Fox Claims Dems Using Deadly Storms To Push 'Radical' Agenda

By Susie Madrak — September 3, 2021

Make no mistake: Fox News hosts live in the wealthiest parts of the Northeast -- exactly the areas that saw record flooding, winds, and tornados Wednesday night. Which is why it's bizarre to watch them push the same old climate change denial in the wake of those massive storms. Daily Beast media reporter Justin Baragona nailed them:

The majority of the hosts dismissed that climate change is accelerating by cherry-picking data, claiming the number of weather-related deaths in 2020 was a 30-year low.

The UN, however, just reported that extreme weather disasters increased nearly fivefold in the past 50 years. pic.twitter.com/fMpL0QBFiN

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) September 2, 2021

Also, as the UN notes, deaths from weather disasters have decreased nearly threefold between 1970 and 2019.

Why? Because of the introduction of early warning systems over the years. At the same time, economic losses from climate has increased sevenfold.https://t.co/vsq60DMKsz

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) September 2, 2021

Anyway, very cool for Fox News to do a segment waving off climate-related deaths right as the number of people killed by the apocalyptic floods and storms around NYC just exponentially jumped.https://t.co/QtG0qbC25S

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) September 2, 2021

I have to wonder how much longer Fox News can get away with denying reality. Wait, what am I saying? That's what they're paid for!

New York officials knew heavy rains were coming as the remnants of Hurricane Ida moved in. But their preparations couldn’t save the city from death and destruction.

The devastation underscored the city’s fragility in the face of climate change.https://t.co/Ea7f8G0Rr3

— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 3, 2021

From @Grist: Hurricane Ida turned thousands out of their homes. The Supreme Court might make it worse. https://t.co/KlP6BfLwtL

— Slate (@Slate) September 3, 2021

At least 48 people in five states died as storm water cascaded into people's homes and engulfed automobiles, overwhelming urban drainage systems never meant to handle so much rain in such a short time. https://t.co/7k67Eue4jF

— KTBS (@KTBS) September 3, 2021

But the new kid on the block, the Epoch Times, is gaining ground fast. (The wingnuts I know quote it constantly.) Founded by members of the Chinese spiritual group Falun Gong, the paper (and Facebook site) embraced conservative politics during the Trump administration. They actually had a history of objective climate coverage before then. The paper's revenues have more than quadrupled under Trump, E&E News reports:

“I think it’s a pretty good paper. I think they are a lot more objective on certain politically controversial issues like climate change than The New York Times is, or The Washington Post or E&E News,” said Myron Ebell, who led Trump’s EPA transition team and is a longtime opponent of climate science. “The Epoch Times is the new kid on the block, and I think people have noticed it.”

The last few weeks offer a window into the paper’s practices on climate coverage. It gives equal weight to climate deniers and valid scientific findings, and it also runs op-eds that distort research.

One recent piece, headlined “Study Finds Sun—Not CO2—May Be Behind Global Warming,” focused on a study by a researcher connected to the fossil fuel industry whose work has been debunked by climate scientists. The paper also ran articles about the dangers that renewable energy poses to the electricity grid.