The Washington Post’s plan to “cancel” Fossil Future—and me
The Washington Post’s plan to “cancel” Fossil Future—and me
On Monday a Washington Post climate reporter alerted my publicist that she intends to discredit my book and me with an article portraying me as a racist. Here’s how I’m fighting back.
Yesterday I woke up to find out from my publicist that The Washington Post, in response to the book about energy and climate they had been sent (Fossil Future), has decided to try to destroy my book and my life by smearing me as “racist” in a hit-piece set to release tomorrow morning.
Instead of doing the conventional thing, which is to wait for a hit-piece to drop and then react with “damage control,” I am doing the just thing and publicly, preemptively attacking The Post for this despicable act of journalist malpractice.
This morning I published a Twitter video thread exposing the Post’s “cancel” campaign, based on this one-hour YouTube video. It has gone viral, with half a million reads and growing.
Here is the thread, followed by actions you can take to help.
Tomorrow The Washington Post plans to "cancel" me and my new book Fossil Future by publishing a 100% slanderous hit-piece labeling me as "racist." Please join me in calling for the Post to spike the piece, fire the "journalist," and publicly apologize. Video
The @washingtonpost's smear campaign against me has 4 main steps:
1. Refuse to engage my arguments.
2. Hunt down things I wrote at 18 that seem controversial.
3. Falsely portray those *individualist* writings as “racist.”
4. Use "racism" to discredit my work.
Despicable.
VideoStep 1 of @washingtonpost's “racism” smear of me
Refuse to engage my arguments, including the many parts of Fossil Future where I condemn and ridicule racism as deeply immoral and absurdly pseudoscientific.
“Fossil fuel eliminators” can't refute me so they try to smear me.
Video*Step 2 of @washingtonpost's "racism" smear of me*
Try to find the most "smearable" things I've ever written. In this case, climate reporter @maxinejoselow is using articles of mine I wrote at Duke when I was *18 and 19* years old--then totally misrepresenting them as racist.
Video*Step 3A of @washingtonpost's "racism" smear of me*
Portray 18-year-old me's statements of Western culture's historical superiority as racist--even though I made clear that I believe that culture, which is fundamentally *ideas*, is totally different from skin color!
Video*Step 3B of @washingtonpost's "racism" smear of me*
Portray 18-year-old me's criticisms of certain MLK actions—e.g., affiliating with Communism, supporting policies that proved destructive to black individuals—as racist.
The criticisms were *individualist*, not at all racist.
VideoWhen you look at the @washingtonpost's “allegations and information” about my “racist” views at ages 18 and 19 in the context of what I actually said, it becomes clear that I was *not remotely racist* and that the WP is trying to *destroy my work and life for political reasons*.
Video*Step 4 of @washingtonpost's "racism" smear of me*
Use the totally false smear of me as "racist" to attack the motives for my energy arguments.
Reporter @maxinejoselow wrote that she plans to portray me as not really concerned about “poverty in developing nations in Africa”!
VideoInstead of engaging with my arguments in Fossil Future, @washingtonpost is planning to publish a hit-piece on me to discredit my arguments with the absolute lie that I'm a racist--a lie that could be used to attack me for the rest of my life.
Heads must roll over this.
Video*Step 5 of @washingtonpost's "racism" smear of me*
Try to discredit my extensive *energy* expertise by citing a complete non-expert (climate scientist Andrew Dessler) with an enormous axe to grind (he's been widely ridiculed for recent debate performances against me).
VideoSummary: @washingtonpost climate reporter @maxinejoselow is planning to “cancel” me tomorrow by 100%-baselessly portraying me as “racist.”
Please join me in calling for the Post to:
1. Fire Joselow for malpractice.
2. Apologize to me.
3. Pledge to root out political smearing.
Video
Here’s my viral Twitter thread. Please share it!
Here’s my full YouTube video exposing the despicable cancel campaign planned by the Post.
Thanks to everyone who is writing The Washington Post or Tweeting at them (@washingtonpost). Please keep doing this.
Here’s a simple thing you can write:
I just learned of Post climate journalist Maxine Joselow’s despicable plan to try to “cancel” Alex Epstein and his book Fossil Future by falsely portraying Alex as racist.
The Post should absolutely not run this hit piece, and owes Alex an apology.
FYI the head of the post is Sally Buzbee (sally.buzbee@washpost.com or @SallyBuzbee). She is the best person to write to about this.
Here are some of my favorite comments so far:
I appreciate the outpouring of public and private support I’ve received. Please believe that I am not one iota deterred by attempts to “cancel” me as “racist.” If possible, I am even more determined to tell the world the truth about energy.
“Energy Talking Points by Alex Epstein” is my free Substack newsletter designed to give as many people as possible access to concise, powerful, well-referenced talking points on the latest energy, environmental, and climate issues from a pro-human, pro-energy perspective.
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My books: The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels and Fossil Future (comes out 5/24/22).