George Will's shoddy climate "journalism"

There is a firestorm a brewing in the American public over sloppy journalism that propagates myths, not facts. Journalism as we know it is losing audience share daily and the economic crisis has exacerbated an already crumbling infrastructure of the fourth estate. But maybe part of the reason that the public has turned away from newspapers is because we can't always believe what we read in the paper. Some wounds are self-inflicted. Washington institution columnist George Will hit a new low when he skipped the fact-checking and wrote an op-ed titled Dark Green Doomsayers, syndicated by the Washington Post Writers Group on February 15. Will propagated many a myth passing his opinions off as unsubstantiated "fact"--and his editors did not check the facts, either.

Luckily, the blogosphere stepped up and fact-checked the Will column. (Read up on the controversy here: A Suggested Correction For Will's 'Dark Green Doomsayers' Column.)

The good folks over at Media Matters pointed out it is not just George Will or any close-minded columnist…because writers have editors, so if Will's thoughts go unchallenged in the paper it is because his editors do not check him when he spews denier fiction instead of proven science. The Media Matters fact-checkers are leading an effort to bust not just Will but his editors:

As numerous progressive and science bloggers have pointed out, Washington Post columnist George Will misused data and distorted statements made by climate experts in order to suggest that human-caused global warming is not occurring. Moreover, in his reported response to criticism of Will's column, Post ombudsman Andy Alexander falsely suggested that a statement by the Arctic Climate Research Center (ACRC) supports Will's claims about sea ice levels when, in fact, the ACRC statement rebuts the very argument Will was making. Indeed, contrary to Will's suggestion that ACRC data on global sea ice levels undermine the overwhelming scientific consensus that humans are causing global warming, the ACRC document Alexander cites actually states that the sea ice data are consistent with the outcomes projected by climate-change models and studies.

Hat tip to the hard-working journalists who are willing to take the time to check facts with reputable sources and not just make stuff up to suit their opinions. And a big thank you to the blogosphere and Media Matters for mopping up after Mr. Will and his editors!