60 Minutes and False Equivalency
So I watched a DVRd episode of 60 Minutes last night. In a segment where Steve Kroft interviewed J. Craig Venter, the biologist who sequenced the human genome (among other accomplishments), Kroft discussed some of Venter’s current work. While talking with Venter about his project on developing alternative fuels, Kroft said this:
…So you’re trying to cut down on CO2 in the atmosphere, which people believe causes global warming…
Excuse me: which people believe! I’m fascinated whether that line was spoken off the cuff or if Kroft, either on his own, or via direction from his producers specifically added in the qualifier people believe. Why didn’t he just say “trying to cut down on CO2 in the atmosphere, which causes global warming”? By adding the qualifier, not to mention that he said people believe not even scientists believe, he gave a subtle but very important message to the viewers that casts doubt on, what is by any reasonable measure, a consensus in the scientific community.
Was 60 Minutes afraid to offend Big Oil advertisers? Was it journalistic knee-jerk false equivalency? Is Kroft a climate change skeptic? Or was it inadvertent?
