Fairness
Everyone deserves to be represented accurately, especially when public money and public platforms are involved.
Please support Wishart’s legal case against inaccurate climate reporting
Investigative journalist Ian Wishart has filed two High Court appeals seeking to clarify broadcasters’ responsibility to verify claims about climate and extreme weather.
The cases concern reports describing a Dunedin rainfall event as the city’s “wettest day in over a century” and Hamilton as experiencing its “hottest days” during a heatwave. Wishart argues the historical records did not support those claims.
These cases are not about whether climate change is real. They are about whether broadcasters should check factual claims, accurately represent the evidence and correct reports when challenged.
The broadcasters and the Broadcasting Standards Authority argue media organisations should be able to rely on expert bodies without independently checking the underlying facts. Wishart’s appeals will test that position.
We are seeking $35,000 to help him fight these cases. Ian is representing himself, so the funds will not pay his personal legal fees. They will support court and related costs.
“This appeal is not putting climate change on trial. It is putting climate change reportage on trial and, as a consequence, the broadcasting regulator.”
If you believe facts should still matter in news reporting, please donate and share.
Any funds remaining after the cases are resolved will support public-interest legal challenges. The use of those funds will be publicly disclosed.
Donate today and hold broadcasters accountable.