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Okay. I can't help it. I'm sick. I'm addicted. I have to do a line-by-line breakdown of The @Australian's mind-blowing editorial.
Somebody help me. Rescue me from the abyss. Whisk me from oblivion, I am spent. This is so WILD.
Somebody help me. Rescue me from the abyss. Whisk me from oblivion, I am spent. This is so WILD.
First of all, it's hard to tell who wrote this. It certainly isn't Chris Kenny (not jejune enough). Sharri Markson would be more reproachful. Maybe Chris Dore? Maybe a shared Google Doc between them all?
Who knows. In any case, they start by claiming to be cool-headed ones.
Who knows. In any case, they start by claiming to be cool-headed ones.
The cool heads there think that social media has confected outrage about the 'eco terrorists faked fires to scare about climate change'.
Dig into the replies to th Oz's or Sky News' tweets, and you'll see the feverish cloud that surrounds them.
Dig into the replies to th Oz's or Sky News' tweets, and you'll see the feverish cloud that surrounds them.
The second-most liked comment on the editorial blames immigrants for accepting climate science??
Every single one of the top most-liked comments re-hash denialist tropes.
The Oz is reassuring itself here. It's a massive self-help therapy session, squeezing its eyes shut.
Every single one of the top most-liked comments re-hash denialist tropes.
The Oz is reassuring itself here. It's a massive self-help therapy session, squeezing its eyes shut.
They are genuinely frantic in their efforts to try and frame themselves as having accepted climate science the whole time. I wouldn't be surprised if they're razing decades of outright denial from their archives.
There is no physical way I could give you a good representation of the history of climate change denial in this media outlet. The quantity is just way too big.
Here's a tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny slice (the first picture is previous **editorials**)
Here's a tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny slice (the first picture is previous **editorials**)
It's not just broad denial. They **explicitly** deny that climate change played a role in Australia's current firestorm.
How do we know?
AN EDITORIAL ENTITLED "CLIMATE CHANGE DID NOT CAUSE THIS WEEK'S FIRESTORM"
...which says "CLIMATE CHANGE DID NOT CAUSE THESE FIRES"
How do we know?
AN EDITORIAL ENTITLED "CLIMATE CHANGE DID NOT CAUSE THIS WEEK'S FIRESTORM"
...which says "CLIMATE CHANGE DID NOT CAUSE THESE FIRES"
(on a side note: this, my friends, is why you use online archiving tools, print-to-PDF and screenshots when you're referencing this stuff. It's online forever)
Part of this is misdirection rather than explicit denial. Hence:
- The creation of a straight-up lie about arson, repeated around the ENTIRE PLANET, to many millions of people: https://twitter.com/KetanJ0/status/1214633150099476483
- A plea to natural variance (Indian ocean stuff):
- The creation of a straight-up lie about arson, repeated around the ENTIRE PLANET, to many millions of people: https://twitter.com/KetanJ0/status/1214633150099476483
- A plea to natural variance (Indian ocean stuff):
The 'arson' meme in particular took off among denier networks, because it ticks a few boxes:
- Crime is the cause all bad things
- Eco terrorists are faking disasters to spread fear about climate change (see: Michael Crichton)
- Messy historical stats, so lies flow better
- Crime is the cause all bad things
- Eco terrorists are faking disasters to spread fear about climate change (see: Michael Crichton)
- Messy historical stats, so lies flow better
Okay. So they think they're not deniers. But they are.
Moving on, they start drawing up some PR / Comms advice. Lead the world. Aus has many wind farms and solar panels. Leadership. Technologies. Pragmatic. etc etc.
Moving on, they start drawing up some PR / Comms advice. Lead the world. Aus has many wind farms and solar panels. Leadership. Technologies. Pragmatic. etc etc.
Reading that text, you can feel them quaking at their keyboards. They're absolutely losing it. Because even when trying to argue in favour of decarbonisation, they're saying that doing so would cause economic damage - another denialist meme! They can't stop. They won't stop.
And again, it only takes several seconds of a [from:ketanj0 @Australian wind] twitter search to get a litany of hundreds of utterly brain-wormed articles saying that wind farms cause lamb mutation, wind farms cause blackouts, wind farms make power $ high, etc etc......
![And again, it only takes several seconds of a [from:ketanj0 @Australian wind] twitter search to get a litany of hundreds of utterly brain-wormed articles saying that wind farms cause lamb mutation, wind farms cause blackouts, wind farms make power $ high, etc etc......](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EN-WyouX0AACWqj.png "And again, it only takes several seconds of a [from:ketanj0 @Australian wind] twitter search to get a litany of hundreds of utterly brain-wormed articles saying that wind farms cause lamb mutation, wind farms cause blackouts, wind farms make power $ high, etc etc......")
![And again, it only takes several seconds of a [from:ketanj0 @Australian wind] twitter search to get a litany of hundreds of utterly brain-wormed articles saying that wind farms cause lamb mutation, wind farms cause blackouts, wind farms make power $ high, etc etc......](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EN-Wyo4W4AIPw3Q.png "And again, it only takes several seconds of a [from:ketanj0 @Australian wind] twitter search to get a litany of hundreds of utterly brain-wormed articles saying that wind farms cause lamb mutation, wind farms cause blackouts, wind farms make power $ high, etc etc......")
![And again, it only takes several seconds of a [from:ketanj0 @Australian wind] twitter search to get a litany of hundreds of utterly brain-wormed articles saying that wind farms cause lamb mutation, wind farms cause blackouts, wind farms make power $ high, etc etc......](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EN-Wyo4WoAAl4jl.png "And again, it only takes several seconds of a [from:ketanj0 @Australian wind] twitter search to get a litany of hundreds of utterly brain-wormed articles saying that wind farms cause lamb mutation, wind farms cause blackouts, wind farms make power $ high, etc etc......")
![And again, it only takes several seconds of a [from:ketanj0 @Australian wind] twitter search to get a litany of hundreds of utterly brain-wormed articles saying that wind farms cause lamb mutation, wind farms cause blackouts, wind farms make power $ high, etc etc......](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EN-Wyo8XsAAWAzD.png "And again, it only takes several seconds of a [from:ketanj0 @Australian wind] twitter search to get a litany of hundreds of utterly brain-wormed articles saying that wind farms cause lamb mutation, wind farms cause blackouts, wind farms make power $ high, etc etc......")
So, you see, renewable energy in Australia has thrived in spite of the constant punches being thrown by the dudes at this newspaper.
So, for them to claim CREDIT for Australia's high rate of renewable energy installations.....you get why that's oozing slime, right?
So, for them to claim CREDIT for Australia's high rate of renewable energy installations.....you get why that's oozing slime, right?
Finally, they're just 'coalition building', now. They're doing the 'hard work' of 'persuasion'. They understand mainstream Australians.
ALSO DECARBONISATION WILL DESTROY THE ECONOMY.
Ahem. They're just helping. Won't you let them help?
ALSO DECARBONISATION WILL DESTROY THE ECONOMY.
Ahem. They're just helping. Won't you let them help?
Well, you know what they're doing right?
They aren't trying to convince you. Or me. Or mainstream Australians.
They are speaking to themselves. It is an internal broadcast to hundreds of identical Qantas Lounge dudes worried that denial has suddenly lost its social licence.
They aren't trying to convince you. Or me. Or mainstream Australians.
They are speaking to themselves. It is an internal broadcast to hundreds of identical Qantas Lounge dudes worried that denial has suddenly lost its social licence.
It is so galling, so filthy in its pretence, and so full of straight-up contradictions because it's self-help. It's Deepak Chopra, for panicked revisionism.
It's significant, not in a change of position, but in its declaration of anxiety about the paper's long track record.
It's significant, not in a change of position, but in its declaration of anxiety about the paper's long track record.
So, let me end with this.
WE
GOT
THE
FUCKING
RECEIPTS
WE
GOT
THE
FUCKING
RECEIPTS
Thank you for reading my rant If you liked it please go and chuck a few dollarydoos to @WIRES_NSW, who are doing truly incredible work and they badly need donations
These baby Tawny Frogmouth compel you. DO IT.
https://www.wires.org.au/donate/emergency-fund
These baby Tawny Frogmouth compel you. DO IT.
https://www.wires.org.au/donate/emergency-fund
