"Climate Deniers Try to 'Fact Check' Real Reporting"

"A prominent group of deniers with a history of dark money benefactors is now trying to claim media is biased, thanks to new funding."

"The climate deniers are at it again.

In late December, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, released what it’s calling a “Climate Fact Check” report. The report, which was covered breathlessly by Fox News, purports to expose claims made by “climate alarmists and their media allies” in 2022 that “clashed with reality and science.” (Spoiler alert: all the “claims” covered are, in fact, in line with the scientific consensus. Go figure.)

CEI has a long history of perpetuating climate denial—its Director of Global Warming and International Environmental Policy, Myron Ebell, is one of the most high-profile deniers in the U.S.—and this report is no exception. The report contains a lot of tried-and-true climate denier tactics to try to discredit coverage of climate-related disasters in 2022 from outlets like the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the BBC. Many of the rhetorical techniques are such old hat that there are entire academic papers and books written them. I won’t break down every false claim, scientific misdirect, and pointless non-sequitur in the report, but here are a few highlights:"

Molly Taft reports for Earther January 10, 2023.

 

Source: Earther, 01/11/2023