Denials of “climate change” are “deadlier” than denials of the science behind COVID-19, according to renowned climate activist Michael E. Mann, who defended his earlier call for social media companies to censor those who disagree with his views on global warming science, effectively removing “climate denial” content in the same way “COVID denial” content is suppressed online.
On Monday’s episode of the left-wing Democracy Now! news and commentary program, climate activist Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, told host Amy Goodman that climate change is deadlier than the coronavirus after being asked to explain his demands that YouTube remove climate-denial content:
Here we saw nearly a hundred people die from these unprecedented tornadoes [and] if you look at the total impact of climate change around the world — wildfires, droughts, floods, heat waves, coastal inundation — climate change is already costing far more lives than COVID-19; it is deadlier.”
“And so the denial of climate change is deadlier even than the denial of the basic science behind COVID-19,” he added.
According to Mann, the reason for censorship by Big Tech and social media companies of “COVID denial” in contrast with the perpetuation of “climate denial” content is due to powerful companies with a financial “stake” in the issue.
“Here’s the difference: there isn’t a huge global lobby, the world’s… wealthiest and most powerful industry, the fossil fuel industry, that has a stake in the COVID-19 debate,” he argued.
