The optics of a major oil-producing country hosting the world’s most important climate conference and appointing an oil company CEO to lead it were not lost on anyone — including, it seems, the hosts: the United Arab Emirates. Ahead of the UN COP28 climate summit in Dubai later this year, the country has embarked on a major PR campaign to boost its green credentials, drawing sharp criticism from climate groups and some politicians. At the same time, researchers are raising red flags over allegations of covert influence campaigns, with members of the COP28 team editing Wikipedia pages about the conference’s chief and military, according to the Center for Climate News and the Guardian, and fake social media accounts promoting the country’s climate record. (Ivana Kottasova, CNN)