This morning The Daily Express published an online article containing a list of 100 'reasons' why global warming is natural (see http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/146138). The 'reasons' were presented as fact (under the subtitle "UK News") not as editorial comment or conjecture. Within hours the New Scientist blog had published rebuttals for the first 50 of the 'reasons' (see http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2009/12/50-reasons-why-global-warming.html), the other 50 were so derisory as to be not worthy of response. Each 'reason' was shown to be inaccurate, misleading or a distortion of fact.
Editorial arse gravy of this sort, masquerading as erstwhile alternative theory, is no longer simply ignorant scepticism in the face of overwhelming evidence and international scientific consensus; it is a conscious and malicious attempt to distort facts and misinform a public that is all too ready to cling to comfortable lies in the face of a very uncomfortable reality. This continual assertion of mistruths also seems to be in flagrant disregard of the first clause of the The Press Complaints Commission's Editors' Code of Practice (parts i and iii). Personally, I am so bored of this blatent pedalling of self-interested shite as fact, I have made a complaint to the PCC, almost certainly an act of flawless futility; however, if you would like to do the same (it only takes a few minutes, and feel free to copy and paste any of the above) see http://www.pcc.org.uk/complaints/process.html.
1 comment:
A little update, got the following from the PCC...
"Thank you for your email. We are already in the process of considering an earlier complaint about this matter. We will let you know the outcome of our investigation when we can."
Will post more as and when I get it. Let's hope the investigation delivers a result of ground-breaking severity and the editor is shot at dawn up against an anonymous wall out back of Lower Thames Street.
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