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submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by VentraSqwal@links.dartboard.social to c/world@lemmy.world

False claims suggesting that the BBC has been misreporting temperatures in southern Europe have been spreading on social media.

A clip of Neil Oliver, a GB News presenter, accusing the BBC "and others" of "driving fear" by using "supposedly terrifying temperatures", has been viewed more than two million times.

For the past few weeks, an intense heatwave has been sweeping through parts of southern Europe and north Africa, with extensive wildfires breaking out in Greece, Italy and Algeria - leading to more than 40 deaths.

Speaking about the fires on Rhodes on GB News on Monday, Mr Oliver accused the BBC, and other broadcasters, of trying to "make people terrified of the weather".

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[-] VentraSqwal@links.dartboard.social 210 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Deny, deny, deny. Now climate change deniers are doing that even to observable, recordable phenomena, just to avoid the truth of what is happening. This is what's stopping progress towards saving our children's future.

[-] justhach@lemmy.world 132 points 11 months ago
[-] VanillaGorilla@kbin.social 40 points 11 months ago

It hurts me that this one turned out to be a farsighted documentation.

[-] JDPoZ@lemmy.world 35 points 11 months ago

I remember being angry at people saying it was “too on the nose.”

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[-] Deuces@lemmy.world 39 points 11 months ago

Don't worry, next year (assuming it's not another el ninio) they'll accept this years temps and use it as proof that the climate change is fake since "it's colder than last year".

[-] uphillbothways@kbin.social 33 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

We haven't even begun to see the impact of this year's el nino event, yet.... https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/20/us/2024-hotter-than-2023-el-nino-nasa-climate/index.html

"It’s really only just emerged, and so what we’re seeing is not really due to that El Niño,” Schmidt told reporters. “What we’re seeing is the overall warmth pretty much everywhere – particularly in the oceans. … The reason why we think that’s going to continue is because we continue to put greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Until we stop doing that, temperatures will keep on rising.”
....
“We anticipate that 2024 is going to be an even warmer year because we’re going to be starting off with that El Niño event,” Schmidt said. “That will peak towards the end of this year, and how big that is is going to have a big impact on the following year’s statistics."

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[-] Vlhacs@reddthat.com 9 points 11 months ago

A few goal post moves later: "it's the liberals that caused this!"

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[-] Buffaloaf@lemmy.world 177 points 11 months ago

So we've actually gotten to the point where these idiots will argue whether or not it's hot outside. I knew people could be stupid/crazy, I just didn't realize how many of them there are.

[-] dooger_chogany@lemmy.world 81 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Seen quite literally during the pandemic.

[-] agitatedpotato@lemmy.world 45 points 11 months ago

Yep, with the future in store for the earth the pandemic was basically a social test and the results weren't promising.

[-] elbarto777@lemmy.world 19 points 11 months ago

I look at the bright side. Many idiots won the Darwin award during the pandemic.

The problem with these new idiots is that they won't get to experience their idiocy because they live in a place that's not affected yet.

[-] USSEthernet@startrek.website 10 points 11 months ago

Not enough won that award to make a big difference or convince those that believe dumb shit otherwise.

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[-] baronvonj@lemmy.world 14 points 11 months ago

The pandemic officially retired the phrase "avoid it like the plague" for at least a third of the USA population.

[-] p03locke@lemmy.dbzer0.com 53 points 11 months ago
  1. Argue that it's not hot outside
  2. Go outside in 120F weather
  3. Die
  4. Darwinism
[-] BassaForte@lemmy.world 18 points 11 months ago

That would be an actual good scenario but unfortunately won't happen

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[-] btaf45@lemmy.world 15 points 11 months ago

Conservative: But I thought my ability to swallow bullshit was going to be a superpower, not a death trap.

[-] angrystego@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago

When someone argues it's not hot outside in southern Europe and then goes out in Britain, there's no darwinism at play, I'm affraid.

[-] gapbetweenus@feddit.de 15 points 11 months ago

Giving every moron the ability to broadcast to the whole world, turned out to be a really bad idea.

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[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 68 points 11 months ago

All these dumb fucks have to do is actually go outside to prove themselves wrong.

[-] Mynameisnotdoug@lemmy.world 45 points 11 months ago

I've watched flat earthers conduct foolproof experiments to prove the earth is flat, then come up with excuses when their experiment fails.

The heat is caused by Jewish space lasers or something.

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[-] andthenthreemore@startrek.website 23 points 11 months ago

It's been unseasonably wet and cool in the UK so that's probably part of why they believe it.

[-] SupraMario@lemmy.world 23 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Here in parts of the south USA it's been a normal summer, getting adequate rain and temps not hitting 100+ like last year as well. So I can see some of the skepticism but the world is fucking huge....If I drive one hour further north or south...the weather has changed...

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[-] PeepinGoodArgs@reddthat.com 61 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

This came out 2 days ago:

Koonin finds that daily record high temperatures have not increased over the past 100 years and daily record lows have become less common. This is directly at variance with media headlines.

Although wildfires made headlines this summer, global areas burned by wildfires have shown a downward, rather than an upward, trend. Tornado activity in the United States has declined since 1970.

The media covers climate change as though doomsday is approaching. Bad news sells, and well-funded organizations support the crisis message.

The conservative intellectuals are dedicated to destroying the planet for money. And, with conservative politicians, they have a whole platform for it, Project 2025.

[-] chase_what_matters@lemmy.world 38 points 11 months ago

Fuck the heritage foundation

[-] IHeartBadCode@kbin.social 33 points 11 months ago

New York University professor Steven Koonin has presented data

Who is also the chief scientist for BP. Just so we've got that out there.

in his bestselling book, “Unsettled,” to show that the science is not as settled as many politicians would have us believe.

Which many scientist have indicated is just being contrarian to seek more books and the arguments within the book are easily debunked.

Koonin is a respected academic physicist

Yeah in physics he knows his stuff.

Koonin finds that daily record high temperatures have not increased over the past 100 years and daily record lows have become less common. This is directly at variance with media headlines.

Yes, because his dataset is from the 1990s. There's zero reason to think any conclusion he has is in step with modern data. His modeling method even pre-date the 90s. Everything he has used to provide argument is not via a method that is modern. His data is right just that is using methods no one uses because it's wildly inaccurate. So right in this case just means he's consistently inaccurate. Everyone please refer to your seventh grade science class on the difference between accuracy and consistency.

The media covers climate change as though doomsday is approaching. Bad news sells, and well-funded organizations support the crisis message.

The irony of this statement while completely missing the notion that someone can just say a lot of opposite things to sell a book is... Interesting.

Even if rising “greenhouse gas” emissions were affecting the climate, actions by the United States will not be helpful in the absence of changes by China and India, the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases.

Yes. Let's not do something because China isn't doing it. That's fine argument. You know China isn't doing human rights so I guess we can nix that here too.

If the United States were to get rid of all fossil fuel emissions, this would only reduce global temperatures by 0.2 degrees Celsius by 2100.

Just FYI, 0.2 is equal to 2,100 Tsar Bombas going off at once. That's the largest nuclear device ever created by humans. Decreasing 0.2 is like not blowing that many nuclear bombs. 0.2 is super significant. This is what happens when you have some mid-sixty year old economist talking science.

The EPA’s proposed tailpipe and power plant regulations will reduce economic growth by raising energy prices.

Lady, I don't know if you've had a change to exit your private jet, but fuel cost are going up, no matter what. Everyone was like "if you increase minimum wage food prices will go up!" And then we didn't increase minimum wage and prices still went up. I'm just going say, I don't think it really fucking matters what we do or don't do at this point, prices are going up no matter what. I used to buy eggs for fifty-nine cents way back. What happen? I didn't get any nice shit or saving the planet and eggs are $4, what happened?

Raising the cost of energy at any time is poor economic policy, but especially when economic growth is slow. U.S. annualized gross domestic product growth was 2% in the first quarter of 2023, with data for the second quarter expected on Thursday. It’s summer, but now is not the time for Democrats to use the excuse of climate change to slow the economy further with more regulations.

Well the cost of energy is going up anyway, so it doesn't matter. And economic growth is slow, because for the last fifteen years its been at breakneck pace. So maybe look a bit more than just a single year for your data points. And also, y'all just hate regulation, that's what it boils down to. But every time regulations get removed, "Oh no! The Housing Market crashed! The econmy is getting tanked!" There's just been no demostrated self-restraint so, yeah, nah, I don't trust you mfers. I think you all need more regulation.

Also, the econmy is going be in more pain later than now if we can't fucking grow food. I know, none of that is your 65 year old ass' problem, but I mean people who are 12 right now, might want to eat when they get to their 50s. I know, you'll be dead and all, so it won't matter to you, but it kinda of matters to them. So I mean, pardon if we all take your perspective with a nonexistent grain of salt.

[-] PeepinGoodArgs@reddthat.com 12 points 11 months ago

Except it's the Heritage Foundation, which is been manufacturing this bullshit for decades to lawmakers who are currently 70+ years old and wouldn't know the difference between a telephone operator and a Google search operator if you asked them.

[-] Smokeless7048@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago

It's hard to overstate how big 0.2 degrees is, for a single countrys change.

That's 10% of the total expected climate change (assuming we held it to 2°)

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[-] Obsession@lemmy.world 45 points 11 months ago

This is my parents, who emigrated from Europe in 80s.

"Greece is always this hot in the summer"

"I remember 40 degree weather when I was a kid, no one was complaining then"

"Do they expect the Mediterranean not to get hot?"

I hate to see it, especially since they're both otherwise smart people. They're just completely taken in by climate denialism.

[-] illi@lemm.ee 17 points 11 months ago

hate to see it, especially since they're both otherwise smart people.

I hate to say it... but they are not really that smart based on that. Amd I'm saying this as someone who's mom who is "otherwise really smart", but pretty fucking stupid.

[-] Dark_Blade@lemmy.world 13 points 11 months ago

It’s the fear and guilt of having destroyed the planet their children and grandchildren (especially their grandchildren) will inherit. What they’re doing right now is shoving their heads right into the sand and selling themselves on whatever climate change denialism is out there right now.

[-] Diabolo96@lemmy.dbzer0.com 45 points 11 months ago

My brother in christ, just go out.

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[-] Caligvla@lemmy.dbzer0.com 34 points 11 months ago

Boomers gonna boomer ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

At the end of the day, they're again the ones that are going to suffer the most with the higher temperatures, it's kind of like karma really.

[-] InverseParallax@lemmy.world 31 points 11 months ago

No they won't, they're going to live fast, die old and leave an absolute ton of healthcare cost for their descendents.

If there's one thing boomers made it clear this decade, it's that they're not going quietly.

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[-] Strayce 33 points 11 months ago

How does anyone maintain even a shred of hope in the face of this rampant bullshittery?

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[-] Zeth0s@lemmy.world 31 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I was on holiday in southern Europe. I was there at 43° Celsius. I know a person who witnessed 47 more southern. In places where these temperatures have been seen only over the past 10 years

I mean, it's pretty simple to know the temperature, thermometers exists. Just call someone in southern Europe and ask

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[-] bluestribute@lemmy.world 27 points 11 months ago

If these people were on fire and their talking heads told them they weren't they would say they weren't.

[-] BrrooklynMan@lemmy.world 25 points 11 months ago
[-] iquanyin@lemmy.world 18 points 11 months ago

well, the millions who live there and the millions upon millions with heat waves all over the world aren’t fooled. almost no one denies climate issues now, other than people paid to do so, and soon even they will be forced to stop. too busy dealing with climate fallout they themselves experience.

[-] Moonrise2473@feddit.it 15 points 11 months ago

Maybe they're really reptilians. The hotter, the better, they don't sweat

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[-] FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 14 points 11 months ago

These fucking idiots are going to get us all killed one day.

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[-] Lenins2ndCat@lemmy.world 12 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

GBNews is basically the Fox News of the UK now, arguably worse. We came pretty close to getting it to shut down entirely when we managed to get 100% of advertisers to pull out of it, an honestly massive organising success by us at the time and one I was partly involved with, though we certainly weren't the only group pushing it we were one of the main ones. This coupled with a very lackluster launch and absolutely abysmal ratings really made it come close to getting shut down.

Sadly they were content to run it at a loss while reshuffling their approach, eventually they bounced back.

[-] carl_dungeon@lemmy.world 12 points 11 months ago

If some dumb fuck can bring a snowball into congress to show global warming isn’t real, then I should be able to bring an air conditioner and say “then what’s this for” and be taken equally as seriously.

[-] SaltyLemon@lemmy.world 12 points 11 months ago

Mr Oliver accused the BBC, and other broadcasters, of trying to "make people terrified of the weather".

As we should be. These changes on our planet will be the end of us.

[-] vraylle@kbin.social 11 points 11 months ago

Are these trolls literally living in their parents' basements? Like not going outside to notice it is, indeed, hot?

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this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2023
552 points (96.5% liked)

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