Why Is the World Not Freaking Out about a Major, Plagiarized Global Warming Denial Report?

Variation of Earth’s surface temperature, in degrees Celsius, from 1000 A.D. to 2000 A.D. (IPCC)

When a totally false scandal breaks out based on a clear crime (breaking into, stealing, and publishing portions of scientist’s emails in a way as to frame them) and climate scientists are the victims, the media and public jump all over it (in completely the wrong way).

When, however, one of climate deniers’ prize reports is found to have been largely plagiarized (not to mention seriously flawed), no one seems to care.

As you may (or may not) have heard, the Wegman Report, a key report attacking the “hockey stick graph” and leading climate scientists, in general, was found to be based on plagiarized material (and was also found to be seriously flawed, scientifically). The report has now been retracted by the journal that published it, Computational Statistics and Data Analysis. Here’s a good finding, too:

“Documents requested by Vergano appear to show that the paper was accepted five days after submission by an editor who was a personal friend of Wegman’s, an irony given that the study was about the nefarious influence of social networks.”

Ironic, indeed.

“The editor in question claims that more extensive review must have taken place, but the records were destroyed during an office move.”

Of course….

Meanwhile, a real “researcher in the field of social network analysis is quoted as dismissing the Wegman paper as more of an ‘opinion piece.'”

Exactly, an unsubstantiated, non-scientific opinion piece, the hallmark of global warming deniers. And this “leading” denier report, why is it not a major scandal the media is feverishly covering? Well, of course, because what else can we expect from that side of the topic — there is nothing new there. And it doesn’t break the widely held view that global warming is true, something the mass media (and almost all of us, to be quite honest) wish were not true.

Related Stories:

  1. Climategate: One More Investigation, Still No Basis for Accusations of Misconduct
  2. The Real Climategate Crime
  3. 2010 Climate B.S. of the Year Award

Image & caption at top via Wired

8 thoughts on “Why Is the World Not Freaking Out about a Major, Plagiarized Global Warming Denial Report?”

  1. I know all kinds of climate deniers and none of them have ever heard of the wegman report. That’s why the world is not freaking out about it. Now the IPCC scandals were something to freak out about and now the IPCC is looked upon as a fraud. Cheers.

    1. i know a lot of climate deniers who don’t know anything about climate change or climate science at all — not saying they all do. but many who get into it a tad love the Wegman report and site it repeatedly.

      On the IPCC: it is not viewed as a fraud by anyone but the most ignorant or most uninformed. Nearly every major overarching scientific organization out there has supported it work, methodology, and conclusions.

      Thank You for commenting. 

      Sorry that you have been misinformed.

  2. I know all kinds of climate deniers and none of them have ever heard of the wegman report. That’s why the world is not freaking out about it. Now the IPCC scandals were something to freak out about and now the IPCC is looked upon as a fraud. Cheers.

    1. i know a lot of climate deniers who don’t know anything about climate change or climate science at all — not saying they all do. but many who get into it a tad love the Wegman report and site it repeatedly.

      On the IPCC: it is not viewed as a fraud by anyone but the most ignorant or most uninformed. Nearly every major overarching scientific organization out there has supported it work, methodology, and conclusions.

      Thank You for commenting. 

      Sorry that you have been misinformed.

  3. Because scientists don’t own the media, the government, or have anywhere near the kind of financial backing that coal, oil, and gas does.

  4. James Benison

    Because scientists don’t own the media, the government, or have anywhere near the kind of financial backing that coal, oil, and gas does.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top