A celebrity known for his work documenting the “horrors” of climate change, Dr. Michael Mann, recently won his defamation lawsuit against conservative writers who criticized his publications.
On Feb. 8, 2024, a jury awarded Mann $1 in compensatory damages and $1,000 in punitive damages against a former adjunct scholar at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Rand Simberg.
Mann also received $1 million in punitive damages against Canadian writer Mark Steyn, according to Just the News.
$1M award for making fun of a climate activist.
The First Amendment is being eviscerated in front of us. https://t.co/A9uN1bwFm0
— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) February 9, 2024
Mann’s case involved writings that were posted nearly 12 years ago. Many individuals who question the “climate crisis” narrative or whether it is occurring expressed concern over how the case would impact their ability to oppose the idea of climate change widely spread by leftists.
“It’s very concerning for scientific debate. The verdict is clear that no damage was done to Dr. Mann, and that the financial award is meant to send a message. What is that message? Don’t question science? Well, that’s how science is done,” a former assistant professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Alabama, Dr. Matt Wielicki, said.
Just the News reported that in 2012, Simberg posted an article on a Competitive Enterprise Institute blog comparing an investigation from the University of Pennsylvania into Mann’s research practices to the university’s investigation of assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, accused at the time of mistreating 10 young boys over 15 years.
In his article published in the National Review, Steyn quoted Simberg’s piece and called Mann’s research “fraudulent. Mann claimed that because of the posts, his reputation was harmed, leading to a decrease in grant funding. He once testified that he received a “mean look that expressed revulsion” while shopping at a grocery store.
Testimony in the case led many details to arise concerning Mann’s bitter attitude toward critics, allegations that he interfered with the publication of another climate scientist’s work, false claims he had won a Nobel Peace Prize and questions surrounding the accuracy of his climate research conclusions.
“Although this may be a blow to free speech and healthy scientific debate, it did expose Dr. Mann as the narcissistic egomaniac and terrible scientific colleague that he is, in my opinion,” Wielicki told Just the News.
