, target climate countermeasures—discrediting EVs as harmful, undemocratic, absurd, or useless for tackling climate change. While using public transport, cycling, or walking remains a more sustainable solution to reducing our environmental impact than substituting for conventional cars, EVs significantly decrease greenhouse gas emissions. They are a key technology for decarbonizing road transport. Today, our society faces two directions: drive down global emissions rates or suffer the consequences—with the transport sector representing one of the most crucial areas for decarbonization. In this sense, these online campaigns against climate action directly impact public perception, threatening global support for EVs and our ability to adopt clean transport technologies and secure a stable climate future for our planet. 

To protect against climate-related narrative attacks, we must fully understand their origins, techniques, and influence. Experts need to monitor these stories better, identify networks linked to them, and better assess the tactics used – such as inauthentic amplification and echo chamber exploitation–to react accordingly with counter-narratives before they affect public confidence in one of the world’s most pressing threats. Tools such as Blackbird.AI’s Constellation Narrative Intelligence platform can help to proactively detect and analyze these narrative attacks, make informed decisions, and deploy counter-narratives to mitigate risk.

Furthermore, it is more important than ever to discern the context behind narrative attacks, mainly as information manipulation targets innovative technologies and climate change. Experts and communicators must provide the public and decision-makers with evidence-based information to actively dispel these myths, distinguishing between science and narratives disseminated by self-motivated actors. Our AI-based context-checking tools, Compass Context and Compass Vision, arm governments, organizations, civil society, journalists, and individuals against the damaging effects of narrative attacks—ensuring that the public has accurate information to make informed decisions regarding the energy transition at all levels.

To learn more about how Blackbird.AI can help you in these situations, book a demo.