Weather Channel Checks Breitbart: ‘Stop Using Our Video To Mislead’

MANDATORY CREDIT: Paul Goldstein/Exodus/Rex Features. IMAGES OUTSIDE OF PRINT VERSION NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTIONS. FEES APPLY FOR UNIQUE IPAD USE. Only for use in story about Paul Goldstein/Exodus's work.Melting ice caps... MANDATORY CREDIT: Paul Goldstein/Exodus/Rex Features. IMAGES OUTSIDE OF PRINT VERSION NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTIONS. FEES APPLY FOR UNIQUE IPAD USE. Only for use in story about Paul Goldstein/Exodus's work.Melting ice caps in Spitsbergen Bearly Believable: Photographer Captures Adborable Images Of Polar Bear Cubs Playing A photographer has captured adorable images of polar bear cubs playing in the snow. As part of his tour for Exodus Travels, Paul Goldstein ventured to Spitsbergen in the north of Norway last week (19 June). The Wimbledon-based photographer and travel guide trawled through the sea ice in the north of Spitsbergen showing visitors the breath-taking icy scenery. However, Paul was shocked when one of his hawk-eyed crew spotted a mother polar bear in the distance. The sight of the polar bear came as a pleasant surprise to everyone on board. Climate change is currently the biggest threat to the survival of Polar bears; they are now officially classed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The photographer and tour guide explained that the start of 2014 was also much warmer than usual, resulting in ice melting at a quicker rate, making it even harder for the polar bears to feed. The Icy habitat is something which the animals depend on to hunt and breed; and the phenomenon of global warming has been well documented around Spitsbergen. The polar bears are capable of swimming up to 100 miles to find food, however ice sheets are slowly melting farther and farther apart. This means that some of them are swimming dangerously long distances for nothing, and polar bear populations are noticeably decreasing because of global warming. This made Paul's photos of the healthy bears even more of a spectacular sight. Keen to get a better view of the mother ... For more information visit http://www.rexfeatures.com/stacklink/BQKWVGDRL (Rex Features via AP Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

The Weather Channel did its own debunking Tuesday of a widely discredited Breitbart article on climate change that was shared online by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

“Though we would prefer to focus on our usual coverage of weather and climate science, in this case we felt it important to add our two cents,” the article, which has no bylined author, reads.

“[T]housands of researchers and scientific societies are in agreement that greenhouse gases produced by human activity are warming the planet’s climate and will keep doing so,” it continues later, contradicting Breitbart’s claim that a supposed “plunge” in global temperature held promise that “[t]he last three years may eventually come to be seen as the final death rattle of the global warming scare.”

In fact, while the Breitbart article, which featured a video from TWC on the La Niña phenomenon, claimed that “global land temperatures” had dropped this year, it excluded all but one data set that supported that conclusion, and completely left out temperature data recorded over oceans. Taken together, according to TWC, the fuller data show that Earth’s lower atmosphere actually set a record high in November 2016, as scientists have claimed.

The Breitbart article—one of many dubious climate claims on the site—also asserts that “it can be argued” that record global temperatures over the past two years can be attributed to the El Niño weather phenomenon, which brings warmer weather, and that the following two years will be cooler as a result of La Niña.

While those phenomena do affect temperature in the short term, the science is clear: Trends in global temperature, independent of year-to-year shifts, show a clear warming pattern which is directly connected to human activity.

“Finally, to our friends at Breitbart,” the article concludes, “the next time you write a climate change article and need fact checking help, please call. We’re here for you. I’m sure we both agree this topic is too important to get wrong.”

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. The problem of course is that Breitbart is not trying to get it right, they are purposely editing information to support a incorrect conclusions for the sole purpose of making more money. They are exactly like tobacco companies pushing edited or fake information about how great smoking is for you.

  2. If they were not using it to mislead what would they use it for? Isn’t that what they do?

  3. Avatar for caltg caltg says:

    You mean Breitbart stole material from The Weather Channel and then edited it so they could perpetuate a lie that directly contradicted the original Weather Channel material so as to mislead Congress and the people? I am shocked, shocked I tell you! And to think these miscreants have the ear of the President-Elect. This must be stopped!!!

  4. Avatar for j.dave j.dave says:

    Breitbart.com: Too Important To Be Trusted To Fact-Checkers!”

  5. Like they give a shit. They just make it up and freak out/reaffirm the Moron Class.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

25 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for liberalrefugee Avatar for becca656 Avatar for wombat Avatar for tomanjeri Avatar for notborneveryminute Avatar for robcat2075 Avatar for musgrove Avatar for quax Avatar for dickweed Avatar for jcblues Avatar for maricaibo Avatar for albesure Avatar for caltg Avatar for j_from_texas Avatar for jacksonhts Avatar for birdford Avatar for j.dave Avatar for asturcot Avatar for jquas2sunset Avatar for albert911emt Avatar for demosthenes59 Avatar for georgial1beral

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: