As wildfires grow increasingly destructive, frequent, and far-reaching, it’s imperative that national news outlets consistently report the full story: Climate change is a driving force behind these fires and is making them more destructive.

In June, smoke from massive Canadian wildfires choked the skies over the Mackinac Bridge and other parts of the Midwest. But in evening news segments and online news stories, there was little to no mention of how fossil fuel-driven climate change is intensifying the scale and severity of these fires.

Similarly, articles in Michigan Live, the Detroit Free Press, CBS News, and a popular New York Times Instagram news clip described fire conditions and smoke impacts, but omitted the scientific consensus: climate change is fueling the heat, drought, and forest conditions that make wildfires more extreme and frequent.

The non-profit organization Media Matters for America recently analyzed news coverage and found that only 6% of segments and weathercasts about the wildfires across TV news mentioned the role of climate change.

This is not a new oversight. During the catastrophic 2016 Fort McMurray wildfires in Alberta, the New York Times ran an extensive feature that detailed the impacts on the Canadian oil industry but failed to mention climate change. And this pattern continues even as scientists repeatedly warn that fire seasons are becoming longer and more dangerous because of rising global temperatures caused by burning fossil fuels.

This omission has real consequences. When climate change is left out of news stories about natural disasters, the public is misled. People are left without critical context about the causes of the crisis or the urgency of taking action. Media silence on the climate connection undermines informed public discourse and stalls solutions.

Sign the petition to call on ABC, NBC, CBS, The New York Times, and other influential media outlets to:

1. Explicitly mention climate change in wildfire coverage.

2. Include expert commentary from climate and fire scientists who can speak to the causes of wildfires and the destructive nature of hotter, more frequent fires.

3. Educate the public on how burning fossil fuels increases wildfire risks.

Wildfires are not just tragic events–they’re symptoms of a planetary emergency. We deserve reporting that tells the full truth. Please sign the petition to demand climate accountability in major regional and national media.

Source
Media Matters for America