For this special release, the video begins with an introduction from WUWT author and my good friend, Willis Eschenbach, whose insight and persistence have been part of the backbone of this site for many years.
What follows is my keynote address from ICCC16, marking twenty years of Watts Up With That.
Twenty years. That’s a long time to keep asking inconvenient questions.
When I started WUWT in 2006, it was a simple exercise in curiosity, looking at weather data, instrumentation, and the reliability of the systems we’re told to trust. It quickly became something more. A global platform where scientists, engineers, statisticians, and citizen researchers could examine climate claims with rigor, transparency, and a willingness to challenge assumptions.
In this talk, I walk through some of the milestones many of you helped make possible.
The Surface Stations Project; over 1,200 stations surveyed by volunteers, demonstrated that a large percentage of official temperature monitoring sites were compromised by poor siting. That wasn’t speculation; it was documented, photographed, and ultimately acknowledged.
Climategate: when thousands of internal emails revealed how data handling and peer review could be influenced behind the scenes, was another moment where WUWT stepped in early, providing analysis when much of the mainstream media hesitated.
Over time, WUWT grew into the most-viewed climate website in the world, with hundreds of millions of page views and contributions from respected scientists and independent thinkers alike.
But that’s only half the story.
Because asking questions—real questions about data quality, methodology, and conclusions—comes with a cost.
As I discuss in the keynote, the response hasn’t been limited to scientific rebuttal. Instead, we’ve seen systematic efforts to reduce visibility and limit reach. Google search delisting made it harder for new readers to find us. Advertising restrictions cut off a major source of revenue.
On a more personal level, there have been coordinated attacks; being doxed by a partisan website, facing threats, dealing with libel, and watching years of work dismissed without serious engagement.
That’s the environment independent climate analysis operates in today.
And yet, WUWT is still here.
No missed days. No editorial board filtering of what can or cannot be said. No corporate funding shaping the narrative. Just a commitment to follow the data wherever it leads—and to publish it openly.
Which brings me to the reason for this post.
WUWT has always been reader-supported. Despite years of accusations, there’s never been oil company funding. The site exists because readers decided it was worth keeping alive.
Today, that support matters more than ever.
If you value independent analysis…
If you think open debate in science still has a place…
If you believe data should be examined, not just accepted…
Then I’m asking you to help keep WUWT going.
👉 Subscribe or support here: BECOME A SUBSCRIBER
(By the way, we are launching new simplified pricing. Previous paid subscribers can continue with their plans, grandfathered in, for at least a year, and VIP members will be rolled into Lifetime insiders at no additional cost.)
Every subscriber makes a measurable difference. It helps offset the artificial barriers, keeps the site running, and ensures that the next twenty years of questioning, analysis, and open discussion remain possible.
WUWT didn’t grow because of institutions. It grew because of readers like you.
If you’ve been one of them—whether for a day or for twenty years—this is your chance to help ensure it continues. Thank you sincerely.
— Anthony Watts
