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The New York Times uncovered how a one-woman disinformation campaign successfully derailed a proposed national heritage area in Montana. 56-year-old Rae Grulkowski, who had never been involved in local politics, was radicalized by far-right media outlets that falsely claimed national heritage areas—which are merely designations designed to attract tourists—could open the door to land grabs by the federal government.
Despite being warned that she was spreading lies, Grulkowski sent packets to nearly 1,500 farmers and ranchers, falsely telling them the designation would affect water rights, give tourists access to private property, and prohibit fertilizer and pesticide use.
Grulkowski's disinformation campaign eventually made it to mainstream Republican circles, convincing Governor Greg Gianforte and Senator Steve Daines, among others, to oppose the tourism designation. Gianforte even signed a law, which the state cannot enforce, forbidding the federal government from creating any heritage areas in Montana.
The local effort to bring in tourism dollars is now in shambles. Jane Weber, a county commissioner and U.S. Forest Service retiree who led the effort backing the designation, resigned from the county commission after her fellow commissioners fell for the disinformation and voted to oppose the heritage area.
“It’s very easy to take fear and mistrust and make it work for you. It’s very hard to fight back against all of that,” Weber told the Times. “It’s kind of like trying to convince someone to get vaccinated.”
Five steps to fix climate coverage
As world leaders prepare for the U.N. climate summit in Scotland next week, climate journalists Amy Westervelt and Mary Annaïse Heglar have published a five-point plan to fix climate coverage. Among their warnings: Reporters must stop accepting oil industry talking points, especially around the cost of acting on climate, at face value.
“Basically, any talking point or press release from the fossil fuel industry should be treated with the same skepticism as a statement from the police,” they write. “Similarly, regurgitating the claims of every new clean-tech startup with a ‘climate solution’ is not responsible reporting.”
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There is no reason to frame the latest climate data with ‘Scientists say.’ Scientists aren’t saying it. Science is saying it. You don’t need to qualify the truth; you can just say it.”
