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| Available in | English |
|---|---|
| URL | www |
| Launched | January 2006 |
| Current status | Active |
DeSmog (formerlyThe DeSmogBlog) is an international journalism organization that focuses on topics related toclimate change. Founded in January 2006, DeSmog's emphasis is investigating and reporting on misinformation campaigns and organizations opposing climate science and action.[1] The site was founded, originally in blog format, byJames Hoggan, president of a public relations firm based inVancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[1][2][3] DeSmog is a partner in theCovering Climate Now project which organizes and assists news organizations cover climate change worldwide.[4] DeSmog also maintains several databases of persons and organizations engaged in misinformation and lobbying against addressing climate change.[5]
The blog was co-founded in January 2006 byJames Hoggan, president of thepublic relations firm Hoggan and Associates. In a February 2007 interview with theVancouver Sun, Hoggan conveys his anger at industry interests who he believes mislead the public about the scientific understanding of global warming. He referred to this alleged misrepresentation of the facts as, "public relations at its sleaziest". Hoggan used his public relations skills to start a blog that would "clear the PR pollution that clouds the science of climate change" and expose organizations and individuals which he considered to be unethical. DeSmog says it reports on the credibility of experts who appear to misrepresent the science of global warming in the media by investigating their scientific background, funding sources, and industry interests. The site originally targeted a Canadian audience but is now involved in global climate change coverage.[6]
Contributors to the site assist in researching organizations that the site's staff believe are phonygrassroots organizations, orastroturf groups, sponsored directly or indirectly by industries seeking to thwart climate change-related legislation. Organizations alleged by the blog to be astroturfs includeFriends of Science, Natural Resources Stewardship Project,Global Climate Coalition, andInternational Climate Science Coalition.[7][8] Individuals that the site has identified as pushing an anti-climate change point of view are listed in the site's "Denial Database", with accompanying information about their industry affiliations and professional biographies.[9] In aFinancial Post column, Canadian environmentalistLawrence Solomon stated that the organization was, in Solomon's words, "specifically created for the purpose of discrediting skeptics".[10]
In a 2007 report inThe Globe and Mail, Hoggan stated that the most frequent visitors to the site came fromCalgary,Ottawa, andWashington D.C.[11]
In one instance, the site responded to a 2006 open letter opposing the Canadian Government's climate-change plans, claimed to be signed by "accredited experts in climate and related scientific disciplines", by analyzing the list of the signatories. The site concluded that those checked had few peer-reviewed publications on the topic and/or hadfossil-fuel industry connections.[2]
DeSmog has criticizedFinancial Post editor and columnistTerence Corcoran, claiming he impedes progress on climate change and environmental protection legislation in Canada.[12] In turn, Corcoran has criticized Hoggan and his website, accusing both of serving the interests of large corporations hoping to make money onemissions trading.[13]
The blog has been referenced inThe Guardian byGeorge Monbiot, who most recently cited a study by the website showing that in 2008 "the number of internet pages proposing that man-made global warming is a hoax or a lie more than doubled".[14] In another column, Monbiot noted that DeSmog posted a video critical ofAnthony Watts's blogWatts Up With That that Watts had deleted fromYouTube for copyright reasons.[15] Monbiot has also mentioned DeSmog's efforts to expose efforts by oil, coal, and electricity companies to manipulate media views on climate change.[16]
In February 2012, DeSmog posted a number of internal documents purportedly fromThe Heartland Institute, alibertarian think tank.[17] According to a statement posted on the Heartland Institute website, "Some of these documents were stolen from Heartland, at least one is a fake, and some may have been altered ... the authenticity of those documents has not been confirmed." On February 20, 2012,Peter Gleick issued a statement in theHuffington Post explaining that he had received an anonymous document in the mail that seemed to contain details on the climate program strategy of the Heartland Institute. He admitted to soliciting and receiving additional material from the institute "under someone else's name", calling his actions "a serious lapse of my own and professional judgment and ethics". Gleick maintains that the documents are real, not fake, contrary to what Heartland continues to claim.[18][19] A separate, independent investigation by thePacific Institute found no evidence of any forgery. According toThe Guardian, Gleick "impersonated a Heartland board member to obtain and make public confidential budget and strategy documents...The Pacific Institute indicated...that it had found no evidence for Heartland's charges that Gleick had forged one of several documents he released last February."[20]
The site's co-founder, James Hoggan, is president of theVancouver-based public relations firm James Hoggan & Associates, chair of theDavid Suzuki Foundation, a trustee of theDalai Lama Center for Peace and Education, and an executive member of the Urban Development Institute. He is the author (with Richard Littlemore) of the 2009 bookClimate Cover-Up: The Crusade to Deny Global Warming (ISBN 978-1-55365-485-8), which criticizesglobal warming denial andconspiracy theories. The sources do not identify the site's other co-founder.[21][9][22][23]
The website namesJohn Lefebvre as a benefactor.
Frequent early writers for the blog includedRoss Gelbspan and Richard Littlemore, a science writer formerly of theVancouver Sun. The site's project manager was Kevin Grandia, who left to become the Director of Online Strategy at Greenpeace. As of 2022[update] the site lists a staff of eleven, with executive director Brendan DeMelle.[21]
The site was recognized in December 2007 by threeBritish Columbia chapters of the Canadian Public Relations Society, the Vancouver, Victoria (CPRS-vi) andNorthern Lights inPrince George, with an award for demonstrating "The highest ethical and professional standards while performing outstanding work". In a CPRS press release which accompanied the award, Hoggan stated that the site had been viewed by 520,000 people over its history, had been cited as a source by 24 media outlets, and mentioned in more than 4,500 other blogs. According to the press release, the blog was selected for the award by a panel of journalists and public relations professionals inVictoria, Vancouver, andPrince George.[24]
DeSmog was also listed byTime magazine as one of the "best blogs of 2011" in June 2011.[25]
Unfortunately, a well-funded and highly organized public relations campaign is poisoning the climate change debate. Using tricks and stunts that unsavory PR firms invented for the tobacco lobby, energy-industry contrarians are trying to confuse the public, to forestall individual and political actions that might cut into exorbitant coal, oil and gas industry profits.
DeSmogBlog, an organization that Prall donates to, was specifically created for the purpose of discrediting skeptics.[dead link]