ShutterstockNewspapers should be truthful. That goes for every single page.
The L.A. Times recently won national attention and praise for spelling out its policy of refusing to publish the claims of climate deniers.
“Letters that have an untrue basis (for example, ones that say there’s no sign humans have caused climate change) do not get printed,” the letters page editor wrote.
Now, readers of other major newspapers are calling on their favored media outlets to adopt the same policy.
Forecast the Facts, a project that aims to improve the quality of coverage of climate change in the press, launched a petition calling on the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal to refuse to print letters that deny basic science.
“The Los Angeles Times has adopted a policy of refusing to publish letters that deny climate change, and you should follow suit,” the petition states. “End climate change denial in your newspaper.”
On Monday, the group told The Hill that it had already gathered 22,000 signatures in less than a day.
