Summary of Tony Thomas: Don't trust the media on climate | Tom Nelson Pod #108

00:00:00 - 00:40:00

Tony Thomas, a journalist, discusses the media’s unreliable reporting on climate change due to the influence of third-party institutions. He explains that these organizations incentivize journalists to write net-zero and alarmist lines, while warning them to stay away from skeptic material. Thomas reveals the Climate Council’s control over media narratives and local governments in Australia. He also discusses Climate Change Now's manipulation of information by promoting absurdities, which has resulted in over 500 media outlets hyping climate alarms worldwide and suppressing critical views. Lastly, Thomas criticizes the financial incentives provided to journalists for reporting on climate change, which contributes to their biased reporting.

• 00:00:00 In this section, Tony Thomas discusses the world's mainstream climate journalists and the many third-party institutions that influence them. He explains that these institutions warn journalists to stay away from skeptic material and incentivize them with money and honors to write net-zero and alarmist lines. Tony did some research on these organizations and found new ones popping up constantly. He also mentions a report by Matt Taibbi about the censorship industrial complex, which catalogs 50 government entities, big tech companies, and NGOs that promote approved lines and silence opposing views and platforms.
• 00:05:00 In this section, Tony Thomas discusses how climate propaganda is usually wrapped up inside a platform of worthy roles, like training third world reporters to do a good job. He goes on to talk about the manipulation of the media by various groups and mentions the BBC's "BBC verify", which uses several dummy accounts to keep tabs on social media and target conspiracy theory newspapers, alternative media, and the UK conspiracy movement. He also talks about the "trusted news initiative" launched by the BBC and partners, which rapidly flags climate and health misinformation and warns off advertisers to destroy income. Additionally, Tony talks about Australia's number one climate manipulator of the media, the "climate council," which has a stranglehold on the media.
• 00:10:00 In this section, Tony Thomas reveals the truth behind Australia's Climate Council, its funding, media tactics, and its control of local governments and media narratives. The council has a limited budget, but its funding mainly comes from tycoons and the usual global foundations, including the Rockefellers. It dominates the media narrative with the help of its huge 20-member spin team and has influenced and trained local leaders to be trusted climate voices in addition to journalists. The ultimate goal is to promote alarmism, and the council has achieved its goal by circulating 22,000 media stories in a year warning about "climate-caused" or "climate-fueled" events.
• 00:15:00 In this section, Tony Thomas discusses the influence of the media on climate change and the manipulation of information by Climate Change Now (CC Now), which has over 500 media outlets signed up to hype climate alarms and suppress critical views. CC Now reportedly has 2 billion readers in 60 countries, and the science journals Nature and Scientific America have also joined and signed away their objectivity. Thomas argues that CC Now pushes absurdities such as the claim that there will be a billion climate refugees by 2050, shows reporters with resources and story templates and is telling journalists how to write and inject emotional nonsense into their stories. He believes that CC Now is funded by leftist foundations and that AFP, an independent news organization that receives 40% of its funding from the French government, has also signed the CC Now pledge despite its ethical code.
• 00:20:00 In this section, Tony Thomas talks about the financial incentives of some journalists who report on climate change. He criticizes Marlo Hood, a specialist reporter for AFP, who named himself the "Global Coordinator for Climate Change" and "Senior Editor Future of the Planet." Thomas describes Hood's stories as full of dramatic headlines and cites the 110,000 dollar prize he received from Spain's BBVA leftist foundation in 2019. Thomas also mentions other journalists who have won large cash prizes for their alarmist articles and the Earth Journalism Network, a UK-based group that trains third world reporters to produce climate change stories. Thomas suggests that these financial incentives may be contributing to the biased journalistic reporting of climate change.
• 00:25:00 In this section, Tony Thomas discusses how environmental organizations finance hundreds of small, often-third world, journalism outlets for better reporting, special stories, and Net Zero advocacy. The Earth Journalism Network is one such organization that pays for dozens or scores of journalists to attend big climate conferences and even provides money to small third-world news organizations, many of which are financially struggling. Additionally, the network provides Third World-friendly graphics for free use. The Earth Journalism Network has received funding from giants like the European Commission, UNAID agencies, and governments of the US, UK, and Sweden. Furthermore, Thomas mentions NewsGuard, an organization that flags health and climate websites based on its approval, allowing the user to add it as a browser extension for fifty dollars a year.
• 00:30:00 In this section, the speaker discusses the issues with fact-checking organizations like NewsGuard and Science Feedback. NewsGuard is funded by the liberal Knight Foundation and has red-flagged many Australian and US sites, but the speaker believes that the ratings are determined by in-house liberal journalists and activists. Science Feedback claims to use "Blue Chip Sciences" to combat misinformation, but the speaker notes that their fact-checking seems to only go after skeptics and not those who claim the Great Barrier Reef is dying despite record coral cover. Both organizations seek to deprive unapproved sites of advertising, and Science Feedback's academics include controversial figures such as Michael Mann and Peter Glock.
• 00:35:00 In this section, Tony Thomas discusses how media manipulation is prevalent in the climate change debate and warns against trusting the media on this issue. He cites examples of Australian scientists who manipulate data and use extreme weather events for media attention. Thomas also talks about his research process and how he relies on his journalistic experience to refine his material and make it entertaining. Despite his efforts, Thomas feels that the fight against alarmists in Australia is not going well due to the recent election of a climate change focused government.
• 00:40:00 In this section, journalist Tony Thomas discusses the lack of balanced reporting on climate change in the media, pointing out that most news outlets are left-wing and green-leaning, with only a few willing to give both sides of the issue a fair go. He highlights the indoctrination of children through the school system, which results in most young people being green as they come out of university. Thomas is pessimistic about the public waking up to the reality of the situation, and believes that it might take a long time for the message to come through even after other countries have hit the wall on energy. He also notes that there is not much that can be done to counter the brainwashing, and that the new younger generation is completely swamped.