In the frantic push and pull of today’s media cycle, the imagery and accompanying messaging deployed by news outlets often provide the fodder for both rigorous scrutiny and heated debate. Recently, popular news outlet, CNN, found itself under the social media microscope over the contentious representation and reporting of this summer’s soaring temperatures – alleged to be the highest in over 120,000 years. Setting aside the audacious claims made by aviation scientists, the details that have likely fomented the most incredulity were the gnarled inconsistencies stemming from the very graphic CNN selected to support its report.
LOOK AT THIS PICTURE I AM FRIKKING HOWLING 😂😂😂😂😂😂 https://t.co/dLD2I6Haiu pic.twitter.com/MZSvZVo43X
— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) July 27, 2023
In the midst of a purportedly unparalleled heatwave, the picture in question bristled with odd contradictions, such as the depiction of three women, shrouded not in the usual attire befitting of searing weather but somehow comfortably clad in sweaters and jackets, with one even donning a mask. A sight as baffling as it is amusing, led various netizens to unleash a tidal wave of jibes and sarcasm.
“Look at this picture. I am frigging howling”, wrote a user known as Oilfield Rando. “We’ve only been measuring temperature semi-accurately since the 19th century, but go off,” rebuked another user, Tony Kinnett. The parade of comedic disbelief continued on as others joined the conversation, probing of CNN’s confusing decision to use a photo portraying people in winter clothing to illustrate an intense heat wave.
We've only been measuring temperature semi-accurately since the 19th century, but go off.
— Tony Kinnett (@TheTonus) July 28, 2023
Despite the beguiling image selection, CNN put forth its piece asserting that we have just endured the “hottest three-week-period on record, and almost certainly in more than a hundred thousand years.” These grandiose claims draw their strength from data tracing back to 1940, as well as vehement affirmations from experts at organizations such as Copernicus. Samantha Burgess, Copernicus’ deputy director, went on to declare that “these are the hottest temperatures in human history”, relying on millennia of climatological data gleaned from tree rings, coral reefs, and deep-sea sediment cores.
While the accumulation of counter-evidences, its representation, and the intellectual chorus that ensued on social platforms offer riveting observations about the possible fickleness of the media discourse, it also underlines a more profound dichotomy. In an era marked by scientific advancement and unparalleled data-driven discernment, the contradictions in the visual and reported narrative in this instance reveal the fractures that yet mar the discourse surrounding climate issues. Such incidents reiterate the need for an uncompromised lens that aims to separate facts from factoids, driven by necessary skepticism and reasoned debate – the cornerstones of any libertarian value system.
In conclusion, while the scientific community might have valid reasons to assert that the earth is experiencing an unprecedented heatwave, the incident under careful examination signifies a wider issue – the accuracy, validity, and narrative around such news reports. This episode reinforces the necessity for major news outlets to diligently double-check their graphics align with the content of their stories, avoiding easily avoidable gaffes that would otherwise veer focus away from urgent climate matters warranting immediate attention. As for now, the chortling social media users’ roars subside, leaving behind a lesson enshrined in smoky irony and a landscape demanding a more factually anchored discourse.
