spiked "mag" OL
<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">see LM network, gmo</font><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">never fail at being wrong? libtard</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">see alarmist gloom doom; not quite agenda 21, but crisis as excuse to ram thru green agenda --> dystopia loss of freedom</font></div><div><p>
</p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">omg covid delingpole zinc grift</font></p><p><a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/2020/08/10/how-uk-climate-science-deniers-turned-their-attention-coronavirus-covid-19"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://www.desmog.co.uk/2020/08/10/how-uk-climate-science-deniers-turned-their-attention-coronavirus-covid-19</font></a></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">no pix twt</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">on December 31, 2019 many of us were reflecting on the past year and thinking about what opportunities lay ahead. Few were paying close attention to early reports of<a href="https://www.who.int/csr/don/05-january-2020-pneumonia-of-unkown-cause-china/en/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> unexplained cases of pneumonia</a> thousands of miles away in Wuhan, the large capital city of China’s Hubei Province.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But less than three months later, on March 23, Boris Johnson was ordering a<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/23/boris-johnson-orders-uk-lockdown-to-be-enforced-by-police" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> national lockdown</a> to try and stop that virus, by then known worldwide as <span class="caps">COVID</span>-19, from raging across the <span class="caps">UK</span>. This came 52 days after the chief medical officer of England had<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51325192" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> confirmed</a> the nation’s first two cases.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The coronavirus crisis once again saw the <span class="caps">UK</span> divided — between those putting their trust in public health experts and their recommendations, and those quick to question the science on which the government claimed to base its decisions for controlling the pandemic. For those who have watched the decades-long efforts to slow climate action, this was a familiar phenomenon. And the coronavirus pandemic seemed to give fresh ammunition to some familiar faces.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A close look at commentary on both <span class="caps">COVID</span>-19 and climate change reveals significant crossover between unqualified voices casting doubt on experts recommending action.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Why?</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>There’s nothing mysterious about this,” says Stephan Lewandowsky, a professor of cognitive science, who studies the persistence of misinformation in society at the University of Bristol.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>I think <span class="caps">COVID</span> is just climate change on steroids in a particle accelerator,</span>” he says. “The same forces are happening: You have the inevitability of a virus which is the same as the inevitability of the physics. And opposing that you have politics which motivates some people to deny the inevitables and instead resort to bizarre claims.”</b></font></p><hr style="box-sizing: content-box; height: 0px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); border-image: initial; margin: 1.5em 0px;" /><p class="rtecenter" style="margin: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Find out more about the crossover between <span class="caps">COVID</span> and climate science denial in <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/uk-covideniers" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">DeSmog's special series</a></font></p><hr style="box-sizing: content-box; height: 0px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); border-image: initial; margin: 1.5em 0px;" /><h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">'No need to panic’</font></h3><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Commentators with a history of casting doubt on established climate science first turned their attention to <span class="caps">COVID</span> in the days just after Chinese authorities ordered the 11 million residents of Wuhan, a city the size of London, into<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-51217455" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> lockdown</a>.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">On January 24,<a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ross-clark" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> Ross Clark</a>, a columnist for The Spectator who has lamented<a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/Coronavirus-and-the-cycle-of-panic" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> “hysteria”</a> around <span class="caps">COVID</span>-19, said there was <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/there-s-no-need-to-panic-about-coronavirus" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“no need to panic about coronavirus”</a> despite<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/4e58e0f6-39d9-11ea-b232-000f4477fbca" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> warnings</a> from leading epidemiologists about the potential spread of the outbreak.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">On January 29, British economist<a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/2015/06/04/how-free-market-friendship-between-julian-morris-and-roger-bate-came-end" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> Roger Bate</a> similarly<a href="https://www.aei.org/health-care/the-media-is-driving-the-overreaction-to-the-coronavirus/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> argued</a> on the website of the<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/american-enterprise-institute" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> American Enterprise Institute</a> (<span class="caps">AEI</span>), a climate science denying free-market lobby group, that news reports around <span class="caps">COVID</span>-19 were unnecessarily sparking a major political reaction.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>A contagion will happen at some point, and it’s important we recognize it and react. Unless the coronavirus mutates into something far more dangerous, this isn’t it,” he wrote[spectator pix]</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">the idea that governments and the media were overreacting to the coronavirus threat was echoed by <b>libertarian online magazine<a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/spiked" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> Spiked</a></b></span><b style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">,</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> </span></b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">which has taken</span><a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/2018/12/04/spiked-lm-dark-money-koch-brothers" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102); text-decoration-line: none;"> funding</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> from notorious backers of climate science denial the</span><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/koch-family-foundations" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102); text-decoration-line: none;"> Koch family</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">, and has</span><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2002/12/10/packaging-precaution-2/" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102); text-decoration-line: none;"> included</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> Bate and other </span><span class="caps" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">AEI</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> scholars among its contributors. It published an article as early as January 30 saying there was</span><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/01/30/treating-coronavirus-like-a-yellow-peril/" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102); text-decoration-line: none;"> “mass hysteria in the newsrooms”</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> around </span><span class="caps" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">COVID</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">.</span></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By mid-February, the World Health Organization had declared that the threat of <span class="caps">COVID</span>-19 spreading across the world was<a href="https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200215-sitrep-26-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=a4cc6787_2" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> “high”</a> — yet a relaxed attitude continued to prevail among some commentators.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On February 19, centre-right blog ConservativeHome published an article by<a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/daniel-hannan" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> <b>Daniel Hannan</b></a><b>, a columnist and former Tory <span class="caps">MEP</span>,<a href="https://www.conservativehome.com/thecolumnists/2020/02/daniel-hannan-alarmism-doom-mongering-panic-and-the-coronavirus-we-are-nowhere-near-a-1919-style-catastrophe.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> claiming</a> that <span class="caps">COVID</span>-19 was unlikely to be as lethal as the common flu.</b></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hannan, a leading figure in the <span class="caps">UK</span>’s campaign to leave the <span class="caps">EU</span>, has<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/feb/17/revealed-us-uk-rightwing-thinktanks-talks-to-ditch-eu-safety-checks" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> links</a> to various American lobby groups that have spread misinformation on climate change including the<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/cato-institute" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> Cato Institute</a> and the<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/heritage-foundation" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> Heritage Foundation</a>. He encouraged ConservativeHome readers to “cheer up” and discouraged “panic” over the virus. That message was taken up by Clark in another<a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/Coronavirus-and-the-cycle-of-panic" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> Spectator article</a>, arguing that “coronavirus hysteria” was “the latest phenomenon to fulfil our weird and growing appetite for doom"</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[pix]</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">clark told DeSmog he stood by his analysis but acknowledged: “Clearly, <span class="caps">COVID</span>-19 took off more than I, or virtually anybody imagined it would at that stage.”</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>There is a very broad range of opinions among virologists, epidemiologists and others who might be regarded as expert in this field,” he said, “so the idea that I am at odds with some mythical consensus of expert opinion is fals</b>e.”</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>I have been around long enough to know there is no such thing as scientific consensus on either issue [climate change or <span class="caps">COVID</span>], nor indeed on any matter where evidence is still emerging and open to wide interpretation,” he added.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Even after the World Health Organization<a href="https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> declared</a> the contagion to be a pandemic in early March, commentators who have long cast doubt on warnings issued by climate scientists continued to deny that <span class="caps">COVID</span>-19 was a major threat.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mail on Sunday columnist<a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/peter-hitchens" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> Peter Hitchens</a><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-8113075/PETER-HITCHENS-Britain-infected-bad-case-madness.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> claimed</a> that Britain was infected by a “bad case of madness,” arguing that restrictions were being<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4xsk-SMA_8" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> “driven by hysteria”</a> and “unreason.”</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The language was familiar: Hitchens has previously<a href="https://twitter.com/ClarkeMicah/status/758316115508461568" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> rejected</a> science showing human activity is responsible for global warming, and labeled measures to tackle climate change such as environmental taxes as<a href="https://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2015/11/warmists-armed-with-windmills-are-the-real-threat-to-britain-1.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> a “sort of madness.”</a></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For Lewandowsky, this “hysteria” narrative is part of a wider phenomenon of undermining expertise across the board, from Brexit, to climate change, and now <span class="caps">COVID</span>-19.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lewandowsky points out that this also extends to many on the fringes of the political debate, such as controversial commentator<a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/katie-hopkins" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> Katie Hopkins,</a> who had over a million Twitter followers before the platform banned her, and has said the public were being<a href="https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/katie-hopkins-accused-spreading-crazy-21968180" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> “played”</a> by the government for being asked to wear face masks.<b> Or Brexit Party leader<a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/nigel-farage" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> Nigel Farage</a>, who described a police visit to his home as “<a href="https://twitter.com/Nigel_Farage/status/1257417176061001741" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">lunacy</a>” after he apparently broke lockdown rules.</b></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Both have also cast doubt on the reality and<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzQJQogGTts" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> seriousness</a> of climate change.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>They’re quite explicit about saying that one person’s fact is another person’s lie, because that then enables them to avoid accountability,” Lewandowsky argues.</font></p><h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Miracle cures and conspiracy theories</font></h3><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">These commentators’ contributions to the debate haven’t been without consequence. Some have spread conspiracy theories that have had real-world impact, while others have admitted to ignoring official safety guidelines, putting the public at risk of catching the disease.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);"><b>Columnist<a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/james-delingpole" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> James Delingpole</a> </b>wrote in a March 28<a href="https://www.spectator.com.au/2020/03/wu-flu-notes/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> article</a> for the Spectator Australia titled ‘Wu Flu Notes’ that he had gone about his daily business despite having symptoms that align with coronavirus and that it was possible he had “infected lots of graduates.”</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Some days later, Delingpole posted a <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesDelingpole/status/1244568890757320704" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">tweet</a> claiming a “high-powered zinc formula” had helped him recover from the illness without the need to go into intensive care – despite <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saibala/2020/04/10/zinc-no-evidence-yet-to-support-its-effects-on-coronavirus/#7d69660e4151" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">little being known</a> about whether any such formula can be a cure for the virus.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">He went on to write, “what I’d like more than anything is for this stuff to be available on the open market for everyone. But to mass produce it my friend needs ££££. If I crowdfunded it who’d be interested?” He concluded his request by asking for “potential big money backers."</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[twt]</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">delingpole’s zinc promotion was comparable to comments made by <span class="caps">US</span> conspiracy theorist<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/alex-jones" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> Alex Jones</a>, who, a few weeks prior, had<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-13/alex-jones-denies-he-offered-covid-19-cures-on-inforwars-website" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> received</a> a cease-and-desist letter from a top New York attorney based on claims he had marketed and sold fraudulent <span class="caps">COVID</span>-19 treatments on his conspiracy website. <span class="caps">US</span> President Donald Trump was also widely criticised for suggesting that <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52407177" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">disinfectant taken internally</a> could be a treatment for the virus.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Theories about miracle cures can take hold partly as a result of personal politics, Lewandowsky argues. Under lockdown, “you’re asked to stay at home and to look after other people by not doing what you’d like to do, and that is very challenging if you’re a believer in personal freedom and autonomy,” he says.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The same can be said of the motivations for spreading misinformation on climate change: “A lot of climate denial is very high-pitched, frenetic, emotional, angry, toxic – and that’s all triggered because people’s identity is at stake.”</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The desire to reach for conspiracy theories may also stem from a need to feel that individuals still retain some control, says Evita March, a senior lecturer of psychology at Federation University Australia. “Conspiracy theories offer the believer some comfort in that there is still behavioural predictability,” she says.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And there were plenty of conspiracy theories flying around, pushed by long-time climate science deniers.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Piers Corbyn, brother of former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, was quick to promote the idea that coronavirus was the<a href="https://twitter.com/Piers_Corbyn/status/1239367865784033280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1239367865784033280&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.desmog.co.uk%2F2020%2F04%2F01%2Fcoronavirus-covid-19-climate-denier-response" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> fault of politically liberal billionaires</a>, and that it was related to the<a href="https://twitter.com/Piers_Corbyn/status/1251116903701061634" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> <b>Chinese-developed 5G mobile network</b></a><b>.</b></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The latter conspiracy, also<a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/4/24/21231085/coronavirus-5g-conspiracy-theory-covid-facebook-youtube" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> promoted by Infowars’ Jones</a>, had significant real-world consequences. Over the Easter weekend it was<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52281315" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> reported</a> tha<b>t 20 phone masts had been subject to arson attacks</b>. According to Mobile <span class="caps">UK</span>, the trade association for four mobile network operators, an estimate<b>d 50 masts had been<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/attacks-cellphone-towers-coronavirus-5g-conspiracy-2020-4?r=US&IR=T" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> targeted</a> by April 15</b></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[bbc pix]</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">david Lawrence, a researcher at campaign group Hope Not Hate, told DeSmog that theories around 5G have existed for a number of years, so “the stage was already set.” ”When the global <span class="caps">COVID</span>-19 outbreak occurred, there was both a susceptibility to be exploited and a ready-made explanation to hand,” he said.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>In some ways this is similar to climate change,” said Lawrence, “in that people who work in industries that would be negatively affected by efforts to reduce carbon emissions might be more likely to find reasons to reject the scientific consensus.”</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Such conspiracy theories become popular — whether in relation to climate change or <span class="caps">COVID</span>-19 — because they are a means of “simplifying and attributing blame,” particularly during a time when “people feel that they have lost control over their lives,” says Lewandowsky.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>Some will seek comfort in the idea that there are bad people out there causing the pandemic because, for some, knowing there are bad people responsible for terrible things is more comforting than to assume that these things are uncontrollable,” he says. “It allows people to direct anger at someone.”</font></p><h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Distrusting modellers</font></h3><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Many commentators directed their fire at a familiar foe — scientific models.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">On April 1, the same day the United Nations announced the<a href="https://www.climatechangenews.com/2020/04/01/cop26-climate-talks-postponed-2021-amid-coronavirus-pandemic/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> postponement</a> of the annual <span class="caps">UN</span> climate change conference, two prominent <span class="caps">UK</span> climate science deniers<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-lessons-from-the-asteroid-that-didnt-hit-earth-11585780465" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> argued</a> in The Wall Street Journal that the pandemic had “dramatically demonstrated the limits of scientific modelling to predict the future.”</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b><a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/benny-peiser" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Benny Peiser</a> and<a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/andrew-montford" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> Andrew Montford</a>, the Director and Deputy Director of the <span class="caps">UK</span>’s principal climate science denial campaign group the</b><a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/global-warming-policy-foundation" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><b> Global Warming Policy Foundation (<span class="caps">GWPF</span>)</b>,</a> criticised policymakers for using academic research that was subject to a “lack of quality control.” “In normal times this doesn’t matter much, but it’s different when studies find their way into the policy world,” they wrote.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">They did not mention that the <span class="caps">GWPF</span>’s own approach to ‘<a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2015/12/08/exposed-academics-for-hire/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">peer-review</a>’, which undercover reporters in 2015 showed operated on the basis of sending reports to its members of its own advisory council. The model has been <a href="https://archive.senseaboutscience.org/data/files/resources/17/peerReview.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">described</a> by <span class="caps">UK</span> charity Sense About Science, whose Advisory Council included <span class="caps">GWPF</span> advisor <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/matt-ridley" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Matt Ridley</a>, as “a way of trying to give scientific credibility to certain claims in the hope that a non-scientific audience will not know the difference.”</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Eight days later, Breitbart’s Delingpole similarly criticised scientific modelling,<a href="https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/04/09/trust-the-experts-on-coronavirus-sure-which-experts/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> dismissing</a> research from the University of Washington forecasting more than150,000 deaths from the disease across the <span class="caps">US</span> as “operating in the realms of purest fantasy.” Whether on climate change or the pandemic, “we have no idea whether or not we can trust” scientific experts and their modelling, Delingpole argued[</span>pix BB]</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">clark takes a similar view, telling DeSmog: “on both <span class="caps">COVID</span>-19 and climate change there are a lot of people who seem to favour the results of modelling over real-world observation.” Those who want action “will latch on to any model” that suits their ends, he claimed, and will “decide that is 'the science', that it is fact, beyond all challenge.”</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">An<a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/04/13/an-epidemic-of-doomsday-forecasts/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> article</a> in Spiked</span> likewise argued in April that “<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">worst-case scenario thinking” and “doomsday forecasts</span>” from models had clouded political judgement, referencing the obesity crisis, swine flu, and climate change.</b></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This process of regularly casting doubt on models represents the “weaponisation of the scientific method,” says Imran Ahmed, founder of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate. “Those sorts of sly tactics that have been used by these groups have amounted to an entire culture of how they spread information, spread ideas, and build audiences for their groups.”</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>It’s expressed through philosophical strands which are anti-expert, faux-populist and conspiracies” and can include the “incel movement, climate denial, vaccine denial, identity-based hate,” he argues.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>As new facts emerge and as the understanding of the scientific movement changes,” says Ahmed, “these actors look back at previous consensuses and say, ‘see, they were lying back then.’”</font></p><h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Attacking environmentalists</font></h3><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As well as attacking coronavirus experts on their response recommendations, many commentators who oppose climate action also attacked those looking further ahead by putting forward proposals to ensure recovery plans were consistent with governments’ environmental pledges.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For months, commentators who regularly question the veracity of mainstream climate science denounced environmental activists for supposedly distracting the world with climate change amid the threat of pandemics.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">On March 12, Telegraph columnist<a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/sherelle-jacobs" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> Sherelle Jacobs</a><a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/03/12/wests-neglect-science-has-left-us-chillingly-exposed-deadly/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> argued</a> that university funding should be redirected away from climate change research and towards “the scientifically uncontested problem of pandemics.” The day after, when the <span class="caps">UK</span> was effectively put under a national lockdown,<b> Dutch climate science denial group<a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/climate-intelligence-foundation-clintel" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> <span class="caps">CLINTEL</span></a> published an<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200326040350/https:/clintel.org/message-clintel-fight-virus-not-carbon/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> open letter</a> titled “Fight virus not carbon.</b></span><b>” LOMBORG SHUFFLE]</b></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b><a href="https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/A-green-recovery-how-we-get-there-Greenpeace-UK.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Greenpeace</a>,<a href="https://www.theclimategroup.org/news/major-businesses-call-accelerated-ev-switchover-next-step-uk-s-green-recovery" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> The Climate Group</a>, and many other environmental organisations believe that the government should include environmental policies in coronavirus economic recovery measures to “build back better,” particularly as the country seeks to position itself as a climate leader ahead of hosting the <span class="caps">UN</span> climate talks in November 2021.</b></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Some commentators spun this argument to imply that the environmental movement was happy that the virus has spread.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On March 22, former Top Gear presenter<a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/jeremy-clarkson" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> Jeremy Clarkson</a><a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/my-old-age-is-cancelled-societys-about-to-collapse-and-the-greens-just-cant-stop-smiling-vs6zvf9mz" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> claimed</a> in the Sunday Times that “greens just can’t stop smiling” because <span class="caps">COVID</span>-19 was “their idea of a wet dream.” Spiked contributor Ross Clark echoed this position in a response to DeSmog’s questions, saying that “there is a strand of opinion on the left which wants these crises — climate change and <span class="caps">COVID</span> — to be as big as possible because they see it as a way of undermining capitalism, and other aspects of our lives, and reforming society in their own dream vision.”</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On March 25, a couple of days after Clarkson’s polemic appeared, <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Spiked editor <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/brendan-o-neill" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Brendan O’Neill</a> <a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/03/25/covid-19-a-glimpse-of-the-dystopia-greens-want-us-to-live-in/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">similarly argued</a> that the pandemic was “a glimpse of the dystopia greens want us to live in.” </span></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>The truth is that if the <span class="caps">COVID</span>-19 crisis has shown us anything, it is how awful it would be to live in the kind of world greens dream about. Right now, courtesy of a horrible new virus, our societies look not dissimilar to the kind of societies Greta Thunberg, Extinction Rebellion, green parties and others have long been agitating for,” he wrote.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">[pix] o’Neill reiterated this position when contacted by DeSmog, saying both the “green movement” and the reaction to</span><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large"> </span><span class="caps" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">COVID</span><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large"> </span><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">represented “privileged Westerners taking political decisions and actions” to the detriment of some of society’s most vulnerable. “Progressives should be questioning the impact of the reaction to</span><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large"> </span><span class="caps" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">COVID</span><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">-19 on working people and poor people,” he said.</span></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In June, 57 charities<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/15/leading-uk-charities-urge-pm-seek-green-recovery-covid-19" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> wrote</a> to Prime Minister Boris Johnson asking him to put the creation of jobs in low-carbon sectors at the forefront of his economic recovery plans. They also asked the government to cancel the debts of developing countries struggling with both the impacts of the pandemic and the climate crisis.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Delingpole later wrote in a<a href="https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/04/22/greens-celebrate-coronavirus-lockdown-as-blueprint-for-new-world-order/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> column</a> for Breitbart saying environmentalists were celebrating the lockdown as a blueprint for a “new world order.</b>” <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The <span class="caps">GWPF</span> took this argument one step further,<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200420092909/http:/www.thegwpf.com/uk-climate-assembly-calls-lockdown-a-test-run-for-greener-lifestyles/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> publishing</a> an image of a crying woman with the text, “net zero, like lockdown but permanent” — a reference to the <span class="caps">UK</span> government’s plans to slash the country’s emissions.</span></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As these pieces were appearing, a Twitter account claiming to represent the climate protest group Extinction Rebellion (<span class="caps">XR</span>) in the East Midlands<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-52039662" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> posted</a> an image of an <span class="caps">XR</span>-branded sticker on a lamppost with the words, “corona is the cure, humans are the disease.”</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Official <span class="caps">XR</span> accounts were quick to condemn the tweet and<a href="https://twitter.com/extinctionr/status/1242789939617714178?lang=en" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> said</a> that they were not affiliated with the newly created account, which has since been deleted. But various outlets and commentators used the tweet to condemn the protest group.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Gaia Fawkes, the environmental section of political blog Guido Fawkes,<a href="https://order-order.com/2020/03/25/extinction-rebellion-in-favour-of-extinction/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> suggested</a> the post showed that <span class="caps">XR</span> was “in favour of extinction,” though it acknowledged coordinators of the organisation had “distanced themselves” from the supposed splinter group. A spokesperson for the site told DeSmog it stood by its reporting despite well-publicised doubts over the authenticity of the East Midlands organisation, stating it was “unaware of any publicly available list of ‘official’ [<span class="caps">XR</span>] groups at the time.”</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The <span class="caps">GWPF</span> likewise claimed the Twitter account’s “anti-human sentiment” was “widely shared” among environmentalists,<a href="https://twitter.com/thegwpfcom/status/1242771429835276295" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> rejecting</a> claims that the East Midlands account was fake.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Author and Guardian columnist George Monbiot suggests that while it is predominantly money that is behind climate science denial or tobacco industry lobbying, “with <span class="caps">COVID</span>-19, the motive definitely varies,” but the outcome is essentially the same.</b></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>There are a lot of very well-paid people who are very professional and they’re using the expertise that they’ve gathered in other areas of dispute about scientific facts and the policies arising from them, and applying those directly to the pandemic,” he argues.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>Take their power seriously, but don’t take any of their arguments at face value,” Monbiot concludes. “It’s not worth trying to deconstruct the nonsense they come out with.</span>”</font></p><h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Political impact</font></h3><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Unlike in the<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/3be49734-29cb-11e6-83e4-abc22d5d108c" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> <span class="caps">EU</span> referendum</a> or Trump’s presidential campaign, pushing anti-expert rhetoric may no longer be a winning strategy in the wake of <span class="caps">COVID</span>-19. Polling shows that despite worry about the pandemic and its impacts, the public still wants governments to<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/19/climate/coronavirus-climate-change-survey.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> tackle climate change</a>.</font><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);"> And politicians attaching themselves to the anti-science bandwagon are now struggling in the polls.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">For the Centre for Countering Digital Hate’s Ahmed, attacking the concept of expertise around <span class="caps">COVID</span>-19 is “the first truly great strategic mistake by those who espouse this radical world view.”</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">The <span class="caps">US</span> and <span class="caps">UK</span> are two of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and both have leaders “who have been denying evidence and fact,” says Lewandowsky. “Johnson and Trump are creating a situation in which the very thought that we could establish a common truth is under attack,” he says. Both are regularly backed by commentators who also openly question the concept of expertise, whether on climate change or coronavirus.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But these positions have begun to hurt both leaders. Johnson has plummeted from a position of public popularity prior to the <span class="caps">UK</span>’s lockdown to a<a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/boris-johnson-v-keir-starmer-latest-polls-and-approval-ratings-3pxcpwmxp" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> negative approval rating</a> almost four months later. And the gap between the majority of Americans who disapprove of Trump’s leadership and those keeping faith with the president now sits at<a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> around 15 percent</a>, numbers that could see him lose November’s election.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">That may reflect a wider shift in the public mindset, Lewandowsky argues: “My hope is that the <span class="caps">COVID</span> crisis has kind of given us a reset here, and there’s some evidence that people are beginning to say that we do need experts and data.”</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></p></div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/2020/04/01/coronavirus-covid-19-climate-denier-response">https://www.desmog.co.uk/2020/04/01/coronavirus-covid-19-climate-denier-response</a></div><div>
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</b></div><div><b>Climate Science Deniers Use Coronavirus to Downplay Environmental Threats</b></div><div>
</div><div>By Zak Derler • Wednesday, April 1, 2020 - 06:01</div><div>
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Commentators known to spread disinformation on climate change are using the COVID-19 pandemic to downplay the threat of environmental crises and undermine action, DeSmog analysis has found.</span></div><div>
</div><div>The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared that the COVID-19 outbreak was a pandemic on 11 March 2020. The virus has affected hundreds of countries and territories worldwide, and has so far led to tens of thousands of deaths.</div><div>
</div><div>Its arrival in the UK spawned thousands of words of commentary, with many writers who have previously used their platforms to undermine mainstream climate science or attack climate action turning their attention to the pandemic. Their attacks normally take one of three forms.</div><div>
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</div><div><b>“The Dystopia Greens Want Us to Live In…”</b></div><div>
</div><div>Environmentalists have been quick to point out that the drop in carbon emissions and air pollution due to the COVID-19 outbreak is unlikely to have a long-term impact, and that policies they have long promoted do not require any great loss of liberty or need to sacrifice quality of life. But libertarian voices and free-market advocates nonetheless claim the government-implemented lockdown measures represent an outcome that environmental activists have been fighting for all along. </div><div><b style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">
</b></div><div><b style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Brendan O’Neill, editor of Koch-funded website Spiked,</b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> argued that “this pandemic has shown us what life would be like if environmentalists got their way”. In a column titled “COVID-19: a glimpse of the dystopia greens want us to live in</span>,” O’Neill claimed government responses to the virus represent a “warped dystopia” that environmentalists like George Monbiot have been calling for.</div><div>
</div><div><b>O’Neill regularly speaks out against what he describes as “climate change alarmism” and is highly critical of Extinction Rebellion, Greta Thunberg and other environmental activists, </b>which he says are the “enemies of liberty”. Political blog Guido Fawkes also used the crisis to regularly attack Extinction Rebellion, claiming that the group had “hijacked” COVID-19 for its own ends.</div><div><b>
</b></div><div><b>Previously, O’Neill referred to the COVID-19 outbreak as a “fashionable apocalypse</b>” similar to those supposedly constructed by environmentalists and those wanting the UK to stay in the EU. </div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Motor show host Jeremy Clarkson made a similar argument in The Times, describing the COVID-19 pandemic as a scenario “our eco friends have been dreaming about.” For “hardcore environmentalists”,</span> he argued, the coronavirus lockdown is “their idea of a wet dream. Fewer people, no travel, no pollution and, as a smear of icing on the cake, no commerce.”</div><div>
</div><div>Clarkson has questioned the validity of anthropogenic climate change for years, though he recently appeared to soften his stance. </div><div>
</div><div><b>Former UKIP and Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage meanwhile accused environmentalists of failing to stand up to repressive regimes in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, claiming “the Green lobby is happy to inflict chaos on our society any time it chooses”.</b> Specifically, he said environmentalists were not doing enough to challenge China, which he blames for the global pandemic. Farage has previously said he “hasn't got a clue” whether carbon dioxide drives climate change.</div><div>
</div><div><b>‘Compared to COVID-19, Climate Change is a Non-Problem…’</b></div><div><b>
</b></div><div><b>Other commentators have used the COVID-19 pandemic to downplay the threat of climate change.</b></div><div>
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF), the UK’s most prominent climate science denial group, has regularly shared material promoting this argument over the past two weeks.</span></div><div>
</div><div>The group recently reposted an article written by Jeff Jacoby that said the “horrors of pandemics have been documented and depicted often. Yet while climate activists have been forecasting world-ending doomsday scenarios since the 1960s, the apocalypse never seems to materialize.” Jacoby, who has previously claimed global warming “brings positives”, was at pains to point out that, in contrast to climate change, “plagues are real”.</div><div>
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</div><div>GWPF</div><div>@thegwpfcom</div><div>Jeff Jacoby: I’m Skeptical About Climate Alarmism, But I Take Coronavirus Fears Seriously https://www.thegwpf.com/jeff-jacoby-im-skeptical-about-climate-alarmism-but-i-take-coronavirus-fears-seriously/ …</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Jeff Jacoby: I’m Skeptical About Climate Alarmism, But I Take Coronavirus Fears Seriously - The...</div><div>A friend asked me the other day if I didn’t think the agitated media coverage of Covid-19, the coronavirus disease, was getting out of control. She knows that I have long been skeptical of the shrill...</div><div>
</div><div>thegwpf.com</div><div>6:01 AM - Mar 17, 2020</div><div>Twitter Ads info and privacy</div><div>See GWPF's other Tweets</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The GWPF also shared an article by Lorrie Goldstein, originally published in the Toronto Sun, who argued that the world had “gambled on the wrong threat – climate change.” Goldstein argued that COVID-19 “shows us what the world will be like if we abandon fossil fuels prematurely,” claiming that without high-carbon fuels, “hospitals could not maintain sterile conditions”</span>.</div><div>
</div><div><b>Dutch climate science denial group CLINTEL echoed the sentiment that climate change was not a real threat in an open letter titled “fight virus not carbon”.</b></div><div>
</div><div>The group demanded that the EU’s Green New Deal be abandoned because “compared to COVID-19 climate change is a non-problem.” The letter was signed by high-profile climate science deniers including Viv Forbes, Fritz Vahrenholt, and Richard Lindzen.</div><div>
</div><div>Likewise, Rupert Darwall, a policy consultant and GWPF report writer, contrasted the threat of climate change and COVID-19 in an article for The Hill saying the pandemic “shows what a genuine crisis looks like”.</div><div>
</div><div>Read about US COVID-19 misinformation — Meet the Climate Science Deniers Who Downplayed COVID-19 Risks</div><div>
</div><div>Sherelle Jacobs, writing in the Telegraph, for which Darwall has also regularly written, argued that “we need to redirect university financing away from climate change predictive modelling, into the scientifically uncontested problem of pandemics.” Jacobs has regularly used her platform to cast doubt on the veracity of mainstream climate science. </div><div>
</div><div>Tom Welsh, the Telegraph’s comment editor, also claimed that coronavirus has made environmental projects look “extraordinarily decadent”. In the same vein, controversial media personality Katie Hopkins expressed her delight that in the face of the pandemic, “climate weirdos have shut up”.</div><div>
</div><div>“This Coronavirus Pandemic Could Be a Big Hoax…”</div><div>There are some climate science deniers that consider COVID-19 to be a conspiracy or that disregard it as a threat; though these are fewer in the UK than the US.</div><div><b>
</b></div><div><b>Piers Corbyn, a self-styled ‘weatherman’</b> whose work Boris Johnson has previously promoted, recently claimed the pandemic is a “world population cull” created by “mega-rich control freaks” Bill Gates and George Soros to deal with carbon dioxide emissions.</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Piers Corbyn</div><div>@Piers_Corbyn</div><div>
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">THE CV PANDEMIC WAS SIMULATED OCT 2019 BY MEGA-RICH CONTROL FREAKS BILL GATES, GEORGE SOROS +CRONIES.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">NOW IT'S FOR REAL.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">THE AIM IS A WORLD POPULATION CULL ("PEOPLE cause #CO2 problem") by THEIR mass VACCINATION PLAN CONTAINING POISON.</span></div><div>
</div><div>REFUSECVVACCINEhttps://youtu.be/RJGBVDlqWjI </div><div>
</div><div> YouTube #StayHome ?@YouTube</div><div>
</div><div>1,055</div><div>6:48 PM - Mar 15, 2020</div><div>Twitter Ads info and privacy</div><div>1,247 people are talking about this</div><div>
</div><div><b>Corbyn, who has previously said that “globalist elites” are using climate science as a cover to deindustrialise the West, also falsely claimed that Soros owns a company in Wuhan, and urged his Twitter followers to “refuse the vaccine”.</b></div><div>
</div><div><b>Godfrey Bloom, former UKIP MEP, </b>echoed these sentiments when he tweeted about “the coronavirus hoax”, linking to an article that questioned whether the pandemic could be a “big hoax” by those “who seek to profit – financially or politically – from the ensuing panic.” Former UKIP researcher Ben Pile also took to Twitter to suggest people were “being played” by the media coverage of both the risks of COVID-19 and climate change.</div><div>
</div><div>Some climate science deniers have even claimed they have found a cure for COVID-19. Breitbart columnist James Delingpole has shared his interest in hearing from funders after claiming he fought through a COVID-19 infection with “a high powered zinc formula” ; a theory a University of Reading professor in cellular microbiology has called “absolute garbage.” Alt-right talk show radio host Alex Jones also allegedly marketed ineffective treatments and cures for COVID-19 on his show – a charge he denies.</div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">no lnx</font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div><div>
</div><div><a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/2019/09/03/comment-amazon-fire-bolsonaro-climate-denier-commentators-defence">https://www.desmog.co.uk/2019/09/03/comment-amazon-fire-bolsonaro-climate-denier-commentators-defence</a></div><div>
</div><div><b>Comment: Of Course These Climate Science Deniers Jumped to Bolsonaro's Defence Over Amazon Fires</b></div><div>
</div><div>By Mike Small • Tuesday, September 3, 2019 - 14:58</div><div>
</div><div>The burning of the Amazon rainforest has unified the public in shock and fear like no other event in recent times. It has become a symbol of where ecocide meets human suffering.</div><div>
</div><div>Dismay at the destruction has come from diverse voices ?— from world leaders meeting at the G7 to indigenous people directly affected. But even in this moment, a cabal of commentators tied to networks pushing climate science denial have used their platform to defend the destruction.</div><div>
</div><div>“Not since the dictatorship have we lived through such a tough moment,” Jaime Siqueira, the head of the Indigenous Work Centre (CTI), a Brazilian NGO supporting indigenous communities fighting to defend their lands, told the Guardian. Although Jair Bolsonaro’s hostility to indigenous rights is well-documented, the latest assault on the Amazon was not anticipated. Campaigners now believe that under Brazil’s new administration indigenous communities face their most severe threat since the 1970s.</div><div>
</div><div>Interesting then to hear Spiked’s People’s Champion Brendan O'Neill speaking up for destruction in an inevitable tirade, arguing: “Brazil is either a sovereign nation or it isn’t. If it is a sovereign nation, then it has every right to pursue economic growth as it sees fit. The rainforest belongs to Brazilians.”</div><div>
</div><div>But clearly not the sort of Brazilians like Jaime Siqueira.</div><div>
</div><div><b>In Spiked’s analysis there is no distinction between national reserves, indigenous land and communities and illegal logging: it's all just 'Brazil'.</b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> In O’Neill’s analysis, the environmental catastrophe we face is either not happening at all or of secondary importance to the holy grail of economic development. Given the website is funded by the billionaire Koch industry empire, that’s perhaps no surprise.</span></div><div>
</div><div>And there were others cheerleading Bolsonaro's burning. Over at Conservative Woman, Kathy Gyngell cautions:</div><div>
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">“In the heat built up over this apparent climate catastrophe, few appear to have stopped to question the accuracy of the initial reporting or the meaning of the original Nasa pictures. <b>The Global Warming Policy Foundation, </b>however, have drawn our attention to a number of articles which suggest that the MSM may have been stoking the flames of panic.”</span></div><div>
</div><div>This is the same Global Warming Policy Foundation that was set up by Thatcher’s former chancellor Nigel Lawson to cast doubt on mainstream climate science at every turn. The same Global Warming Policy Foundation that was part of a coordinated effort to push for a regulatory bonfire courtesy of Brexit. And the same Global Warming Policy Foundation of which Gyngell is now a director (a fact she notably doesn’t disclose in her article).</div><div>
</div><div><b>Matt Ridley, another Global Warming Policy Foundation affiliate</b> (and another who does not declare his affiliation to the climate science denial campaign group), repeats O'Neill's notion of the magic of economic development and growth in The Spectator.</div><div>
</div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">He argues: “Getting people on to fossil fuels and away from burning wood for fuel spares trees. It is in the poorest countries, mainly in Africa, that men and women still gather firewood for cooking and bushmeat for food, instead of using electricity or gas and farmed meat.”</span> </div><div>
</div><div>From this observation he makes an impressive leap, arguing: “The trouble with the apocalyptic rhetoric is that it can seem to justify drastic but dangerous solutions. The obsession with climate change has slowed the decline of deforestation.”</div><div>
</div><div>Ridley does concede that “it is probably true that President Jair Bolsonaro’s rhetoric has encouraged those who want to resume logging and clearing forest and contributed to this year’s uptick in fires in the country.”</div><div>
</div><div>But, as befits his ideology, for Ridley the subject of blame should actually be (as usual) climate policy. In Ridley’s world, there is no climate crisis. There is no Amazon crisis. And if there was, it would be environmentalists’ fault anyway.</div><div>
</div><div>This is perhaps depressingly predictable, as the people arguing that we embrace such destruction are those that stand to profit from it ?— Ridley owns a coal mine, O’Neill's website is funded by the Kochs, and Gyngell sits on the board of a group whose raison d’etre is to persuade everyone that environmental regulation is entirely unnecessary.</div><div>
</div><div>All while the Amazon burns.</div><div>
</div><div>Mike Small is the Founder and Editor of Bella Caledonia. He was DeSmog UK's Deputy Editor from March to December 2018, and continues to contribute to the publication. </div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">chls</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/2018/12/04/spiked-lm-dark-money-koch-brothers">https://www.desmog.co.uk/2018/12/04/spiked-lm-dark-money-koch-brothers</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">furedi</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile">https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><h1 style="line-height: 1.2em; margin-top: 0.75em; margin-bottom: 0.75em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ben Pile</font></h1><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Credentials</font></h2><ul style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px;"><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="caps" style="">BA</span> in Politics and Philosophy from the University of York.<a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s1" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> [1]</a></font></li></ul><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Background</font></h2><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Ben Pile is a researcher, commentator and blogger. He is the co-founder and main writer of the <em><a href="http://www.climate-resistance.org/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Climate Resistance</a> </em>blog, which claims to be “challenging the climate orthodoxy.” <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s2" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[2]</a></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Pile also writes for the anti-<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20181227230905/https://www.spiked-online.com/2016/03/02/beware-greens-in-progressive-clothing/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">eco “miserablism,”</a> libertarian, <em><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/author/ben-pile/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Spiked Online</a>,</em> and is a regular <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherbooker/5141208/Gordon-Brown-shows-how-green-he-really-is.html" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">contributor</a> to articles by<em> Telegraph </em>climate science denial columnist, <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/christopher-booker" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Christopher Booker</a>. </span><a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s3" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[3]</a>, <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s4" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[4],</a> <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s5" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[5</a><a href="https://archive.fo/OBuiO" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">]</a></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Referencing a <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20181228002700/https://delingpoleworld.com/2012/09/15/wind-industry-big-lies-no-1-fossil-fuels-are-more-subsidised-than-renewables/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">dispute with Labour <span class="caps" style="">MP</span> Barry Gardiner</a>, Breitbart London contributor and climate science denial provocateur <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/james-delingpole" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">James Delingpole</a> described Pile as “daily-more-magnificent-and-admirable.” <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s6" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[6]</a></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>In 2012, Pile was revealed to be a paid researcher of former <span class="caps" style="">UKIP</span> <span class="caps" style="">MEP</span> and climate science denier, <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/godfrey-bloom" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Godfrey Bloom</a>.</b> In an email exchange with a<em> </em><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2012/nov/06/ukip-climate-environment-researcher-questions" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><em>Guardian </em>journalist</a>, Pile acknowledged he received around £2,000 for his work for Bloom. <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s7" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[7]</a></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2012, Pile produced and directed the anti-wind-power film, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O952eiNKaOg" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Lost Horizons</a>. Pile has also s<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130401072851/http://ukip.org/content/video-zone/2459-wind-turbines-and-the-countryside-blight" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">poken at <span class="caps" style="">UKIP</span> events </a><b>arguing against the use of wind power.</b> <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s8" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[8]</a>, <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s9" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[9]</a></font></p><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Stance on Climate Change</font></h2><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">April 2007</font></strong></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ben Pile’s <em>Climate Resistance</em> blog has 16 <a href="http://www.climate-resistance.org/about-2" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">‘starting position’ statements</a>, including:<a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s2" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> [2]</a></font></p><ul style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px;"><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>The <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">evidence for anthropogenic climate change is neither as strong nor as demanding of action as is widely claimed.”</span></font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>The scientific consensus on climate change as widely reported inaccurately reflects the true state of scientific knowledge.”</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>The <span class="caps" style="">IPCC</span> [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] is principally a political organisation.”</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>Environmentalism will be worse for the poor than climate change.”</font></li></ul><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Key Quotes</font></h2><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">September 2017</font></strong></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pile criticised climate scientists for linking Hurricane Harvey, which ravaged Texas, to climate change. In an <a href="http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/beware-greens-exploiting-hurricanes/20306#.WeXIsVtSypo" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">article</a> for <em>Spiked, </em>he wrote:<a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s10" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> [10]</a></font></p><blockquote style="margin: 1.5em 30px;"><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>Central to greens’ fetish for hurricanes is the scientific theory that warmer sea-surface temperatures caused by global warming can increase hurricanes’ energy and destructive power. It may well be true. But theory easily becomes dogma, and climate pundits have rushed ahead of their science.”</font></p></blockquote><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">December 2015</font></strong></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pile described the<b> Paris Agreement as “a triumph of meaninglessness,</b>” and “a triumph of mediocrity” in an <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20181228005015/https://www.spiked-online.com/2015/12/17/paris-talks-agreeing-to-dodge-democracy/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">article</a> for<em> Spiked</em>. He wrote:<a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s11" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> [11]</a></font></p><blockquote style="margin: 1.5em 30px;"><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>In many respects, a Humpty Dumpty fudge gives more licence to climate champions than a precisely worded document ever could. Just as the fact of the scientific consensus on climate change allows environmentalists to ad-lib about its substance, so too the pretence that an agreement on climate change exists will free the mediocracy assembled under its protection from being held to account. That is the main function of this so-called agreement.”</font></p></blockquote><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">April 2015</font></strong></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In a <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20181228005229/https://www.academyofideas.org.uk/debate/article/scrap_the_climate_change_act" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">guest post</a> for the <em>Institute of Ideas,</em> a leading <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Living_Marxism" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">‘Living Marxism’</a> website, which aims to “challenge contemporary knee-jerk orthodoxies,” Pile called the <span class="caps" style="">UK</span>’s 2008 Climate Change Act “the worst example of how politicians have distanced government from democracy.” He wrote:<a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s12" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> [12]</a></font></p><blockquote style="margin: 1.5em 30px;"><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>[…] the main reason to object to the <span class="caps" style="">CCA</span> [Climate Change Act] is that it reflects the growing tendency to hide from criticism behind the comforting certainty of scientific objectivity. The <span class="caps" style="">CCA</span> has been an expensive failure, but its critics were dismissed as climate-change deniers. The real objective of the <span class="caps" style="">CCA</span> was not to save mankind from the weather, but to save an exhausted political establishment from the public, and from democracy.”</font></p></blockquote><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">July 2013</font></strong></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In a <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20181228005413/http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/makingsciencepublic/2013/07/23/whats-behind-the-battle-of-received-wisdoms/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">guest post</a> for the University of Nottingham’s ‘<em>Making Science Public</em>’ blog, Pile praised <span class="caps" style="">BBC</span> presenter Andrew Neil – who has a history<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/mps-accuse-bbc-of-creating-false-balance-on-climate-change-with-unqualified-sceptics-9231176.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> courting controversy</a> on climate issues – for daring to take on the scientific consensus on climate change on his Daily Politics show. Pile wrote: <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s13" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[13]</a>, <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s14" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[14]</a></font></p><blockquote style="margin: 1.5em 30px;"><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="dquo" style="margin-left: 0px;">“</span>[…] in just one show, [Neil] has done more to promote an active understanding of climate science and its controversies than has been done by the Carbon Brief blog, academics at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and elsewhere, Bad Science warriors, and a legion of Tweeters who claim to speak for science have done in their entire existences. Along the way, it is possible that Neil made some inconsequential technical mistakes. But by contrast, the uncritical reproduction of scientific orthodoxy is a far more egregious error: it denies that error can be observed from without the consensus. So much for ‘science’.”</font></p></blockquote><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Key Deeds</font></h2><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">November 17, 2018</font></strong></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pile appeared to call for violence to be used against climate change activists from the “Extinction Rebellion” movement during protests in London. He <a href="https://twitter.com/clim8resistance/status/1063895084763160584" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">tweeted</a>: “Please, God, let there be violence. Please, God, help the @metpoliceuk find their batons.” <a href="https://twitter.com/clim8resistance/status/1063897609981571072" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">and</a> “Anyone who thinks this is how you start a revolution surely needs a truncheon to the head?” <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s17" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[17]</a>, <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s18" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[18]</a></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">May 22, 2012</font></strong></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pile prepared a <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20121110121252/http://www.northdevon.gov.uk/43272_apsn_poe_pile_ukip_environment.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“proof of evidence” document</a> on behalf of <span class="caps" style=""><b>UKIP</b></span> <span class="caps" style="">MEP</span>s Godfrey Bloom and Paul Nuttall. According to document, Pyle was contracted to provide research for the “ Europe of Freedom and Democracy Group in the European Parliament on climate and energy matters.” <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s1" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[1]</a></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the document, Pile argues against renewable energy initiatives, citing analyses by <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/roger-pielke-jr" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Roger Pielke Jr</a>. to push against climate policies. Pile argues in the report that it is not urgent to reduce <span class="caps" style="">CO2</span> emissions: <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s1" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[1]</a></font></p><p class="rteindent1" style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 40px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“[T]he <span class="caps" style="">IPCC</span> is itself not yet a perfect check on such misconceptions about how quickly <span class="caps" style="">CO2</span> could cause climate change, and thus how urgent the need to remedy it,” the document claimed. “There is a growing recognition that unfounded urgency is dangerous, likely to undermine confidence in science, and make it harder to find a solution to the real problem of climate change. “</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It concluded: </font></p><p class="rteindent1" style="margin: 1em 0px 1em 40px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Whatever the true extent of climate change, it seems clear that an atmosphere of urgency has not created the best conditions for dealing with the problem. In particular, a rush towards renewable energy - 'a dash for wind' - has lacked a firm basis and a consensus is emerging that it seems to have been incautious.” <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s1" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[1]</a></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">January 2012</font></strong></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In a <em>Spiked </em><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20181228005917/https://www.spiked-online.com/2012/01/25/greens-to-sceptics-show-us-the-money/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">article</a>, Pile defended the right of climate science denial campaign group, the <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/global-warming-policy-foundation" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Global Warming Policy Foundation (<span class="caps" style="">GWPF</span>)</a>, to keep its donors hidden.</span> He argued that the £50,000 donation at the heart of an investigation by journalist Brendan Montague (later DeSmog <span class="caps" style="">UK</span>’s first editor) “fades into insignificance” when compared to funding for environmental groups. He concludes the article: “there should be more <span class="caps" style="">GWPF</span>s.” <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s15" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[15]</a></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Efforts to get the <span class="caps" style="">GWPF</span> to reveal its funders eventually went to tribunal, with leading scientists including <span class="caps" style="">NASA</span>’s James Hansen submitting evidence that the <span class="caps" style="">GWPF</span> “routinely misrepresents and casts doubt on the work of climate scientists,” the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jan/23/climate-sceptic-lawson-thinktank-funding" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><em>Guardian</em> reported</a>. <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s16" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[16]</a></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">November 2012</font></strong></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pile produced and directed an anti-wind power campaign video called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O952eiNKaOg" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Lost Horizons</a>, with the subtitle: “How the <span class="caps" style="">EU</span>’s obsession with wind energy is destroying Britain’s coastlines and communities.” <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s8" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[8]</a></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">November 2012</font></strong></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The<em> </em><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2012/nov/06/ukip-climate-environment-researcher-questions" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><em>Guardian</em> revealed</a> Pile received around £2,000 for research work for climate science denialist and former <span class="caps" style="">UKIP</span> <span class="caps" style="">MEP</span><a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/godfrey-bloom" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Godfrey Bloom</a>. <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s7" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[7]</a></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><strong><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">April 2009</font></strong></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pile was quoted by climate science denialist and <em>Telegraph</em> columnist Christopher Booker in an <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherbooker/5141208/Gordon-Brown-shows-how-green-he-really-is.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">article</a> criticising former prime minister Gordon Brown’s “£100 billion green energy package.”<a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s5" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> [5</a><a href="https://archive.fo/OBuiO" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">]</a></font></p><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Affiliations</font></h2><ul style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px;"><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><em><strong><a href="http://www.climate-resistance.org/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Climate Resistance</a> </strong></em>— <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20181227222640/http://www.climate-resistance.org/about-2" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Co-founder and writer</a>. <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s2" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[2]</a></font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><em><strong>Spiked </strong>—<a href="http://www.spiked-online.com/author/ben-pile/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> </a></em><a href="http://www.spiked-online.com/author/ben-pile/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Contributor</a>. <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s4" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[4]</a></font></li></ul><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Social Media</font></h2><ul style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px;"><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-pile-67450a11/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Ben Pile on Linkedin</font></a></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://twitter.com/clim8resistance" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">@<b>clim8resistance</b></a> on Twitter</font></li></ul><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Publications</font></h2><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sample publications of Pile's <a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/author/ben-pile/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">articles at <em>Spiked</em> <em>Online</em> </a>below: <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/ben-pile#s4" style="text-decoration-line: none;">[4]</a></font></p><ul style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px;"><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2018/12/14/the-green-new-deal-eco-pastiche/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“The Green New Deal: eco pastiche,”</a> Dec 14, 2018.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2018/11/28/the-sad-spectacle-of-climate-activism/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“The sad spectacle of climate activism,”</a> Nov 28, 2018.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2018/10/18/apocalypse-delayed/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Apocalypse Delayed,”</a> Oct 18, 2018.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2018/10/11/drowning-in-plastic-a-load-of-rubbish/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Drowning in Plastic: a load of rubbish,”</a> Oct 11, 2018.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2018/09/26/the-myth-of-a-climate-crisis/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“The myth of a climate crisis,”</a> Sep 26, 2018.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2018/07/31/maybe-this-heatwave-is-just-a-heatwave/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Maybe this heatwave is just a heatwave,”</a> Jul 31, 2018.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2018/01/15/the-real-problem-is-plastic-politicians/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“The real problem is plastic politicians,”</a> Jan 15, 2018.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2017/12/27/2017-turning-the-tide-on-green-crap/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“2017: turning the tide on green crap?,”</a> Dec 27, 2017.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2017/10/26/its-greens-not-lord-lawson-who-are-anti-science/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“It's greens, not Lord Lawson,”</a> Oct 26, 2017.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2017/09/12/beware-greens-scaremongering/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Beware greens' scaremongering,”</a> Sep 12, 2017.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2017/04/06/diesel-charges-pushing-poor-drivers-off-the-road/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Diesel charges: pushing poor drivers off the road,”</a> Apr 06, 2017.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2017/02/27/how-the-pollution-panic-hurts-the-poor/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“How the pollution panic hurts the poor,”</a> Feb 27, 2017.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2017/01/17/london-is-not-bound-in-toxic-smog/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“London is not bound in toxic smog,”</a> Jan 17, 2017.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2015/12/17/paris-talks-agreeing-to-dodge-democracy/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Paris talks: agreeing to dodge democracy,”</a> Dec 17, 2015.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2015/11/20/the-world-needs-more-energy-not-green-bs/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“The world needs more energy, not green <span class="caps" style="">BS</span>,”</a> Nov 20, 2015.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2014/09/04/science-cant-tell-us-how-to-live-the-good-life/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Science can't tell us how to live the Good Life,”</a> Sep 04, 2014.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2014/07/31/there-is-no-dash-for-gas/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“There is no 'dash for gas',”</a> Jul 31, 2014.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2014/06/23/dont-blame-russia-for-the-anti-fracking-panic/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Don't blame Russia for the anti-fracking panic,”</a> Jun 23, 2014.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2014/03/25/using-nasa-to-scare-the-masses-into-action/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Using <span class="caps" style="">NASA</span> to scare the masses into action,”</a> Mar 25, 2014.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2014/02/12/the-global-warming-pause-the-dangers-of-politicising-science/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“The global warming pause: the dangers of politicising science,”</a> Feb 12, 2014.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2014/01/31/scientific-adviser-or-court-jester/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Scientific adviser or court jester?,”</a> Jan 31, 2014.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2013/11/25/the-green-crap-hits-its-fans/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“The 'green crap' hits its biggest fan,”</a> Nov 25, 2013.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2013/09/23/greenpeace-talking-out-of-a-polar-bears-arse/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Greenpeace: talking out of a polar bear's arse,”</a> Sep 23, 2013.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2013/06/18/the-pathologising-of-climate-scepticism/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“The pathologising of climate scepticism,”</a> Jun 18, 2013.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2012/10/16/welcome-to-the-politics-of-pastiche/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Welcome to the politics of pastiche,”</a> Oct 16, 2012.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2012/08/13/why-facts-cut-no-ice-in-the-climate-debate/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Why facts cut no ice,”</a> Aug 13, 2012.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2012/07/03/rio20-a-tyranny-of-green-do-gooders/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Rio+20: a tyranny,”</a> Jul 03, 2012.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2012/05/17/the-real-enemy-is-humanity-itself/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“The real enemy is humanity itself',”</a> May 17, 2012.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2012/02/28/greens-face-it-were-just-not-that-into-you/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Greens, face it: we're just not that into you,”</a> Feb 28, 2012.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2012/02/14/climate-change-alarmism-fuelled-by-fantasy/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Climate-change alarmism: fuelled by fantasy,”</a> Feb 14, 2012.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2012/01/25/greens-to-sceptics-show-us-the-money/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Greens to sceptics: show us the money!”</a> Jan 25, 2012.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2011/12/14/the-delusions-of-the-climate-technocrats/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“The delusions of the climate technocrats,”</a> Dec 14, 2011.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2011/11/21/not-the-best-way-to-debate-climate/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Not the <span class="caps" style="">BEST</span> way to debate climate,”</a> Nov 21, 2011.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2011/09/28/time-to-put-this-morality-tale-on-ice/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Time to put this morality tale on ice,”</a> Sep 28, 2011.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2011/09/12/wishing-greenpeace-an-unhappy-birthday/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Wishing Greenpeace an unhappy birthday,”</a> Sep 12, 2011.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2011/07/29/admit-it-environmentalism-was-an-ugly-experiment-2/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Admit it: environmentalism was an ugly experiment,”</a> Jul 29, 2011.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2011/07/22/admit-it-environmentalism-was-an-ugly-experiment/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Admit it: environmentalism was an ugly experiment,”</a> Jul 22, 2011.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2011/05/26/putting-humanity-in-a-kangaroo-court/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Putting humanity in a kangaroo court,”</a> May 26, 2011.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2011/04/04/fukushima-why-greens-turned-on-each-other/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Fukushima: why greens turned on each other,”</a> Apr 04, 2011.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2011/03/14/making-mountains-out-of-meltdowns/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Making mountains out of meltdowns,”</a> Mar 14, 2011.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2011/02/01/scepticism-is-not-an-attack-on-science/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Scepticism is not an 'attack on science',”</a> Feb 01, 2011.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2011/01/18/a-tedious-dollop-of-eco-propaganda/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“A tedious dollop of eco–propaganda,”</a> Jan 18, 2011.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2010/12/08/cancun-scavenging-around-for-scientific-fact/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Cancun: scavenging around for scientific fact,”</a> Dec 08, 2010.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2010/11/08/what-the-green-movement-really-got-wrong/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“What the greens really got wrong,”</a> Nov 08, 2010.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2010/10/27/a-sideways-step-from-climate-panic-to-malthus/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“A sideways step from climate panic to Malthus,”</a> Oct 27, 2010.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2010/04/08/political-prejudices-dressed-up-as-science/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Political prejudices dressed up as science,”</a> Apr 08, 2010.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2010/02/09/lets-pick-apart-this-politics-of-doom/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Let's pick apart this politics of doom,”</a> Feb 09, 2010.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2010/01/06/why-copenhagen-was-bound-to-fail/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Why Copenhagen was bound to fail,”</a> Jan 06, 2010.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2009/06/09/greenpeace-putting-trees-before-people/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Greenpeace: putting trees before people,”</a> Jun 09, 2009.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2009/02/25/we-have-an-extremely-selfish-population/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“We have an extremely selfish population',”</a> Feb 25, 2009.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2008/09/24/going-over-the-top-in-the-climate-war/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Going over the top in the 'climate war',”</a> Sep 24, 2008.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2008/09/10/environmentalism-or-death-is-that-the-choice/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Environmentalism or death: that's the choice?,”</a> Sep 10, 2008.</font></li><li><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2006/10/13/debunking-the-debunkers/" rel="nofollow" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“Debunking the debunkers,”</a> Oct 13, 2006.</font></li></ul><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Resources</font></h2></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Ties to the Atlas Network</b></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">All of these organisations identify as ‘free-market’ thinktanks, and are coordinated — to an extent — through the Atlas Network.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Atlas is a Washington, D.C.-based outfit that works with more than 450 organisations across the world, connecting them “to the ideas and resources needed to advance the cause of liberty”, according to its website.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Atlas was founded by Antony Fisher in 1981 with the goal of bringing “innovative, market-based perspectives to issues of public policy.” Fisher also founded the IEA.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The Guardian revealed that more than a fifth of the organisations comprising the network “either argued against controls in some way, took industry donations, or both”. Of those organisations, DeSmog has identified 28 that also took donations from the fossil fuel industry.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Atlas itself has received substantial tobacco and fossil fuel industry backing</b>.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Guardian reports that Atlas received donations from British American Tobacco in 2015 and 2016, and Japan Tobacco International in 2016. According to PR Watch, tobacco giant Philip Morris contributed over $475,000 to Atlas in 1995 alone.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Among the fossil fuel industry donations Atlas has received, according to ExxonSecrets, ExxonMobil has given a total of $1,082,500 to the network since 1998.</b></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">When approached to comment for this story, a spokesperson for Atlas directed DeSmog to an FAQ for journalists. That document states that the network’s “views on donor transparency are informed by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and the guidelines they provide, which we follow faithfully without exception.”</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Any reporting that claims or implies that Atlas Network is secretive or operates with anything short of complete fidelity to the legal requirements governing nonprofit organizations such as ours is patently false and indefensible,” the document says.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Atlas claims to operate in 90 countries.</b> Wherever Atlas goes, there are organisations pushing back against established science, where such science undermines the case for industry deregulation.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the UK, DeSmog has previously revealed how Atlas is at the heart of a network of organisations pushing for a hard Brexit. It increased its spending in Europe fivefold between 2015 and 2016, the year of the Brexit referendum — with spending increasing from $340,000 in 2015 to $1.7 million the following year.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>The Ever-Looming Influence of the Kochs</b></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the background of all this are the Koch brothers.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Koch Industries is the largest privately owned energy company in the United States. Co-owners of a vast petrochemical and industrial empire, billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch are major funders of libertarian political organisations in the US and abroad.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Of the 28 organisations that accepted both tobacco and fossil fuel money, 23 also received donations from the Kochs.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Atlas took donations from the Kochs totalling $101,658 in 2016, up from $82,426 in 2015.</b> According to data collected by Greenpeace USA, Atlas has received $348,560 in combined donations from Koch-related foundations between 1998 and 2015.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Kochs are also major donors to the Cato Institute, Heritage Foundation, Heartland Institute, Competitive Enterprise Institute, and American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) — all organisations that have taken both tobacco and fossil fuel industry money.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>UK organisations lobbying for a hard Brexit have also been indirect recipients of Koch money, often through Donors Trust </b>— a foundation described by Mother Jones as the “dark money ATM of the conservative movement”, which has received sizable donations from the Kochs — or Epicenter, which acts as the Atlas Network’s European offshoot.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And DeSmog recently revealed that the Kochs were the source of the dark money behind a shadowy group of well-connected ‘free speech advocates’ pushing libertarian ideology and climate science denial in the UK.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Kochs’ far-reaching funding can have major consequences, Hsu says.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Organisations, a lot of them funded by the Koch network, have used the tax advantages of philanthropic organisations to first recoup tax advantages and second to use them as an influencing mechanism on the public debate.”</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“A lot of these so-called thinktanks or philanthropic organisations are thought of as perhaps more neutral than they really are. They really do reflect the Koch brothers’ agenda.”</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The British online magazine Spiked,</span> which features climate denial, is funded by the Koch brothers through the Charles Koch Foundation.</b></font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TAGS: Institute Economic Affairs (IEA)cato instituteheritage foundationAdam Smith InstituteAtlas Economic Research Foundationkoch industrieskoch family foundationTaxpayers AllianceDonald TrumpBritish American TobaccoTobacco Playbook</font></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><i>Spiked</i> is part of the libertarian anti-environmental <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/LM_network" title="LM network" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">LM network</a>. It is an online magazine currently edited by <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Brendan_O%27Neill" title="Brendan O'Neill" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Brendan O'Neill</a> and previously by <i>Times</i>columnist <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Mick_Hume" title="Mick Hume" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Mick Hume</a>. Spiked is a private company limited by shares with, in 2010, seven staff and an annual turnover of about £175,000.<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#cite_note-0" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[1]</a></sup> For subsequent years, the directors have chosen to file only abbreviated accounts. According to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the advantage of abbreviated accounts has been perceived to be that only limited information will be available on public record. Its directors are <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Helene_Guldberg" title="Helene Guldberg" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Helene Guldberg</a> (company secretary and managing editor, previously co-publisher of <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/LM" title="LM" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">LM</a>) and <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Frank_Furedi" title="Frank Furedi" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Frank Furedi</a>. The great majority of the shares in the company Spiked Ltd, which has the same address as that of Spiked magazine and which runs Spiked magazine, are held by Frank Furedi and <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Jennie_Bristow" title="Jennie Bristow" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Jennie Bristow</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[2]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[3]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">According to Alexa, the web information company, Spiked was the 12,013th most popular website in the UK in June 2010. As of August 2012 it ranked 21,998th. <sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#cite_note-3" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[4]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#cite_note-4" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[5]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Spiked was launched in 2000 after the magazine Hume edited, LM, was terminated after unsuccessfully defending a libel lawsuit. Helene Guldberg's co-publisher, </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Claire_Fox" title="Claire Fox" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Claire Fox</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, launched Spiked's sister organisation, the </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Institute_of_Ideas" title="Institute of Ideas" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Institute of Ideas</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> (IoI) around the same time. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The staff and many of Spiked's contributors are members of the same network of <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Living_Marxism" title="Living Marxism" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Living Marxism</a>/<a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Revolutionary_Communist_Party" title="Revolutionary Communist Party" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Revolutionary Communist Party</a> supporters. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Its offices were previously the offices of the Revolutionary Communist Party and then LM and are at the same address as the IoI.</span></font></p><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In his statement announcing the closure of LM magazine in spring 2000, LM editor Mick Hume promised that “The LM-initiated Institute of Ideas, a series of events planned to take place from June to July, will go ahead in partnership with major institutions in London, including the British Library, the Royal Institution, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Society of Arts, Tate Modern, and the Union Chapel Project. A new company, the Academy of Ideas, has been set up by Claire Fox to coordinate these events.”</font></p><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">He also stated that “As for the post-LM future of magazine publishing, watch this space”. Mick Hume was the first editor of Spiked, launched shortly afterwards.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Thus very many of the personnel of other entities associated with the LM network have written for Spiked. Spiked has promoted the events and publications of the <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Institute_of_Ideas" title="Institute of Ideas" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Institute of Ideas</a>and its projects, the <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Battle_of_Ideas" title="Battle of Ideas" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Battle of Ideas</a> and <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Culture_Wars" title="Culture Wars" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Culture Wars</a>. Many of Spiked's writers write for and appear at the events of these entities.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Spiked has featured a number of pro-GM articles by </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Vivian_Moses" title="Vivian Moses" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Vivian Moses</a> of <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/CropGen" title="CropGen" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">CropGen</a></span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> and </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Thomas_Deichmann" title="Thomas Deichmann" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Thomas Deichmann</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, the person at the centre of the ITN/LM libel case. Spiked has also published a number of articles downplaying the hazards of pesticide residues in food which suggest that there is nothing to worry about. It has also published articles attacking organic food by </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Dennis_Avery" title="Dennis Avery" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Dennis Avery</a> and <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Alex_Avery" title="Alex Avery" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Alex Avery</a> of the <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Hudson_Institute" title="Hudson Institute" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Hudson Institute</a> and <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Center_for_Global_Food_Issues&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Center for Global Food Issues (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Center for Global Food Issues</a></span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#cite_note-5" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[6]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><table id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 5px; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);"><tbody><tr><td><div id="toctitle" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border: none; width: auto; display: inline; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Contents</font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></h2><span class="toctoggle"> [<a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#" class="internal" id="togglelink" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">hide</a>] </span></div><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#Debates_on_the_environment" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Debates on the environment</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#Debates_on_mobile_phones" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Debates on mobile phones</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#Campaigns_2010" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Campaigns 2010</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#Seminars" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Seminars</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#People" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">People</span></font></a><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#Editorial" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber">5.1</span> <span class="toctext">Editorial</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#Contributors" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber">5.2</span> <span class="toctext">Contributors</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#Officers_and_shareholders_of_Spiked_Ltd" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber">5.3</span> <span class="toctext">Officers and shareholders of Spiked Ltd</span></font></a><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#Officers" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber">5.3.1</span> <span class="toctext">Officers</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#Shareholders" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber">5.3.2</span> <span class="toctext">Shareholders</span></font></a></li></ul></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#Funding" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">Funding</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#Publications.2C_Resources.2C_references_and_contact" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">Publications, Resources, references and contact</span></font></a><ul style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#Publications" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber">7.1</span> <span class="toctext">Publications</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-14" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#Resources" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber">7.2</span> <span class="toctext">Resources</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-15" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#Contact" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber">7.3</span> <span class="toctext">Contact</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-16" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#Notes" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">Notes</span></font></a></li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); width: auto; line-height: 19.2px; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="mw-headline" id="Debates_on_the_environment"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Debates on the environment</font></span></h2><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 1.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
"NERC is satisfied that</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><b style="line-height: 1.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">there is no evidence</b><span style="line-height: 1.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">suggesting that, on environmental matters, Spiked have any particular agenda." (emphasis added)</span><sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference" style="line-height: 1.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#cite_note-7" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[8]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Spiked has also run a series of online debates about the environment sponsored by the </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Natural_Environment_Research_Council" title="Natural Environment Research Council" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Natural Environment Research Council</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> (NERC), a UK public funding body whose mission is to support independent scientific research in the environmental sciences. One of the series was a debate on GM called "The future of GM"</span><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[7]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. It features the opinions of "five experts" (</span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Les_Firbank&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Les Firbank (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Les Firbank</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Tony_Gilland" title="Tony Gilland" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Tony Gilland</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Robin_Grove-White&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Robin Grove-White (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Robin Grove-White</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">,</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Gregory_Conko" title="Gregory Conko" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Gregory Conko</a> and <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/CS_Prakash" title="CS Prakash" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">CS Prakash</a>)</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> together with three "Commissioned responses" from other "experts" (</span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Alan_Gray&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Alan Gray (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Alan Gray</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/John_Conroy" title="John Conroy" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">John Conroy</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, and the </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Agricultural_Biotechnology_Council" title="Agricultural Biotechnology Council" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Agricultural Biotechnology Council</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">). Of these eight experts only one has been known to take a critical attitude towards the technology, and it would seem incompatible with NERC's aim to obtain "independent" and "impartial" input. However, when the history of those behind Spiked was brought to NERC's attention, Marion O'Sullivan, the Press Officer, replied that:</span></font></p><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In fact, those involved in Spiked are pro-GM and ignore or attack environmental concerns in almost any form. Two of the contributors to this debate on GM (<a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/John_Conroy" title="John Conroy" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">John Conroy</a>, <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Tony_Gilland" title="Tony Gilland" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Tony Gilland</a>) are part of a group which includes Spiked, but their affiliation with the organisation was not made public. Gilland's contribution, "Let the Sowing Begin", argued that:</font></p><dl style="margin-top: 0.2em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><dd style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.1em; margin-right: 0px;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The [GM] farm-scale trials are an unnecessary obstacle to the introduction of this beneficial technology.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#cite_note-8" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[9]</a></sup></font></dd></dl><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The other experts commissioned by Spiked included the biotech industry lobby group, the <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Agricultural_Biotechnology_Council" title="Agricultural Biotechnology Council" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Agricultural Biotechnology Council</a> (ABC), and the pro-GM lobbyists <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Greg_Conko" title="Greg Conko" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Greg Conko</a> and <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/CS_Prakash" title="CS Prakash" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">CS Prakash</a>, who have also previously written for Spiked.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#cite_note-9" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[10]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">A 2010 Spiked debate on After Copenhagen commenced with a manifesto from Spiked editor Brendan O’Neill, followed by contributions from Spiked staffers Brendan O’Neill, Rob Lyons and Nathalie Rothschild, LM associates <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Frank_Furedi" title="Frank Furedi" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Frank Furedi</a> and <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Philip_Hammond" title="Philip Hammond" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Philip Hammond</a> and critics of environmentalism <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Dominic_Lawson&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Dominic Lawson (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Dominic Lawson</a>, <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Mike_Hulme&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Mike Hulme (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Mike Hulme</a>, <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Ben_Pile" title="Ben Pile" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Ben Pile</a>, <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Tim_Ridley&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Tim Ridley (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Tim Ridley</a> and <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Peter_Taylor&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Peter Taylor (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Peter Taylor</a>. <sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#cite_note-10" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[11]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Contributions to the 2009 Spiked ‘debate’ on online poker comprised four from sponsor Poker Junkie and one each from a pro-poker society, a poker player and an anti-regulation Spiked intern. Four readers commented.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Members of the LM network are among those who post comments on Spiked "debates", and these invariably support the party line but without revealing their affiliation. The same goes for other articles published by Spiked, many of which are penned by members of the LM network.</font></p><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); width: auto; line-height: 19.2px; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="mw-headline" id="Debates_on_mobile_phones"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Debates on mobile phones</font></span></h2><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">BT subsidiary O2 sponsored five Spiked Debates on mobile phones during 2005, 2006 and 2007<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#cite_note-11" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[12]</a></sup> while another was sponsored by Orange. The Mobile Operators Association is also on record as having funded Spiked. The debates explored public concerns about the perceived effects of mobile phones on health, child protection and the environment. <sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#cite_note-12" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[13]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); width: auto; line-height: 19.2px; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="mw-headline" id="Campaigns_2010"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Campaigns 2010</font></span></h2><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Spiked campaigns in 2010 included:<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#cite_note-13" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[14]</a></sup></font></p><ul style="line-height: 19.2px; list-style-type: square; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAANCAMAAABW4lS6AAAAGXRFWHRTb2Z0d2FyZQBBZG9iZSBJbWFnZVJlYWR5ccllPAAAAAZQTFRFAFKM////QIUK9QAAAAJ0Uk5T/wDltzBKAAAAGklEQVR42mJgBAEGokgGBjBGBxBxsBqAAAMACHwALd5r8ygAAAAASUVORK5CYII=); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Challenging China-bashing</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Drink and drugs</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Environment</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For Europe, Against the EU</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Genetics</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">GM food</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hands off the human footprint - Climate Change</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mad cow panic and BSE</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Open the Borders - Anti-immigration control</font></li></ul><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); width: auto; line-height: 19.2px; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="mw-headline" id="Seminars"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Seminars</font></span></h2><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Besides its website, Spiked also organises seminars which draw well-known figures to events carefully designed to promote its own agenda. In March 2003, Spiked co-sponsored with <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/International_Policy_Network" title="International Policy Network" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">International Policy Network</a> (IPN) a seminar held at the London headquarters of PR firm Hill & Knowlton entitled: "'GM food: should labeling be mandatory?"<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#cite_note-14" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[15]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">This seminar, in common with other Spiked seminars, was held at <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Hill%26_Knowlton" title="Hill & Knowlton" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Hill & Knowlton</a>, an influential public relations company.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#cite_note-15" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[16]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); width: auto; line-height: 19.2px; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="mw-headline" id="People"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">People</font></span></h2><h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-style: none; width: auto; line-height: 19.2px; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="mw-headline" id="Editorial"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Editorial</font></span></h3><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Mick_Hume" title="Mick Hume" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Mick Hume</a> – founder and editor-at-large | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Brendan_O%27Neill" title="Brendan O'Neill" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Brendan O'Neill</a> – editor | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Helene_Guldberg" title="Helene Guldberg" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Helene Guldberg</a> – managing editor | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Rob_Lyons" title="Rob Lyons" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Rob Lyons</a> – deputy editor | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Nathalie_Rothschild" title="Nathalie Rothschild" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Nathalie Rothschild</a> – commissioning editor | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Tim_Black" title="Tim Black" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Tim Black</a> – senior writer</font></p><h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-style: none; width: auto; line-height: 19.2px; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="mw-headline" id="Contributors"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Contributors</font></span></h3><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Patrick_Basham" title="Patrick Basham" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Patrick Basham</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Tracey_Brown" title="Tracey Brown" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Tracey Brown</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Greg_Conko" title="Greg Conko" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Greg Conko</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/John_Conroy" title="John Conroy" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">John Conroy</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Fiona_Fox" title="Fiona Fox" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Fiona Fox</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Thomas_Deichmann" title="Thomas Deichmann" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Thomas Deichmann</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Bill_Durodie" title="Bill Durodie" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Bill Durodie</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Michael_Fitzpatrick" title="Michael Fitzpatrick" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Michael Fitzpatrick</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Tony_Gilland" title="Tony Gilland" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Tony Gilland</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/John_Gillott" title="John Gillott" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">John Gillott</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/John_Luik" title="John Luik" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">John Luik</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Vivian_Moses" title="Vivian Moses" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Vivian Moses</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Channapatna_S.Prakash" title="Channapatna S. Prakash" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Channapatna S. Prakash</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Ellen_Raphael" title="Ellen Raphael" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Ellen Raphael</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Christopher_Snowdon" title="Christopher Snowdon" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Christopher Snowdon</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Juliet_Tizzard" title="Juliet Tizzard" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Juliet Tizzard</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Patrick_West" title="Patrick West" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Patrick West</a></font></p><h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-style: none; width: auto; line-height: 19.2px; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="mw-headline" id="Officers_and_shareholders_of_Spiked_Ltd"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Officers and shareholders of Spiked Ltd</font></span></h3><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">According to Spiked Ltd's Annual Return 2010:<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#cite_note-16" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[17]</a></sup></font></p><h4 style="margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-style: none; width: auto; line-height: 19.2px; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="mw-headline" id="Officers"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Officers</font></span></h4><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Frank_Furedi" title="Frank Furedi" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Frank Furedi</a> - company director | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Helene_Guldberg" title="Helene Guldberg" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Helene Guldberg</a> - company director and company secretary</font></p><h4 style="margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-style: none; width: auto; line-height: 19.2px; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="mw-headline" id="Shareholders"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Shareholders</font></span></h4><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Five sixths of the shares are held by Frank Furedi and Jennie Bristow. Other shareholders comprise: </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Ben_Atfield" title="Ben Atfield" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Ben Atfield</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Geraldine_Atfield" title="Geraldine Atfield" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Geraldine Atfield</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Simon_Belt" title="Simon Belt" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Simon Belt</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Colin_Berry" title="Colin Berry" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Colin Berry</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Simon_Best" title="Simon Best" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Simon Best</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Sonja_Boehmer-Christiansen" title="Sonja Boehmer-Christiansen" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Sonja Boehmer-Christiansen</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Frank_Cassidy" title="Frank Cassidy" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Frank Cassidy</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Fiona_Cleary" title="Fiona Cleary" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Fiona Cleary</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Dave_Clements" title="Dave Clements" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Dave Clements</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Ceri_Dingle" title="Ceri Dingle" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Ceri Dingle</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/John_Fitzpatrick" title="John Fitzpatrick" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">John Fitzpatrick</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Dieter_Hamblock" title="Dieter Hamblock" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Dieter Hamblock</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Stuart_Hibbin" title="Stuart Hibbin" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Stuart Hibbin</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Ged_Hession" title="Ged Hession" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Ged Hession</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Jon_Holbrook" title="Jon Holbrook" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Jon Holbrook</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Ashley_Johnstone" title="Ashley Johnstone" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Ashley Johnstone</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Joe_Kaplinsky" title="Joe Kaplinsky" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Joe Kaplinsky</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Rob_Killick" title="Rob Killick" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Rob Killick</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Simon_Knight" title="Simon Knight" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Simon Knight</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Rose_Landthaller" title="Rose Landthaller" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Rose Landthaller</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Michele_Ledda" title="Michele Ledda" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Michele Ledda</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Ellie_Lee" title="Ellie Lee" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Ellie Lee</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Peter_Martin" title="Peter Martin" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Peter Martin</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Keith_McCabe" title="Keith McCabe" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Keith McCabe</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> |</span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Jonathan_Meads" title="Jonathan Meads" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Jonathan Meads</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Alan_Miller" title="Alan Miller" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Alan Miller</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Matt_Ridley" title="Matt Ridley" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Matt Ridley</a> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">| </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Paul_Reeves" title="Paul Reeves" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Paul Reeves</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Hilary_Salt" title="Hilary Salt" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Hilary Salt</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Marco_Santucci" title="Marco Santucci" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Marco Santucci</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Helen_Searls" title="Helen Searls" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Helen Searls</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Jon_Sowerby" title="Jon Sowerby" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Jon Sowerby</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Keith_Teare" title="Keith Teare" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Keith Teare</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Mark_Tyson" title="Mark Tyson" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Mark Tyson</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Paul_Wight" title="Paul Wight" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Paul Wight</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> | </span><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/James_Woudhuysen" title="James Woudhuysen" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">James Woudhuysen</a></font></p><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); width: auto; line-height: 19.2px; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="mw-headline" id="Funding"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Funding</font></span></h2><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Spiked state<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#cite_note-17" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[18]</a></sup> that current and former partners and sponsors include: | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Arts_Council_England" title="Arts Council England" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Arts Council England</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Bloomberg&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Bloomberg (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Bloomberg</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=British_Association_for_the_Advancement_of_Science&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="British Association for the Advancement of Science (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">British Association for the Advancement of Science</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/British_Council" title="British Council" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">British Council</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/BT" title="BT" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">BT</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Cadbury_Schweppes" title="Cadbury Schweppes" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Cadbury Schweppes</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Cambridge_University_Press&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Cambridge University Press (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Cambridge University Press</a> |<a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Cheltenham_Science_Festival&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Cheltenham Science Festival (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Cheltenham Science Festival</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Colubris_Networks&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Colubris Networks (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Colubris Networks</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=City_of_London&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="City of London (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">City of London</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Clarke_Mulder_Purdie&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Clarke Mulder Purdie (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Clarke Mulder Purdie</a> | Continuum International Publishing Group | Dana Centre | European Commission research project RightsWatch | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=EuroScience&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="EuroScience (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">EuroScience</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Hill_and_Knowlton" title="Hill and Knowlton" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Hill and Knowlton</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/IBM" title="IBM" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">IBM</a> |<a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=INFORM&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="INFORM (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">INFORM</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Institute_for_the_International_Education_of_Students&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Institute for the International Education of Students (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Institute for the International Education of Students</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Institute_of_Psychiatry&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Institute of Psychiatry (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Institute of Psychiatry</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/International_Policy_Network" title="International Policy Network" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">International Policy Network</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Luther_Pendragon" title="Luther Pendragon" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Luther Pendragon</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Medical_Research_Council" title="Medical Research Council" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Medical Research Council</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Mobile_Operators_Association" title="Mobile Operators Association" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Mobile Operators Association</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=National_Endowment_for_Science,Technology_and_the_Arts&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Natural_Environment_Research_Council" title="Natural Environment Research Council" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Natural Environment Research Council</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Orange&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Orange (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Orange</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/O2" title="O2" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">O2</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Pfizer" title="Pfizer" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Pfizer</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Royal_Institution" title="Royal Institution" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Royal Institution</a> of Great Britain | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Social_Issues_Research_Centre" title="Social Issues Research Centre" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Social Issues Research Centre</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Society_of_Chemical_Industry&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Society of Chemical Industry (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Society of Chemical Industry</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Tech_Central_Station" title="Tech Central Station" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Tech Central Station</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=University_of_East_London&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="University of East London (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">University of East London</a> | <a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Wellcome_Trust" title="Wellcome Trust" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Wellcome Trust</a></font></p><p style="margin: 0.4em 0px 0.5em; line-height: 19.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Spiked Ltd. lost money in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. In October 2009, Spiked appealed to its readers for funds to help it keep going. In 2011, Spiked again lost money and shareholder funds moved into the red. <sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="http://powerbase.info/index.php/Spiked#cite_note-18" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[19]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); width: auto; line-height: 19.2px; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="mw-headline" id="Publications.2C_Resources.2C_references_and_contact"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Publications, Resources, references and contact</font></span></h2></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 24.64px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The <b>Wise Use</b> perspective has been strongly promoted in the UK by the <a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Living_Marxism&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Living Marxism (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Living Marxism</a> (LM) network</span>, which like Lyndon Larouche back-flipped from extreme left to extreme right. Wise Users were significant contributors to the LM-connected <b>Channel 4 TV series Against Nature ,</b> in which environmentalists were portrayed as Nazis and the bringers of death and suffering to the Third World.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 24.64px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Ron_Arnold&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Ron Arnold (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;">Ron Arnold</a> was also among the contributors to LM magazine, penning an article in the March, 1998 issue. According to the article, 'the anti-technology Unabomber who terrorised the USA for two decades, killing 3 and injuring 29 others' took his cue from the anti-technology philosophy of environmentalism which was operating like a self-consuming sickness at the heart of American society. According to the <a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=LM&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="LM (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;">LM</a> archive: '<a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Ron_Arnold&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Ron Arnold (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;">Ron Arnold</a>, author of "Ecoterror: The violent agenda to save Nature", suggests that society today suffers from a "Unabomber syndrome" - it "seems willing to entertain the notion of abolishing civilisation"...'. A picture caption for Arnold's article read, 'For Unabomber Ted Kaczynski environmentalism was the theory and assassination the practice'.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 24.64px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Thanks to Wise Use, the PR tactic of mobilizing independent-seeming 'third parties' to advocate corporate causes gained a new momentum and a far more aggressive edge. The influence of Arnold and CDFE on the GM debate is all too apparent - from the aggressive use of PR tactics that include the use of fake citizens, fake organisations and fake public protest, to the designation of critics of GM as 'terrorists' and 'eco-imperialists'.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 24.64px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">The fake <a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Center_for_Food_and_Agricultural_Research&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Center for Food and Agricultural Research (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;">Center for Food and Agricultural Research</a> (<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">CFFAR</span>), for instance, sought to portray mainstream environmental organisations as engaging in, or linked to, violence and 'terrorism' - a message reinforced through the multiple internet postings of the e-mail fronts <a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Andura_Smetacek&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Andura Smetacek (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;">Andura Smetacek</a> and <a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Mary_Murphy&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Mary Murphy (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;">Mary Murphy</a>. Smetacek, Murphy and CFFAR have all been traced back to <a href="https://wikispooks.com/wiki/Monsanto" title="Monsanto" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;">Monsanto</a> and its Internet PR company <a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Bivings_Group&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Bivings Group (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;">Bivings Group</a>.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 24.64px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">CFFAR and Smetacek then used the concerns generated by their smears against organisations like Greenpeace to encourage scientists and others to lobby those organisations' funders to stop their financial backing. It is a tactic that comes straight out of the CDFE 'handbook'. To quote Arnold, 'We want to destroy environmentalists by taking away their money and their members.' (New York Times, Dec 19, 1991, emphasis added)</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 24.64px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">PR firm <a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Nichols-Dezenhall&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Nichols-Dezenhall (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;">Nichols-Dezenhall</a> set up a website called StopEcoViolence - very much along the lines of CFFAR's vandalwatch.org - which claimed to be the grassroots' initiative of a citizens' group. On its links page it lists CFFAR and Vandalwatch.org, as well as the Internet front sites of PR firm <a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Berman%26_Co&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Berman & Co (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none rgb(255, 255, 102);">Berman</a><a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Berman%26_Co&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Berman & Co (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;"> & Co</a>. <a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=ActivistCash&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="ActivistCash (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;">ActivistCash</a> and the <a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Center_for_Consumer_Freedom&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Center for Consumer Freedom (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;">Center for Consumer Freedom</a>. The page also has links to CDFE, which it describes as 'a non-partisan education and research organization', and to the <a href="https://wikispooks.com/wiki/Competitive_Enterprise_Institute" title="Competitive Enterprise Institute" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;">Competitive Enterprise Institute</a> (CEI). In March 2002 <a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Nichols-Dezenhall&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Nichols-Dezenhall (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;">Nichols-Dezenhall</a> linked up with CEI to sponsor a conference for journalists and corporate executives on 'eco-extremism'. (You too might be a terrorist. The war on the greens)</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 24.64px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Like <a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Nichols-Dezenhall&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Nichols-Dezenhall (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;">Nichols-Dezenhall</a>, many of those at the forefront of attacks on critics of GM make use of CDFE's rhetoric. <a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Patrick_Moore&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Patrick Moore (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;">Patrick Moore</a>, for instance, talks of environmentalists as 'ultraleftists and extremists' who 'use Gestapo tactics'. Moore claims issues like the GM debate are being influenced by 'pagan beliefs and junk science'. This directly echoes <a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Ron_Arnold&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Ron Arnold (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;">Ron Arnold</a>'s attacks on environmentalists as 'eco-fascists' and communists, as well as his call for a 'holy war against the new pagans who worship trees and sacrifice people'.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 24.64px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">Such claims have been picked up and repeated by GM sympathetic scientists. For instance, Prof <a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Joe_Perry&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Joe Perry (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;">Joe Perry</a>, the chief statistician on the UK government's GM farm-scale evaluations, repeated Moore's claims about 'pagan beliefs' in a lecture on GM given as part of a series by and for Christians interested in science. He also quoted a claim of Moore's that the agendas of most environmentalists were principally about 'class warfare'. He also drew on Moore in a letter to The Guardian, in which he said Moore had 'pointed to the Trotskyists and anti-capitalists who ditched socialism for the environmentalist bandwagon when the iron curtain fell, and became influential within Greenpeace and similar pressure groups.' (see also responses to Perry)</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 24.64px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In May 2003, speaking at the Natural History Museum in London, the world renowned scientist <a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Peter_Raven&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Peter Raven (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;">Peter Raven</a> also attacked Greenpeace over its opposition to GMOs, telling his audience, 'Last month, <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">the <a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Congress_of_Racial_Equality&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Congress of Racial Equality (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Congress of Racial Equality</a> (CORE), one of America's most venerable and respected civil rights groups, confronted Greenpeace at a public event and accused it of "eco-manslaughter" </span>through its support of international policies limiting development and the expansion of technology to the developing world's poor'. (for the truth about CORE)</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 24.64px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The British pro-GM lobby group <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Sense_About_Science&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Sense About Science (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Sense About Science</a>,</span> whose director and assistant director are both part of the <a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=LM&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="LM (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;">LM</a> network, has also adopted the Wise Use tactic of portraying critics of GM as violent extremists. Its Chairman, <a href="https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Dick_Taverne&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Dick Taverne (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: none;">Lord Taverne</a> claimed in an article in The Times that farmers and researchers were being intimidated by 'anti-GM campaigners' adopting 'the tactics of animal welfare terrorists'. The headline was, When crops burn, the truth goes up in smoke. Taverne admitted that environmental groups like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth 'may condemn violence', but concluded, none the less, 'The anti-GM campaign has become a crusade. Its champions... have become<b> eco-fundamentalists, followers of a new kind of religion... when campaigns become crusades, crusaders are more likely to turn to violence.'</b></font></font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">==</font></div>