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> To claim Stossel was being misleading, they'd need to successfully argue that climate had a greater impact than forest management practices. No. Stossel woul

> To claim Stossel was being misleading, they'd need to successfully argue that climate had a greater impact than forest management practices. No. Stossel would need to prove that forest management practices had a greater impact than climate change, and that the fact checkers knew that, and that they deliberately lied. You don't have to prove that you're correct if someone sues you for defamation. The standards for defamation are a lot higher than that. To take this a step further, they don't even need to prove Stossel actually made that claim. The fact that a reasonable person could interpret Stossel as having made the claim that climate change was not a contributing factor (evidenced by multiple scientists chiming in that they felt the label was appropriate) would be enough of a defense. Finally, they probably don't even need to prove that they thought Stossel made the claim, because calling someone misleading or saying that their statements are missing context likely doesn't rise to the level of defamation regardless of any of the above points.

pstuart 5y ago
Stossel saying "sensational media reporting about a so-called ‘climate apocalypse'" reads to me that he's a climate denier and his reporting was to enforce that (and double down on his favorite hate: "government").
- onepointsixC 5y ago
  The phrase "climate apocalypse" comes from his interview of Michael Shellenberger, a pro nuclear environmentalist. Shellenberger's core points aren't climate denial, but instead optimism that we as a species will prevail against the challenges posed by climate change, and that the apocalyptic rhetoric of some environmentalists hurts that effort.
- danShumway 5y ago
  I want to make it really clear though; it doesn't matter whether or not Stossel is a climate denier, it's still probably not defamation. The fact checkers don't need to prove that Stossel is a climate denier.

pstuart 5y ago

Stossel saying "sensational media reporting about a so-called ‘climate apocalypse'" reads to me that he's a climate denier and his reporting was to enforce that (and double down on his favorite hate: "government").

onepointsixC 5y ago
The phrase "climate apocalypse" comes from his interview of Michael Shellenberger, a pro nuclear environmentalist. Shellenberger's core points aren't climate denial, but instead optimism that we as a species will prevail against the challenges posed by climate change, and that the apocalyptic rhetoric of some environmentalists hurts that effort.
danShumway 5y ago
I want to make it really clear though; it doesn't matter whether or not Stossel is a climate denier, it's still probably not defamation. The fact checkers don't need to prove that Stossel is a climate denier.