***Climatologist Michael Mann is suing two bloggers, part of a mounting campaign to defend scientists against attacks from right-wing trolls***
Michael Mann spent much of his career poring over tree-ring and ice-core data, painstakingly piecing together how human emissions are warming the planet. Now, he’s at the center of a high-profile court case pitting science against a swelling wave of right-wing attacks seeking to undermine it.
Mann, known for his “[hockey stick chart](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-review-michael-manns-the-hockey-stick-and-the-climate-wars/2012/05/25/gJQAIYzQqU_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_4),” a reconstruction of global temperature over hundreds of years showcasing the effects of burning fossil fuels, is accusing a pair of right-wing bloggers of defamation while he was a professor at Pennsylvania State University. In commentary posts published in 2012, Mann said, they falsely accused him of academic fraud and likened him to Jerry Sandusky — a convicted child molester who once coached football at the school — with one saying Mann “molested and tortured data” to support his research.
One of the country’s most prominent climate scientists, Mann says their writings have caused him emotional distress. He who declined to comment until after a verdict.
Lawyers for the bloggers — Rand Simberg, whose piece about Mann was published on a website for the libertarian think tank Competitive Enterprise Institute, and Mark Steyn, who wrote for the magazine National Review — say their blog posts, however colorful, are protected under the First Amendment.
The case, which took 12 years to get to trial and is underway in D.C. Superior Court, arrives at a time of heightened attacks on scientists working not just on climate change but on vaccines and other matters.
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***Climatologist Michael Mann is suing two bloggers, part of a mounting campaign to defend scientists against attacks from right-wing trolls***
Michael Mann spent much of his career poring over tree-ring and ice-core data, painstakingly piecing together how human emissions are warming the planet. Now, he’s at the center of a high-profile court case pitting science against a swelling wave of right-wing attacks seeking to undermine it.
Mann, known for his “[hockey stick chart](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-review-michael-manns-the-hockey-stick-and-the-climate-wars/2012/05/25/gJQAIYzQqU_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_4),” a reconstruction of global temperature over hundreds of years showcasing the effects of burning fossil fuels, is accusing a pair of right-wing bloggers of defamation while he was a professor at Pennsylvania State University. In commentary posts published in 2012, Mann said, they falsely accused him of academic fraud and likened him to Jerry Sandusky — a convicted child molester who once coached football at the school — with one saying Mann “molested and tortured data” to support his research.
One of the country’s most prominent climate scientists, Mann says their writings have caused him emotional distress. He who declined to comment until after a verdict.
Lawyers for the bloggers — Rand Simberg, whose piece about Mann was published on a website for the libertarian think tank Competitive Enterprise Institute, and Mark Steyn, who wrote for the magazine National Review — say their blog posts, however colorful, are protected under the First Amendment.
The case, which took 12 years to get to trial and is underway in D.C. Superior Court, arrives at a time of heightened attacks on scientists working not just on climate change but on vaccines and other matters.
**Read more:** [**https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/02/07/michael-mann-climate-trial/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com**](https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/02/07/michael-mann-climate-trial/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com)