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> This time, the cars were likely deserted after the ride-hailing companies that owned them failed, or because they were about to become obsolete as automakers

> This time, the cars were likely deserted after the ride-hailing companies that owned them failed, or because they were about to become obsolete as automakers rolled out EV after EV with better features and longer driving ranges. I’m sure this detail will be lost when the anti-EV brigade share this article based on the headline alone. There is a massive anti-EV push in the media at the moment. This is good - it means they are viable and the people with money are worried.

lelanthran 3y ago
> There is a massive anti-EV push in the media at the moment. This is good - it means they are viable and the people with money are worried. No need to jump to conspiracy theory as the most likely reason for (what I see as) a small anti-EV push in the media. The simpler explanation is that controversy sells, so that's what they tend to report on. Unless there is evidence to the contrary, the simplest explanation it most likely correct.
- thebruce87m 3y ago
  I haven’t jumped to a conspiracy theory, I have been watching the spread of misinformation about EVs for a while. It doesn’t help that algorithms on YouTube and Facebook amplify the misinformation. If you want evidence, one recent example is the fire at Luton. It was a diesel car: > The investigation into the cause of the fire continues, but it has been determined that the vehicle that first caught fire was a diesel car. https://www.bedsfire.gov.uk/news/london-luton-airport-car-park-fire https://www.bedsfire.gov.uk/news/london-luton-airport-car-pa... However there are people still trying to push a narrative that it was an EV and it doesn’t take long to find it. If you go on any EV based ad on Facebook you will see the same people and bots pushing this fire narrative and other FUD. It doesn’t have to be an EV ad, if it’s tangentially related like for an EV charger or even solar panels you see it too.
  - lelanthran 3y ago
    > I haven’t jumped to a conspiracy theory, I have been watching the spread of misinformation about EVs for a while. So? The simplest explanation is still "Controversy sells". Remember Gamergate? Even though the game journos agreed in writing that they will all present the same message, the people who were pro-journos still insisted that there was no conspiracy, it was just coincidental that all the game publications appeared united behind a single (often verbatim) message. Your proposal has even less evidence for conspiracy than gamergate, so why would you think it's more likely?
    - thebruce87m 3y ago
      I don’t know anything about gamergate, so I’m not arguing anything relative to that. I’m sharing my personal experience of an anti-EV push in the media. I think it is likely because of what I am seeing in the media. Astroturfing is not a new concept, it would be naive to assume it is not happening given the history in oil and gas.

lelanthran 3y ago

> There is a massive anti-EV push in the media at the moment. This is good - it means they are viable and the people with money are worried. No need to jump to conspiracy theory as the most likely reason for (what I see as) a small anti-EV push in the media. The simpler explanation is that controversy sells, so that's what they tend to report on. Unless there is evidence to the contrary, the simplest explanation it most likely correct.

thebruce87m 3y ago
I haven’t jumped to a conspiracy theory, I have been watching the spread of misinformation about EVs for a while. It doesn’t help that algorithms on YouTube and Facebook amplify the misinformation. If you want evidence, one recent example is the fire at Luton. It was a diesel car: > The investigation into the cause of the fire continues, but it has been determined that the vehicle that first caught fire was a diesel car. https://www.bedsfire.gov.uk/news/london-luton-airport-car-park-fire https://www.bedsfire.gov.uk/news/london-luton-airport-car-pa... However there are people still trying to push a narrative that it was an EV and it doesn’t take long to find it. If you go on any EV based ad on Facebook you will see the same people and bots pushing this fire narrative and other FUD. It doesn’t have to be an EV ad, if it’s tangentially related like for an EV charger or even solar panels you see it too.
- lelanthran 3y ago
  > I haven’t jumped to a conspiracy theory, I have been watching the spread of misinformation about EVs for a while. So? The simplest explanation is still "Controversy sells". Remember Gamergate? Even though the game journos agreed in writing that they will all present the same message, the people who were pro-journos still insisted that there was no conspiracy, it was just coincidental that all the game publications appeared united behind a single (often verbatim) message. Your proposal has even less evidence for conspiracy than gamergate, so why would you think it's more likely?
  - thebruce87m 3y ago
    I don’t know anything about gamergate, so I’m not arguing anything relative to that. I’m sharing my personal experience of an anti-EV push in the media. I think it is likely because of what I am seeing in the media. Astroturfing is not a new concept, it would be naive to assume it is not happening given the history in oil and gas.