The popular science communicator Hank Green published a YouTube video titled "A Masterclass in Manipulation," responding to a Reason video I made about misleading climate charts. His video is better-than-average political discourse. He's generous with the material, playing long uncut segments from my video instead of soundbites. He teaches his audience real things about how to read charts and spot a rhetorical sleight of hand, and along the way, he demonstrates something worth saying out loud: Two people can look at the same data and reach different conclusions without either of them being a fraud.
His video uses the same subtle manipulations he says I'm guilty of. I'm not attacking him by saying that. Anyone making an argument has a thumb on the scale, and the only durable defense is for viewers to learn to spot it. He both makes some good points and mischaracterizes my arguments at various points, which I'll take up in turn.
.png?w=600)
