This news article criticizes Yen Makabenta's Manila Times article for promoting climate change denial and presenting plagiarism as original work. It argues that Makabenta's column is unethical, malicious, and a disgrace to journalism.
Even though The Manila Times apparently has a reputation for being the only paper in the country (and maybe the world) in which the opinion columnists will regularly attack each other in print, it is something I have generally been trying to avoid. A disagreeable opinion is not necessarily a dangerous one.
If all I can offer in dissent is an opinion of my own rather than clear, real-world facts, my own sense of propriety dictates that I choose the 'keep my mouth shut and think what I like' option rather than present our readers with a duel of sentiments. Such engagements are of questionable value.However, Yen Makabenta's column of Saturday, Jan. 11 ('Trump to reverse Biden's energy policies, 'saving nature for man''), is an occasion when 'just letting it go' would be unethical and immoral. This piece is one of the worst examples of destructive rhetoric and writing malpractice I have seen in a long time, and it cannot go unchallenged.False pretenseFirst of all, Makabenta does not even bother to state a position or present an argument, instead beginning his column by saying, 'I want to rejoin the energy/environment debate by calling attention to some journalism pieces that starkly present the opposing sides in the argument.' Maintaining the false pretense that climate change is 'not an established fact' and still debatable is a common tactic of those who have made a deliberate choice to reject the facts of science and personal, day-to-day observation and experience.There is no uncertainty about climate change. That it is occurring and is manifested in measurable environmental consequences has been proven by a vast volume of scientific research, and what's more, the media and the public have accepted this as an unquestionable fact. This is evident, for example, in the reporting on the wildfires in the Los Angeles area, which are matter-of-factly described as having been a result of climate change. Attempting to gaslight the public into questioning the reality of what they can observe and experience first-hand is, at best, petty and offensive.Pure maliceAs Makabenta does not present and defend a position, we are left to infer from what little he did actually write — the title of the column and the statement quoted above — what that position is. First, it is apparent that he is championing incoming US President Trump's policies. That alone ought to disqualify a person from writing for a politically nonaligned, mainstream media outlet or, really, interacting with other humans at all because it is an endorsement of violent fascist ideology, racism, sexual violence, the perversion of Christianity, and fraud.Second, by presenting the opinions of known climate deniers Rich Lowry and Charles Krauthammer, Makabenta implies support for those positions in lieu of an original argument. Those positions are that the unlimited production of oil, gas and other fossil fuel resources is desirable and an economic necessity (Lowry) and that the only rational approach to managing the environment is to do so in a way that maximizes its benefits to 21st-century Man (Krauthammer). In both, the fact of climate change is dismissed as a politically motivated rhetorical contrivance.Championing policies that are specifically intended to harm people so that a narrow group of the privileged (which Makabenta definitely doesn't belong to, a deficiency in self-awareness that seems common among Trump fans) may benefit is malicious. Championing the destruction of the environment for short-term economic gain (which, again, will in no sense benefit Makabenta personally) is malicious.Deliberately choosing to present these twisted views in the midst of news of the catastrophic, climate change-induced fires in the Los Angeles area, which have killed people and which will probably be the costliest natural disaster in US (and maybe world) history, is malicious. It is a mockery of all those who have lost homes and businesses, been displaced, and been injured or killed by the fires. That is disgusting and shameful and should never have been allowed to see the light of day.MalpracticeMakabenta's penchant for simply copying large parts or the entirety of others' work and presenting it verbatim as his own is an insult to every other columnist who spends hours crafting an original commentary from sources that are used as they ought to be used, as supporting evidence. I consider what Makabenta does a form of plagiarism, notwithstanding his proper attribution of the pieces he copies and pastes; it is certainly journalistic malpractice and something that will quickly tar one with a reputation for being a hack. The only original content Makabenta contributed to his Jan. 11 was the title and first sentence, both quoted above, and one additional sentence identifying the authors and publications he was 'calling attention to' (i.e., ripping off
CLIMATE CHANGE PLAGIARISM ETHICS JOURNALISM DENIAL
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