It’s an important question. Political operatives have launched a series of efforts to intentionally deceive the public with “fake” news, and what spokespeople for the Trump Administration are calling “alternative facts.”
Disseminating fake news and alternative facts (also known as lies) deliberately misinforms the public and sows chaos and confusion. It prevents people from being smart about the choices we make to protect ourselves and our family. It also undermines our ability as a nation to increase national security and protect our air, our water, our quality of life and, most of all, our families.
It’s absolutely critical that we fight back against spreading fake, “alt” news about climate change. How? Tap proven fact-based sources of information to deepen an understanding of climate science and rebuff phony stories that are simply lies.
Here are 5 reliable sources of news and information on climate change that are grounded in science and solutions:
1. The Weather Channel – The Weather Channel’s meteorologists are grounded in comprehensive climate science. They do a particularly good job of connecting the dots between extreme weather patterns and climate change by using short, effective videos and easy-to-understand explanations. For example, one recent story tackled the following question: “What do Florida and Alaska Have in Common? They’re Both Weirdly Warm Right Now.”
Notable Clip: Meteorologist Kait Parker called out a fake news story on Brietbart, saying “Brietbart Misleads Americans on Climate Change.” Watching it will make you cheer.
2. The Guardian – This news outlet is based in the United Kingdom but that sure doesn’t stop it from covering how the U.S. or the rest of the world are addressing climate change. The Guardian offers straight news reporting on topics as wide ranging as how climate change is affecting our fisheries and forests and the role climate change is playing in increasing droughts, floods and storms.
Notable Story: Evidently, some people don’t think the future king of England should weigh in on a phenomenon that could swamp his island nation. After Britain’s Prince Charles and two co-authors wrote a book on climate change “intended as a plain English guide,” the Prince took some heat because he did not “keep his mouth shut,” as The Daily Mail put it. The Guardian printed a defense of Prince Charles’ activism that reminded the public that his royal duties include “the right to warn.”
3. Climate Central – ClimateCentral.org is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization of scientists and journalists dedicated to researching and reporting not just the facts about the changing climate, but its impact on the public as well. Their values include “scientific and journalistic integrity,” vowing to report the scientific facts of climate change “however they fall.” They acknowledge that “democracy calls for an informed public” and believe that scientific facts “support a healthy public debate.” During Trump’s first 100 days, “Climate Central is going to underscore the value of science and rational approaches to policy making” and promises to tweet “facts, stories and videos that provide key scientific context of the choices humanity faces and what policy actions (or inactions) mean.”
Notable Story: “Women Are the True Face of Climate Change,” an analysis of the impact climate change is having on women’s health, safety, and even survival.
4. The Daily Climate – This non-partisan and independent media organization works to increase public understanding of climate change, including its scope and scale, potential solutions and the political processes that affect it. They do so by aggregating news stories from all over the world as well as from daily and online media outlets and weekly or monthly news magazines. Among their sources are English language newspapers with international audiences like the New York Times and the Jakarta Post; major newswires like the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse, and scientific journals like Science and Nature. If you’re curious about how a climate story is being covered beyond your community, or what climate issues are generating news in other parts of the world, The Daily Climate can provide the roadmap.
Notable Story: “21 kids stand in the way of Trump’s attempts to delete federal climate websites,” first reported on Mashable.com, that details the lawsuit filed by a group ranging in age from 9 to 20 against the federal government and fossil fuel companies to hold them accountable for “failing to adequately address human-caused global warming despite widespread knowledge of the risks.”
Kids suing the government to stop climate change? Not #fakenews!
5. Moms Clean Air Force Website – It should go without saying that Moms Clean Air Force will never, ever dispense fake news or alternative facts. To the contrary, we have compiled a bank of science-based resources on everything from “How Climate Change Affects Asthma” to “Climate Change Hits Home” to “Climate Change & Children’s Health.” We consistently report scientific updates on the climate science and interview experts including atmospheric scientists, elected officials, and uni versity researchers about the impacts that climate change and pollution are having on us and our communities. One million moms have put their trust in Moms Clean Air Force by subscribing to our updates and action alerts.