NYT's 'leaked' climate report had been public for months
A front-page Times story said scientists feared the Trump administration would suppress a draft federal climate report that had not been made public, and that a copy had been leaked to the paper.
The story framed the administration as already suppressing climate science.
What was reported
A front-page Times story said scientists feared the Trump administration would suppress a draft federal climate report that had not been made public, and that a copy had been leaked to the paper.
What actually happened
A version of the draft had been uploaded to the Internet Archive in January 2017 and was open to public comment. The Times issued a correction on Aug. 9 saying the report was not first made public by the paper, and noting it had been online since January. Media critics, including the Washington Post's Erik Wemple, called it a major error.
The proof
The Times' own Aug. 9, 2017 correction stating the draft had been publicly available via the Internet Archive since January.
The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:
NYT's 'leaked' climate report had been public for months — Retracted. The Times' own Aug. 9, 2017 correction stating the draft had been publicly available via the Internet Archive since January. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/nyt-climate-report-not-public-correction/
Original reporting
- SEJ digest of NYT report: Government report finds drastic impact of climate change on U.S.https://sej.org/print/headlines/government-report-finds-drastic-impact-climate-change-us
- AFP via TerraDaily: Draft report cited by the NYT 'not yet released'https://www.terradaily.com/reports/Government_report_sees_drastic_climate_change_impact_in_US_NYT_999.html
Corrections, findings & records
- Salon: New York Times issues correction on climate draft reporthttps://www.salon.com/2017/08/10/new-york-times-issues-correction-on-climate-change-draft-report-that-trump-administration-suppressed
- MediaPost: NYT razzed for non-scoop climate change reporthttps://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/305628/nyt-razzed-for-non-scoop-climate-change-report.html
Archived copies
Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.
- Archived copy: SEJ digest of NYT report: Government report finds drastic impact of climate change on U.S.https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://sej.org/print/headlines/government-report-finds-drastic-impact-climate-change-us
- Archived copy: AFP via TerraDaily: Draft report cited by the NYT 'not yet released'https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.terradaily.com/reports/Government_report_sees_drastic_climate_change_impact_in_US_NYT_999.html