When US president Donald Trump delivered a barrage of false statements about climate change during his September 23 speech to the UN General Assembly, he made headlines around the world. Mocking climate change as a “con job” promoted by “stupid people,” Trump’s remarks also illustrated a dilemma facing journalism’s traditional approach to covering politics, where not appearing to take sides has long been a cardinal rule. As more and more political leaders and movements mirror Trump’s habit of making factually inaccurate claims, a new report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism offers a fresh way to think about this dilemma, along with a host of practical tools for tackling it.
“Populist politicians are rewriting the rules, and we [journalists] keep giving them oxygen,” writes Michael Hauser Tov, a correspondent for the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, in the report, called “Reporting populism: the harm-reduction playbook.” Parker Molloy, an American journalist whose Substack column The Present Age covered the report shortly after its release, praised Tov for recognizing that “the normal rules of political coverage don’t work anymore. Ignoring provocative statements lets them spread unchecked. Covering them neutrally amplifies them and creates a false sense of legitimate debate.”
Some of the coverage of Trump’s UN speech had exactly the latter effect. In a nine-minute video package, the BBC did not include a single sentence correcting Trump’s climate inaccuracies. The broadcaster’s only hint about the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change and its devastating impacts on people and economies was to note that Trump’s remark was “met with gasps across the assembly floor.”
The Associated Press and the New York Times, however, avoided such pitfalls. Both news organizations employed a journalistic technique known as “a truth sandwich.” A concept developed by the linguist George Lakoff and backed by media critics including Margaret Sullivan and Brian Stelter, a truth sandwich starts by stating the factual truth, then reports the false claim, then restates what’s true. The AP story began by reporting that some of the world leaders gathered at the UN “are watching their citizens die in floods, hurricanes and heat waves, all exacerbated by climate change.” Trump’s remarks “didn’t match” that reality, the AP continued, “nor did it align with what scientists have long been observing.” AP’s story did quote Trump at length, but it put his statements in context, citing data and quoting experts making it clear that Trump, knowingly or not, was spreading misinformation.
The Reuters playbook endorses the same approach but uses a different term for it, FWEF, which stands for: “State the Fact. Warn the audience they’re about to hear a lie. Explain how the lie misleads. Restate the Fact.” Adopting this approach won’t “cost money, needn’t hurt ratings … and is something newsrooms can start doing tomorrow,” Tov writes. The same holds for other techniques Tov’s report recommends, including one he applies to Brexit coverage but that also addresses a long-standing shortcoming in climate reporting: “Avoid false balance. If you platform two sides, show the real distribution of expertise or public support (e.g., “60 economists against, one for”).”
Perhaps anticipating concerns from some fellow journalists, Tov emphasizes that his reforms are “not about abandoning objectivity.” But objectivity, he argues, “is a tool, not the goal.” The global rise of politicians and movements that routinely lie, mislead or otherwise try to misinform the public calls for “reinterpreting” objectivity, he writes, so “it aligns with other journalistic values that are no less important — foremost among them, providing the audience with the truth, and only the truth.”
From Us
COP30 webinar. Join three Brazilian reporters today, Thursday, October 9, at 12pm EST, for a one-hour discussion about how they’re gearing up to cover the upcoming UN climate summit. RSVP.
The Climate Newsroom. Apply now to join CCNow’s free training program, designed to equip local journalists in the US with the tools and story ideas to meet the climate coverage their audiences want. The second cohort begins the week of October 20. Over three online sessions, you’ll learn how to report on the economic and health impacts of extreme weather, understand the science of attribution, humanize climate stories across beats, and spot disinformation and greenwashing. Apply by Friday, October 17.
Radar Clima es el nuevo boletín de CCNow en español, diseñado para ayudarte a profundizar en temas climáticos en todas las áreas de la redacción. Cada dos semanas te propondremos un tema con ideas para cubrirlo, recursos y contactos de expertos. Suscríbete aquí.
Disinformation webinar. Join CCNow and the Solutions Journalism Network for a one-hour discussion about climate myths and disinformation efforts, the third webinar in a series inspired by “The Climate Blueprint for Media Transformation,” on Wednesday, October 22, at 12pm EST. RSVP.
The 89 Percent Project. Are you an outlet looking for freelancers to pitch stories on the 89 Percent theme? Would you be interested in receiving pitches covering 89 Percent stories? Let us know! Email us at editors[at]coveringclimatenow.org or just hit reply to this email. And learn more about the project at 89Percent.org.
Noteworthy Stories
Predicting COP30. What should journalists be watching out for in the run-up to and during COP30? At this November’s UN climate summit, which comes 10 years after the signing of the Paris Agreement, host Brazil wants to move “from negotiation to implementation.” By John Ainger for Bloomberg Green…
Disaster response. The US National Guard has spent 400,000-plus hours per year for the last 10 years in disaster response efforts, including wildfires, floods, and more, according to a new Pentagon report. By Marianne Lavelle for Inside Climate News…
Canceled solar. Groups are suing the US Environmental Protection Agency for its cancellation of Solar for All, a $7 billion program intended to lower the cost of solar power for poorer Americans. By Alexa St. John and Jennifer McDermott for the Associated Press…
Kids vs. the US. Fifteen kids have filed a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights against the US, arguing that the “U.S. government’s unrelenting perpetuation of a fossil fuel energy system despite knowing for over 50 years that the emission of fossil fuels was catastrophic for human rights.” By Anita Hofschneider for Grist…
Resources & Events
Indigenous rights webinar. Explore the connection between Indigenous rights and leadership and effective climate solutions in the upcoming webinar “Guardians of the forest: Reporting on Indigenous leadership in climate action.” This webinar, which takes place on Friday, October 17, at 9am EST, will help journalists bolster their COP coverage. RSVP.
10 years after Paris webinar. Join World Weather Attribution for a discussion, “Ten Years of the Paris Agreement: The Present and Future of Extreme Heat,” on Tuesday, October 14, at 10am EST, about a new attribution study that examines how extreme heat has changed since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015. RSVP.
Later first freeze. Climate Central has released “Later First Freeze in 179 U.S. Cities,” a new explainer and set of downloadable graphics analyzing the impact of climate change on the first freeze of the season.
Jobs, Etc.
Floodlight is hiring an editor-in-chief (remote). CNN’s Climate & Weather team is seeking a live video producer (Atlanta, Ga.).
The McGraw Fellowship for Business Journalism provides experienced journalists with grants up to $15,000 and the editorial support needed to produce deeply reported enterprise and investigative stories with a strong economic, financial, or business angle. Apply by October 13.
Inside Climate News is open to inquiries about freelance work. Learn more and send your resumé, a cover letter, and clips to jobs@insideclimatenews.org.
The Pulitzer Center has grant opportunities open on a rolling basis, including the Rainforest Reporting Grant for journalists reporting on tropical rainforests in the Amazon, Central Africa, or Southeast Asia.