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Evaluate Expertise: Is Anthony Watts a climate change expert?

SKILL: Evaluate Expertise

DIFFICULTY: Simple

SUBJECT(S): Climate change

Posted: October 12, 2022

In this RexTV interview, Anthony Watts — a senior fellow for the environment and climate at the Heartland Institute — says climate change isn’t a big deal. Evaluating his expertise will show that he's not a reliable source on the topic.

Related Lesson

Verification Skills Lesson 2: Investigate the Source

Link to Example

RexTV: Anthony Watts (YouTube)
Logo for Rex TV.

Background

RexTV is the YouTube channel of Rex Murphy, a Canadian commentator and author, and frequent presence on the CBC until 2017. On his YouTube channel, he interviews prominent figures in politics, business, academia, journalism, science and culture, many of whom are not typically featured in the mainstream media.



About the Example

This video is a RexTV interview between Rex Murphy and Anthony Watts about his opinions on climate change. The video description introduces Watts as a senior fellow for environment and climate at The Heartland Institute and on-air radio and television meteorologist since 1978.

A quick Wikipedia check reveals that Watts rejects the scientific consensus on climate change and does not have a degree in any relevant field of study. We can also use Wikipedia to learn about The Heartland Institute, which Wikipedia describes as a “public policy think tank known for its rejection of both the scientific consensus on climate change and the negative health impacts of smoking.”

While this doesn’t necessarily mean that all of Watts’ claims are false, the Wikipedia entries suggest that if climate change is a topic we’re interested in, then we should probably consult different sources.



Activities 

  1. Have students read the video description and show them the first 60 seconds of the video. Briefly discuss their understanding of who Anthony Watts is and what the video is about.
  2. To determine if this is an interview worth watching to learn more about climate change, have students investigate the source using Wikipedia. Since Rex Murphy is only the interviewer, students should instead evaluate the expertise of his guest, Anthony Watts, using Wikipedia. Here are some guiding questions:
    • What is Anthony Watts’ academic background?
    • What can you learn about the agenda of The Heartland Institute?
    • Do you think that Anthony Watts is a good source of information on climate change? Why or why not?


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