Update: UN Climate-Change Censor Performs as Singing Space Pixie on YouTube
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The United Nations has rejected the media credentials of three journalists from a conservative news outlet in Canada to the upcoming UN climate summit in Morocco in November. Nick Nuttall, a UN official, admitted in an October 18 CBC interview that The Rebel news outlet is being banned from attending the UN summit because of its skeptical reporting of the UN’s climate claims.
Nuttall tried to justify the UN media ban by noting that The Rebel TV host Ezra Levant has called UN promoted climate change fears a “crock.”
“What does [calling climate change a ‘crock’] add to the public’s understating?” Nuttall asked the CBC.
Nick Nuttall
The UN’s Nuttall told the CBC, “I don’t see what he is actually reporting, you know, as being particularly helpful.”
But much to the shock of the UN official, the warmist Canadian Broadcasting Corp’s (CBC) Carol Off was having none of it. The CBC’s Off openly challenged the UN’s censorship of the media outlet.
“Do people have to prove that they’re helpful in order to be accredited journalists?” Off, who hosts the ‘As it Happens’ program on the CBC, asked the UN’s Nuttall.
A clearly flustered Nuttall responded, “Well, what do you think journalism is about?”
The CBC’s Carol Off tersely responded “reporting.”
As the Nuttall continued to dig himself deeper into a media hole, Off demanded an answer.
“I am just wondering again about he subjectivity of rejecting the credentials of The Rebel,” CBC’s Carol Off asked again.
Off summed up the UN’s obvious bias in rejecting the news outlet’s request for credentials.
“So it does seem that what Mr. Levant is saying is true — that you didn’t like his point of view,” Off said.
Nuttall responded. “No, not really. The point is he seems to be advocating a particular point of view which is so personal that it didn’t seem to be a genuine media outlet to me.”
Nuttall also tried to justify the UN’s censorship by claiming the conservative media outlet “seemed to be more kind of anti-refugee, anti-climate, anti-this, anti-that. And I just didn’t feel that it was maybe appropriate in terms of better understanding climate change issues and giving balanced reporting to a general public.”
Nuttall also claimed that The Rebel “caters to other people’s prejudices.”
The Rebel’s Ezra Levant responded to the UN’s Nuttall in full here.
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Full audio of UN”s Nick Nuttall interview on CBC here:
CBC’s As it Happens host Carol Off spoke with the UN’s Nick Nuttall. Nuttall was involved in the decision to deny Rebel Media accreditation for next month’s meeting. Here’s an excerpt of their conversation:
CAROL OFF: Mr. Nuttall, Ezra Levant says that you have rejected his application because you don’t like Rebel Media’s point of view. How do you respond?
NICK NUTTALL: We looked at Rebel Media and we just really weren’t sure what it was. I mean, we weren’t sure if it was a platform for this chap Ezra — I can’t remember his last name now …
CO: Levant. Ezra Levant.
NN: Ok fine, yeah. I don’t live in Canada, so I don’t know. We get a lot of people who purport to be journalists and sometimes they’re NGOs or civil societies or others with all kinds of different axes to grind and all kind of issues. We try and just make sure that we accredit what we consider to be journalists.
“I looked at Rebel Media’s website and it seemed to me that this was a kind of website that was very much pushing a very particular point of view and therefore made me wonder how it was funded, who backs it, and what kind of purpose they were there to serve.”– UN’s Nick Nuttall
CO: On what grounds did you reject Mr. Levant and Rebel Media’s application?
NN: I looked at Rebel Media’s website and it seemed to me that this was a kind of website that was very much pushing a very particular point of view and therefore made me wonder how it was funded, who backs it, and what kind of purpose they were there to serve. Looking at some of the headlines on their website … there didn’t seem to be much balance in the reporting. It seemed to be more kind of anti-refugee, anti-climate, anti-this, anti-that. And I just didn’t feel that it was maybe appropriate in terms of better understanding climate change issues and giving balanced reporting to a general public.
Ezra Levant, shown March 2, tried to get accreditation for three journalists from his The Rebel online site for a UN climate conference in Morocco this November. He was turned down and now says the UN is ‘banning the one journalistic group they find offensive.’ (Canadian Press)
CO: So it does seem that what Mr. Levant is saying is true — that you didn’t like his point of view.
NN: No, not really. The point is he seems to be advocating a particular point of view which is so personal that it didn’t seem to be a genuine media outlet to me… I don’t see what he is actually reporting you know as being particularly helpful.
CO: Do people have to prove that they’re helpful in order to be accredited journalists?
NN: Well, what do you think journalism is about?
CO: Reporting.
NN: Reporting. Factually, accurately, honestly, trying to get the truth out of what actually is going on in this very complex world. And, from the little I saw, which were inflammatory headlines on issues that weren’t even related to climate change … It was a croc of something, or other.
CO: He called it “climate change croc”.
NN: Yeah, well what does that add to public understanding? What is journalism?
CO: Is it not possible, though, by rejecting his application that you have given his position even more publicity?
NN: That is one reason why I was slightly reluctant to do this interview with you … Many people have written to me that he’s very adept at using this kind of thing to generate more money through crowd-funding to keep his website going. I hope that people who maybe listen to this interview will think twice.
CO: Can he do anything to convince you otherwise to give him the accreditation?
NN: Well I have to say that two Canadian journalism associations have in fact written to me saying that we should rethink the situation. Now, when serious Canadian journalist associations actually write to me on that basis and are willing to stand by this individual and his website and what he covers, then now, I’m chewing that over. [These associations] have credibility, it would seem, and so I’m really thinking about it.
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UN Bans Skeptics: UN illegally blocking reporters from covering their global warming conference
