The Daily Mail has now been dropped from the Wikipedia list of reliable sources. Given that Faux News and Russia Today are still on the list, it just goes to show you how bad the Daily Mail actually is. The Guardian noted that Wikipedia had been prohibited for use as a sole source by the Daily Mail. This seems to indicate that some journalists at the Daily Mail were actually using it as a primary source. This is something that school children are told they are not to do. Wikipedia does provide a key to primary sources, and that is its underlying strength.
Dana Nuccitelli gives as an example of the Daily Mail’s transgressions the story of David Rose, the paper’s regular climate change denier. Rose alleged doctoring of data by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), but that data is almost identical to that of other institutions such as NASA and the Hadley Centre in the UK, which shows that global average surface temperature has risen about 0.8°C since the 1970s. However, after Rose was easily debunked, he attempted to flog the dead horse again, whining about the date of publication. Nuccitelli likened Rose’s response to that of Trump when he is shown to be lying. They brag about something else or attack the people who have debunked them.
Australia also has its share of climate change denying nutters in the media. They include buffoons like Ray Hadley, Andrew Bolt, Alan Jones (the Parrot) and Steve Price. They are gullible because they do not understand science; a common problem among conservatives.
It is a shame that the Daily Mail in Australia is only electronic. I am running out of old copies of the Australian for the bottom of my budgie’s cage.
Sources
https://www.crikey.com.au/2011/11/24/ray-hadley-v-tim-flannery-and-david-the-neighbour/
https://www.crikey.com.au/2011/11/25/residents-of-coba-point-back-flannerys-story-in-2gb-spat/
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-13/green-staggering-hypocrisy-of-the-supertrollers/4257706
