Climate Scientist Shines a Light On Media Hypocrisy

September 11, 2023

Last week, climate scientist Patrick T. Brown published a piece titled “I Left Out the Full Truth to Get My Climate Change Paper Published.” In it, he discusses how, in order to guarantee publication of his article, he purposefully left out the “whole truth” when talking about climate change and forest fires in California. This, of course, is not how science should work, but it’s clear that in today’s media landscape the only way to be published is to a) play by their rules and b) support their climate narrative. 

Brown writes in The Free Press,

“This matters because it is critically important for scientists to be published in high-profile journals; in many ways, they are the gatekeepers for career success in academia. And the editors of these journals have made it abundantly clear, both by what they publish and what they reject, that they want climate papers that support certain preapproved narratives—even when those narratives come at the expense of broader knowledge for society. To put it bluntly, climate science has become less about understanding the complexities of the world and more about serving as a kind of Cassandra, urgently warning the public about the dangers of climate change. However understandable this instinct may be, it distorts a great deal of climate science research, misinforms the public, and most importantly, makes practical solutions more difficult to achieve.”

This isn’t new. We’ve seen countless examples of media bias over the years, especially on this topic. But it is refreshing to see someone take a stand. Brown’s story is one to remember the next time you see a headline claiming climate change will result in civilization’s complete collapse.