Liberal climate blogs have insulted climate change skeptics with a term reminiscent of Holocaust deniers almost every other day — just since Donald Trump’s election.
InsideClimate News, DeSmogBlog and Grist smeared people skeptical of claims about man-made climate change labeling them “deniers” on Twitter at least 69 times combined between Nov. 8, 2016, and March 27, 2017.
“In Trump, U.S. puts a climate denier in its highest office and all climate change action in limbo,” InsideClimate tweeted on Nov. 9. InsideClimate also vilified numerous Trump appointees for not promoting climate change alarmism:
Trump picks climate denier Kenneth Haapala of the Heartland Institute to guide NOAA transition. Via @McClatchyDC https://t.co/EJONA6J57V
— InsideClimate News (@insideclimate) January 31, 2017
A climate denier--aka Rep. Lamar Smith's deputy chief of staff--is leading the NASA transition. https://t.co/fvpnBzDcBl
— InsideClimate News (@insideclimate) December 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/insideclimate/status/808861572198109184
When Myron Ebell, director of the Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, joined Trump’s EPA transition team, InsideClimate lashed out at him as well:
Meet the climate denier who's plotting the future of the EPA under Donald Trump. https://t.co/NeM9nTkCFE pic.twitter.com/nKyi0CMLmB
— InsideClimate News (@insideclimate) November 22, 2016
InsideClimate’s website also attacked Ebell, accusing him of writing a “denialist, alt-science memo.”
Another 20 “denier” tweets by InsideClimate generically attacked anyone who did not buy its version regarding the threat of climate change.
DeSmog Blog followed InsideClimate’s example and used “denier” in 29 tweets to attack Trump appointees and climate skeptics. DeSmog also called their logic “baffling,” and asked for financial support because “deniers” were “trying to take over govt.”
"The 'logic' of #climatechange deniers + anti-environmentalists is often baffling." https://t.co/FGsrV8X3LX via @DavidSuzuki @DavidSuzukiFDN
— DeSmogBlog (@DeSmogBlog) March 10, 2017
With #climatechange deniers and #ExxonKnew CEO Rex Tillerson trying to take over govt, DeSmog needs your support! https://t.co/84Jzx8wicI
— DeSmogBlog (@DeSmogBlog) December 21, 2016
Grist’s 20 offensive “denier” tweets followed the same pattern; attacking both individual appointees and climate change skeptics in general.
Grist also ran a promotional video on the “Dirty Deplorables:” Trump advisors that it labeled “Climate deniers, Anti-science, Fossil fuel mouthpieces.”
Climate deniers ✅
— grist (@grist) December 9, 2016
Anti-science ✅
Fossil fuel mouthpieces ✅
Meet the Dirty Deplorables: https://t.co/e9297sJumZ pic.twitter.com/tb0rysjR5s
As offensive as the repeated Holocaust references were, are nothing new and are certainly not a matter of ignorance. In 2006, Grist writer David Roberts wrote “we should have war crimes trials for these bastards -- some sort of climate Nuremberg.” Roberts later apologized and tried to downplay the analogy, but still defended himself on twitter, saying man-made climate change skepticism as a “monstrously immoral thing.”
The original column still remains on Grist’s website.
The Associated Press stylebook condemned calling climate change skeptics “deniers” October 2015, but liberal climate alarmist blogs refuse to comply.
“Use climate change doubters or those who reject mainstream climate science and to avoid the use of skeptics or deniers,” the AP recommended, “Those who reject climate science say the phrase denier has a pejorative ring of Holocaust denier.”
Even CNN, CBS, The New York Times and The Washington Post have used the term “denier” to smear critics of man-made climate change rhetoric.
InsideClimate News, DeSmog Blog and Grist have all been funded by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, which partly funded the #ExxonKnew campaign.
InsideClimate has also received donations from the Ford Foundation, the Knight Foundation, the Park Foundation and the Marisla Foundation.
The Schmidt Family Foundation, Packard Foundation, Ford Foundation, Grantham Foundation, Park Foundation, Rockefeller Family Fund and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors have all funded Grist as well.
[nb:donate:4A7628:https://www.newsbusters.org/donate/mrc-business]
