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Complaint to Ofcom Regarding “The Great Global Warming Swindle”

2. Complete Transcript and Rebuttal

Key to colour-coded commentary text

Bright red text: Actual falsification of data, and/or misrepresentation of the views of a contributor to the programme

Dark red text: Narration, or on-screen graphics, or an accumulation of consecutive interviewee statements that taken together amount to narration; which are either factually inaccurate, or apparently intentionally misleading, or are an attempt to give the impression that a contentious opinion is a fact.

Blue text: Interviewee is either factually inaccurate, apparently intentionally misleading, or expresses an opinion as if it were a fact without context being provided to make it clear that it’s an opinion.

2.1 Programme Introduction

[Captions against background film of storms]

THE ICE IS MELTING

THE SEA IS RISING

HURRICANES ARE BLOWING

AND IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT

SCARED?

DON’T BE

IT’S NOT TRUE

[Comment 1: The narration (albeit using captions) in a science documentary by a public service broadcaster cannot validly say this. It is an extremely controversial opinion which would be disputed by the overwhelming majority of those professionally qualified to judge its veracity. Nevertheless, this opinion was presented (without any qualification whatsoever) as a fact, and is therefore extremely misleading. Given Channel 4’s public service remit under the Communications Act to educate the public, this is a considerable breach of the public’s trust.]

(In breach of the 2003 Communications Act Section 265, Ofcom 5.4, 5.5, 5.11, 5.12)

[Professor Paul Reiter, Director of Insects and Infectious Diseases at the Pasteur Institute, Paris]

We imagine that we live in an age of reason, and the global warming alarm is dressed up as science. It’s not science. It’s propaganda.

[Comment 2: Professor Reiter is a respected entomologist, but his credentials with respect to the specific subjects that he discussed in the programme were exaggerated – see Appendix C.18, page 142, Comment 115, page 96 and Comment 110, page 91.

Continued …

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Section 2 / Section 2.1 / Comment 1: Opening caption (opinion presented as fact) / Comment 2: Reiter’s credentials and links to lobby groups]


Page 13 of 176	Final Revision	Last updated: 11 Jun 2007