Report: How to Manufacture Public Doubt about Global Warming

onMar 9, 2009 @ 01:26 PDT

With the Heartland’s Institute’s “International Climate Change Conference” (aka. Denial-palooza) we thought it would be a good time to launch our new report: “How to Manufacture Public Doubt – analysis of the public relations techniques used by the climate denial industry.”

So please grab a copy, enjoy and consider emailing the link on to your friends, blogging on it, Tweeting it and/or sending to your friends of Facebook.

You can donwload the PDF version here: “How to Manufacture Public Doubt – analysis of the public relations techniques used by the climate denial industry.”

Here’s an excerpt:

There is a long and well-documented history of the development of very effective public relations techniques that are used to create doubt about the realities of scientific conclusions that threaten to impose government regulation on corporations. Most of these techniques were developed and honed by public relations professionals working on behalf of the tobacco companies to downplay the harmful health effects of cigarettes in the late 80’s and early 90’s. For the last ten years or so, these same PR techniques have been used very effectively by free-market think tanks and fossil-fuel funded organizations to sow public doubt about the realities of climate change in the hopes of delaying government action on the issue.

– 1969 internal Brown and Williamson strategy document

This month we’re giving away FREE copies Keith Farnish’s new book Times Up: an uncivilized solution to a global crisis.

Go here to find out more details about DeSmogBlog’s monthly book give-away.

By Kevin Grandia

Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a “Green Hero” by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the “Top 50 Tweeters” on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning. Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevin’s research into the “climate denial industry” and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Koch’s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea party networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a “Certified Expert” on the political and community organizing platform NationBuilder. Prior to DeSmog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health. In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the world’s best e-Content and innovative ICT applications. Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.

uk/‘They Don’t Give A Damn’: Scotland’s Highland Communities Tire of Charm Offensive by ‘Polluting’ Salmon Giant Mowi

ByBrigitte Wear

onDec 16, 2025 @ 03:07 PST

Salmon wagons and boat trips for schoolkids distract from environmental damage, say campaigners.

Series: Spotlight on Industrial Aquaculture

Behind Closed Doors, Georgia County Rewrote Data Center Rules

ByEdward Donnelly

onDec 15, 2025 @ 13:16 PST

Emails obtained by DeSmog show county officials continually met privately with Project Sail lobbyists, something denied to local residents opposing the $17 billion data center.

Series: Tech vs. Climate

Series: Tech vs Climate

Report: Proposed EPA Cuts Further Imperil Environmental Protections in Cash-Strapped States

ByJoe Fassler

onDec 12, 2025 @ 12:55 PST

As Trump pushes to slash the EPA’s budget to its lowest level in four decades, 15 years of state-level cuts have already hollowed out environmental enforcement across the country.