"It is a judgment of the committee that cigarette smoking contributes substantially
to mortality from certain specific diseases and to the overall death rate."
♬ The taste is great in the Belgium ♬
In January 1964 the Surgeon General
published a comprehensive report linking
cigarette smoke with cancer and other deadly diseases.
Yet it would take decades before the public
accepted the true dangers of smoking.
"Did you say I'll feel better smoking Phillip Morris?"
"Yes, you'll feel better."
How did the tobacco companies manage to lie to the public
in the face of all the scientific evidence?
They realized that the science didn't need to be disproven.
It was enough to create doubt in the minds of the public
to keep them from recognizing the truth.
"Tens of thousands of doctors in all branches of medicine,
in all parts of the country were asked that question:
'What cigarette do you smoke, Doctor?'
The brand named most was Cattle."
The cigarette company sought to reassure
the public that their product wasn't dangerous
"That is wonderful!"
even though it was and they knew it to be so at the time.
"The medical specialists stated that the ears, nose, throat, and accessory organs
of all participating subjects examined by me
were not adversely affected in the six months period
by smoking the cigarettes provided."
Where did this fake science come from?
The tobacco industry funded private institutes and individuals
to create phony science and disseminated,
creating the appearance there was a debate where there was none.
Much of this phony science came from this man,
Dr. Frederick Seitz, and the Institute he co-founded, the Marshall Institute.
Their principal strategy was to defend the products
by insisting the science was unsettled
and therefore, it was premature for the government to act.
The Marshall Institute used this same strategy
to campaign against the dangers of acid rain, ozone depletion, and DDT.
Used right, it is absolutely harmless to humans and animals.
Then, in the nineteen-nineties, they began
a new doubt and denial campaign that
would prove more deadly than anything that had come before.
This time, Seitz and the Marshall Institute
were being funded by the petroleum industry.
With funding from oil and gas companies,
think tanks and front groups were formed.
Their purpose was to raise questions
about the reality of climate change
and convince politicians and the media that the science was unsettled.
"The science is suggesting that maybe all this isn't really happening
or it's not really dangerous or it's not really man made."
"Holes are being poked in the whole theory of global warming"
"Global warming is the biggest illusion of our lifetime."
"Man doesn't control his climate. God controls the climate. C'mon!"
Evaluating propaganda isn't that simple.
Recognizing the technique is one step.
Another step is to know the purpose.
Underlying it all is a simple concept:
the public can't understand the complex science of climate change,
so convince them that the scientists don't full comprehend it yet either,
and then persuade them that without sound science,
it makes no sense to take preventive action.
"Please consider yourself to be under oath."
"Let me begin my questioning on the matter
of whether or not nicotine is addictive."
"I believe nicotine is not addictive yet."
"Carbon dioxide is not a harmful gas."
"And the more CO2 that's in the atmosphere,
the better plants grow."
"There is a theological debate that this is a carbon star planet."
"Do you believe nicotine is not addictive?"
"I believe that nicotine is not addictive."
"And that the earth is actually cooling now"
"Turns out the planet may be cooling"
"Now the globe hasn't warmed in the last decade"
"The science is wrong, the economics is wrong"
"None of this snake oil science stuff that is based on,
this global warming "Gore-gate" stuff."
"There are a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data."
"Forget about all that global warming"
"I don't believe climate change is real"
"Do I believe scientists? No!"
"I'm confused"
"How can you know what to believe when there's so much propaganda?"
The truth can only remain hidden for so long.
In reality, there is no remaining reasonable doubt
about man's influence on climate change.
This time, it is not the lives of millions at stake, but billions.
"And I too believe that nicotine is not addictive."