Climate Denier Rod Liddle Considered For Editor Position at The Independent

Brendan DeMelle DeSmog
on

The Independent, one of the only progressive papers in the UK, especially when it comes to climate change coverage, is considering appointing a climate denier as its newย editor.ย 

The Independentโ€™s likely new owner, Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev, is apparently considering whether to make outspoken columnist Rod Liddle the new editor of theย paper.ย 

Reader backlash against this decision is growing, and for good reason.

A Facebook group set up by outraged Independent readers, entitled โ€˜If Rod Liddle becomes editor of The Independent, I will not buy it again,โ€™ has accumulated over 2,100 followers in just a few days.

The group page lists some of Liddleโ€™s recent atrocious behavior on his blog at โ€˜The Spectatorโ€™:

Liddle has lately been using his blog at โ€˜The Spectatorโ€™ to indulge in the use of yawn-inducing, attention-seeking derogatory terms to insult ethnic minorities including decrying โ€œMuslim Savagesโ€ here.

โ€ฆand falsely accusing black men of being behind the majority of crimes in London while mocking the entire Black British community for contributing nothing but โ€œrap musicโ€ and โ€œgoat curryโ€.

And just this weekend, Liddle had these choice words in his Spectator column: โ€œF*** off back to where youโ€™re from, then, you Muslims.โ€

Liddleโ€™s penchant for racist and sexist remarks isnโ€™t the only reason for concern though.ย 

Heโ€™s also a climate change denier.

The Facebook group page notesย that:

โ€œWhile the โ€˜Independentโ€™ has made a name for itself with its reporting on global warming and the environment, Liddle ignorantly denies the evidence for Anthropogenic Global Warming Theory with the same-old debunked falsehoods deniers always rely on.โ€

Disgusted with the prospect of Liddle taking the helm as editor, Independent readers are organizing the backlash โ€œto ensure that progressive voices and quality reporting in Britain donโ€™t get further squeezed and marginalised and that there is at least some balance in our nationalย conversation.โ€

Appointing Liddle to the editor position would be a big step backwards, to say theย least.

Brendan DeMelle DeSmog
Brendan is Executive Director of DeSmog. He is also a freelance writer and researcher specializing in media, politics, climate change and energy. His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, The Huffington Post, Grist, The Washington Times and other outlets.

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