Hump day hilarity: Science by astroturfing

Josh writes:

A bit of an anniversary cartoon as it was a year ago this month that The Tree Hut Gang (Skeptical Science) were exposed in Opengate. Now they have branched out into Spamvertizing (H/t Lucia) with Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project. Read about on BH here, Lucia’s here and WUWT here.

Josh_astroturf

Let’s hope they keep up this kind of tactic, it is so entertaining.

Cartoons by Josh

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tz2026
March 6, 2013 3:29 pm

The Sodden violate other’s turf.

Kajajuk
March 6, 2013 7:36 pm

Sean says:
March 6, 2013 at 3:00 pm
CBC defends host David Suzuki, who faces accusations of “procuring girls to be his escorts” while he spoke at Montreal`s John Abbott College last fall.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Perhaps THAT is the Nature of Things.

DaveA
March 6, 2013 7:59 pm

The Rapid Response Network found a rich backer?
John Cook:

The Rapid Response Network would be a good way to coordinate this kind of activity [‘Crusher Crew’], identifying new articles, logging responses, supporting each other. Can i suggest if a group engage in this, that they use the RRN as beta testers to he’ll me develop and refine the system?

SkS user Paul D:

I would be careful.
It can become obvious that a ‘group’ is invading a forum or blog.
That has happened at Deltoid once or twice.

Leaving the door open to your scheming can make it obvious too.

DaveA
March 6, 2013 8:49 pm

Tom Curtis insists it’s not Astroturfing:

Foxgoose raises the issue as to whether this is a type of astroturfing. The answer is no, it is not. Astroturfing is the use of paid employees to give the appearance of popular, grassroots support whereas Reality Drop attempts to give tools to the assumed pre-existing popular acceptance of, and willingness to do something about AGW.

Tom:
– Popular acceptance will naturally manifest itself in the climate dialogue to the extent it exists.
– The required “tool” is a web browser.
– Reality Drop attempts to distort the popular consensus with boiler plate contributions from vested parties who wouldn’t otherwise have been involved i.e. Atroturf the discussion.
Skeptical Science supports Astroturfing. (BTW, John Cook most definitely is paid to spread that message, Hello, “Climate Communicator”!)

Sad-But-True-Its-You
March 6, 2013 9:25 pm

Release The Kraken !
XD

TomRude
March 6, 2013 9:31 pm

@Sean
And Ezra put Lacroix back to his place pretty darn quick too:
http://ezralevant.com/2013/03/cbcs-culture-of-secrecy.html
Suzuki/CBC/Liberals both in Ontario and federally since Suzuki is openly discussing his support for Joyce Murray. Disgusting to see the boss of a public, taxpayer funded company lie and defend the indefensible.

oldfossil
March 7, 2013 3:56 am

The highly objective (usual voting buttons for completeness, objectivity etc missing) wikipedia entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeptical_Science says that John Cook trained as a solar physicist. Out of curiosity may I ask if he ever qualified?

March 7, 2013 8:25 am

@oldfossil
Of himself Cook states on SkS

After graduating, he majored in solar physics in his post-grad honours year

seems to leave it open.
Wiki says

he is motivated by his Christian beliefs … and is an evangelical Christian

He’s certainly a zealous advocate on cAGW.

oldfossil
March 7, 2013 1:50 pm

Thanks countryguardian! Cool page.

March 8, 2013 6:42 am

Spammers all!
Facts at 50 paces!
Words are all they have – to neo-Mrxists/Post-Modernists words make reality.
(Of course they don’t live their daily lives that way, they don’t say “that’s not a truck coming down the street, since I want to cross it now”.
Certainly is a need for succinct
Perhaps some here: http://www.friendsofscience.org/assets/documents/DOHA_FoS_Position_Paper.pdf
but the blame-humans-for-nature crowd will claim their “facts” are just as valid, since the human mind cannot determine true reality.

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