Fact check: False claim video shows The Weather Channel debunk climate change

Kate S. Petersen, USA TODAY
·4 min read
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The claim: Video shows The Weather Channel debunk climate change

A Dec. 30, 2022, Facebook video features a segment from an interview CNN's Brian Stelter did with John Coleman, the late co-founder of The Weather Channel, in which Coleman claims the idea of climate change is "baloney."

"There's no question about it: Climate change is not happening," Coleman asserts. "There is no significant man-made global warming now, there hasn't been any in the past, and there's no reason to expect any in the future."

"The Weather Channel debunks 'climate change,'" reads on-screen text featured in the video.

The video was viewed 15,000 times in less than two weeks.

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Our rating: False

The clip does not show footage from The Weather Channel, and Coleman's comments were not endorsed by the channel, according to its former CEO. The Weather Channel acknowledged the reality of climate change at the time Coleman said this, as it does now.

Coleman wasn't affiliated with Weather Channel when he spoke

The clip circulating on Facebook was taken from a Nov. 2, 2014, episode of the CNN talk show "Reliable Sources." During the episode, Stelter, the show's host, interviews Coleman, who left The Weather Channel shortly after its founding in the early 1980s.

Later in the episode, Stelter interviewed David Kenny, who was the CEO of The Weather Channel's then-parent company, The Weather Company. During the interview, Kenny said that Coleman didn't speak for The Weather Channel.

"I think some people were confused to hear a statement from somebody who was noted as a co-founder of The Weather Channel ... but he hasn't been with us in 31 years, so he's not really speaking for The Weather Channel in any way today," Kenny said. "Our position is really clear (on climate change), it's scientifically based, and we've been unwavering on it for quite some time now."

Kenny did not explicitly describe The Weather Channel's position on climate change during the interview. However, USA TODAY located an archived statement about climate change published on the network's website. The statement was archived on Oct. 30, 2014 – two days before the CNN interview was filmed.

"More than a century's worth of detailed climate observations shows a sharp increase in both carbon dioxide and temperature," read the statement. "These observations, together with computer model simulations and historical climate reconstructions from ice cores, ocean sediments and tree rings all provide strong evidence that the majority of the warming over the past century is a result of human activities."

Fact check: Global temperatures and atmospheric CO2 levels are correlated, contrary to claim

The Weather Channel website currently features climate change-related content such as a "Climate Change 101" explainer and coverage of the impacts of climate change on the U.S.

"The science on our changing climate is clear," Sheri Bachstein, the current CEO of The Weather Company, said in a statement. "The Weather Company and its brand, The Weather Channel, continue to cover the science behind weather and climate."

The Weather Channel TV network was acquired by Entertainment Studios in 2018. However, The Weather Company, which is now owned by IBM, retains The Weather Channel's digital properties and brand, according to Melissa Medori, a spokesperson for IBM.

USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who shared the post for comment.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: False claim Weather Channel debunks climate change