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Scott Johnson

Science Editor

Scott holds a Master of Science in Hydrogeology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He teaches college-level Earth science, and has worked as a freelance science journalist covering the geosciences since 2011, primarily for Ars Technica.

The Science Feedback team

ARTICLE REVIEWS

Guardian article on Arctic methane emissions claiming “a new climate feedback loop may have been triggered” lacks important context

in The Guardian, by Jonathan Watts

— 30 Okt 2020

"This article’s claim that methane deposits in the Arctic Ocean are starting to be released, awakening a “sleeping giant”, cannot be supported by the limited observational da..

Article in The Sun misrepresents Antarctic discovery and misplaces it on map

in The Sun, by Charlotte Edwards

— 10 Mrz 2020

This article in The Sun describes the chance discovery of a small island in Antarctica’s Pine Island Bay, which seems to have appeared in the last decade. But the article sensati...

ABC article effectively illustrates important climate trends for Australian readers

in Australian Broadcasting Company, by Tim Leslie, Joshua Byrd, Nathan Hoad

— 11 Dez 2019

"This article is exceptionally good in delivering accurate information in an engaging way. There are many useful statements made about the effects of climate change on extreme weat..

Ian Plimer op-ed in The Australian again presents long list of false claims about climate

in The Australian, by Ian Plimer

— 26 Nov 2019

"This article is a mixture of misdirection, misleading claims, and outright falsehoods. The author attempts to paint a picture of current climate change as simply a continuation of..

New York Times op-ed claiming scientists underestimated climate change lacks supporting evidence

in The New York Times, by Eugene Linden

— 18 Nov 2019

"Most of the specific facts and statistics in this op-ed are correct, but the overall effect is significantly misleading. The author’s central point is that scientists have been ..

Telegraph article on climate change mixes accurate and unsupported, inaccurate claims, misleads with false balance

in The Telegraph, by Sarah Knapton

— 18 Okt 2019

"This article is a prime example of false equivalence, putting fringe figures side by side with mainstream scientific findings while failing to distinguish between their respective..

Letter signed by „500 scientists“ relies on inaccurate claims about climate science

in clintel.nl, by Guus Berkhou, Reynald du Berger, Terry Dunleavy, Viv Forbes, Jeffrey Fos, Morten Jodal, Rob Lemeire, Richard Lindzen, Ingemar Nordin, Jim O'Brien, Alberto Prestininzi, Benoit Rittaud, Fritz Vahrenholt, Christopher Monckton

— 04 Okt 2019

"The scientific content is completely inaccurate, undocumented, and fails to bring proof for its claims. The ending of the Little Ice Age in 1850 has no logical link with the fact ..

Washington Examiner op-ed cherry-picks data and misleads readers about climate models

in The Washington Examiner, by Patrick Michaels, Caleb Stewart Rossiter

— 31 Aug 2019

"This article focuses only on specific lines of evidence that climate models disagree with observations. In doing so, the authors ignore research that helps to reconcile difference..

NBC News story accurately covers research on two millennia of climate history

in NBC News, by Jaclyn Jeffrey-Wilensky

— 30 Jul 2019

"This accurately describes new peer-reviewed research and asks independent scientists with relevant expertise to provide important context, such as how these results rely on limite..

Popular article in The Independent accurately summarizes June heat in Europe

in The Independent, by Conrad Duncan

— 05 Jul 2019

"The article accurately and clearly states the facts regarding the recent extreme heat in June 2019 and its link to anthropogenic warming. This includes acknowledging that, at this..

CLAIM REVIEWS

Video advertising “Powersave” device is misleading and makes impossible home power savings claims
CLAIM
A young whizkid [...] invented a device that cuts 50% off an average home’s power bill

SOURCE: Anonymous, HOVERH

Published: 27 Dez 2020

VERDICT

Western US wildfires are not the result of widespread arson
CLAIM
a distressing number of the [West coast] fires are not accidents, and willful arson is the cause.

SOURCE: Glen Morgan, We The Governed

Published: 14 Sep 2020

VERDICT

Study evaluates natural and human causes of recent rapid warming rate at the South Pole
CLAIM
Surface air temperatures at the bottom of the world have risen three times faster than the global average since the 1990s.

SOURCE: Henry Fountain, The New York Times

Published: 06 Jul 2020

VERDICT

Electroverse article incorrectly claims the Sun is behind climate change
CLAIM
the IPCC is wrong − the sun, not CO2, drove modern global warming

SOURCE: Roger Higgs, Electroverse

Published: 18 Mrz 2020

VERDICT

NOAA does not fraudulently adjust data to create the illusion of a global warming trend
CLAIM
Using complex statistical models, [NOAA] change[s] the data to reflect not reality, but their underlying theories of global warming.

SOURCE: Anonymous, Investor's Business Daily

Published: 19 Feb 2020

VERDICT

Studies do not support blog’s claim that volcanic activity is causing melting of West Antarctic glaciers
CLAIM
Volcanoes Melting West Antarctic Glaciers, Not Global Warming

SOURCE: Robert W. Felix, James Edward Kamis, IceAgeNow.info, PlateClimatology.com

Published: 20 Jan 2020

VERDICT

Simple measurements demonstrate that CO2 is a greenhouse gas contrary to claim in online blogs
CLAIM
CO2 is not a greenhouse gas.

SOURCE: Tim Ball, Technocracy.news

Published: 14 Jan 2020

VERDICT

Facebook meme incorrectly claims past climate variations contradict human influence on current climate
CLAIM
The idea that 'climate change' is new or is caused by Humans is nonsense.

SOURCE: Anonymous, Facebook

Published: 13 Jan 2020

VERDICT

Volcanic CO2 emissions are known to be much smaller than human-caused emissions
CLAIM
Discovery Of Massive Volcanic CO2 Emissions Discredits Global Warming Theory

SOURCE: James Edward Kamis, Principia Scientific

Published: 03 Jan 2020

VERDICT

Article falsely attributes invented quotes to James Hansen
CLAIM
Father of Global Warming’ Scientist Finally Admits Theory Is Wrong

SOURCE: Baxter Dmitry, NewsPunch, Your News Wire, Principia Scientific

Published: 01 Jan 2020

VERDICT