When you read an article about climate change, how do you know it’s accurate? Climate change science is complicated; the topic can be politically charged; and articles are sometimes inaccurate.

So about a hundred scientists have volunteered to review some of the most widely-shared articles, columns, and op-eds about global warming. The reviews are posted on a website called “Climate Feedback,” which was founded by Emmanuel Vincent of the University of California, Merced.

Vincent: “I felt we scientists cannot leave our fellow citizens alone in this daily flow of contradictory information. We need to tell clearly where the science stands.”

The Climate Feedback site provides a credibility rating for each post, and corrections and clarifications to help readers better understand the issue.

Vincent says the expertise of the volunteer scientists should give readers confidence, while also setting a higher bar for commentators, analysts, and journalists.

Vincent: “Journalists will be aware that it is possible that scientists are going to check their stories, so I think that they are going to be a bit more careful when they publish something.”

Vincent hopes that Climate Feedback will become a trusted resource on climate change for journalists and the public.

This program is also available on iTunes, as a free audio podcast.

Reporting credit: Colleen Pellissier/ChavoBart Digital Media.

More Resources
Climate Feedback
Scientists Critiquing Media Climate Reports
NPR “On the Media” interview with Emmanuel Vincent