Hacked emails became a rallying point for allegations of scientific fraud

Evidence

The IPCC’s conclusions did not sit well with skeptics and denialists, who disagreed that the earth’s climate was becoming warmer. They questioned the impartiality of the scientists, their forecasting models, and their analyses of the data. Amid the controversy, hackers downloaded files containing batches of e-mails and documents by climate scientists at the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit. In an incident that became known as Climategate, climate skeptics claimed that the hacked documents showed that the scientists withheld and manipulated data. These allegations added further fuel to the already heated debate. Skeptics alleged that the scientists were not only biased but had committed outright fraud. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2737 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Climate skeptics treated hacked emails as evidence of scientific fraud — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2737; Crowdsourcing and leak tactics repeatedly misfired and produced false accusations — W. David Marx, Blank Space: A Cultural History of the…, 491; Conspiracy believers justify their knowledge through claims of leaked authentic documents — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 97

Broader Connections

• Climate skeptics treated hacked emails as evidence of scientific fraud #expands (0.97) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2737