In new guidelines for its journalists announced today, the Associated Press instructed its writers to refrain from referring to those to refuse to accept the reality of climate change as “skeptics” or “deniers“, but rather to use the term “doubter“, or else refer to them as “those who reject mainstream climate science“.
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“They say they are not sceptics because “proper scepticism promotes scientific inquiry, critical investigation and the use of reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims”, they wrote in the note, which was published on AP’s website on Wednesday. On the other hand, “those who reject mainstream climate science” is a super clunky construction.
Doubter is less-harsh a word that denier, but the harshest thing of all will be facing a reality where coasts are flooded, biodiversity has plummeted, and extreme heat waves bake our summers.
I think “denier” is a perfectly acceptable term, but I like “those who reject mainstream climate science“.
“We’re very glad that the word “skeptic” will no longer be used to describe deniers of climate science, such as Sen”.
The organization is happy that the AP dropped “skeptic” but feels the use of “doubter” is problematic.
Joe Romm, founding editor of Climate Progress, a blog affiliated with the Democratic-aligned Center for American Progress, called the change “pointless”.
The move comes after environmentalists submitted a petition to The AP, demanding it no longer those who question aspects of global warming science “skeptics”.
Ronald Lindsay, CEO of the Center for Inquiry, which has offices in Washington, D.C., and Amherst, New York, agrees that “doubter” isn’t a great substitute for “skeptic” or “denier”.
That group prefers the phrase “climate change deniers” for those who reject accepted global warming data and theory. “Does the AP recommend newspapers use the phrase “smoking health risk doubters” or “tobacco science doubters”?”
You can doubt beliefs or opinions, but if you deny facts and stairways you end up looking like a chump.
Use of the term “denier” is accurate in some cases, says Ed Maibach, a climate communications researcher at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. “
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Skeptics use reason and evidence to reach conclusions, and that simply doesn’t apply to those who reject the scientific consensus on our warming planet.”
