Former Fox host Tucker Carlson is platforming disgraced climate denier Willie Soon, an aerospace engineer known for accepting over $1 million from fossil fuel companies for writing publications he referred to as “deliverables.” 

Carlson invited Soon, a former researcher at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, on his exclusive program on X (formerly Twitter) for an interview on January 9. The two amplified long-debunked hypotheses about what is causing climate change, and clips from the interview have already been viewed over 1 million times on TikTok, likely by a young audience that might not be familiar with Soon’s controversies, which came to light back in 2015.

The spread of these videos highlights TikTok’s ongoing climate misinformation problem, even as it has begun implementing a new policy banning content that “undermines well-established scientific consensus, such as denying the existence of climate change or the factors that contribute to it.”

Though experts dismissed Soon’s false claims, clips of his interview with Carlson have gained traction on TikTok, a social media platform popular with young users

• Clips of Carlson’s interview with Soon have been viewed over 1 million times on TikTok. Media Matters identified six videos that have collectively accrued more than 1.1 million views. According to a January 2023 report from Morning Consult, over 60% of Gen Z adults use TikTok at least once daily. [TikTok, 1/10/24, 1/10/24, 1/10/24;1/10/24; 1/10/24, 1/10/24;Morning Consult, 1/2023]
   
• Climate scientists continue to highlight and debunk Soon’s disinformation. “Soon's science is based on faulty assumptions & his conclusions are invalid & that's likely why FF [fossil fuel] companies pay him," wrote Gavin Schmidt, head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. [Twitter/X, 9/10/23, 1/10/24, 1/10/24]

The interview is part of a larger trend of major right-wing media outlets relying more on long-debunked climate deniers

• Discredited climate deniers like Judith Curry, Patrick Moore, Anthony Watts, and Gregory Wrightstone, who have been vocal for decades, received renewed attention in 2023 from right-wing media figures. After years of relative obscurity, these figures found a reliable home on shows like Newsmax’s Rob Schmitt Tonight, and also appeared on Fox News programs such as Jesse Watters Primetime and The Ingraham Angle. On social media, they’ve increased engagement on X. [Media Matters, 11/28/12, 2/17/14, 12/22/23; DeSmog, 5/15/22; StateImpact Pennsylvania, 3/27/19]

Willie Soon has been exposed for unethically promoting flawed science

• In 2015, a joint investigation by Greenpeace and the Climate Investigations Center found that Soon had accepted over $1.2 million in funding from fossil fuel companies for his research. Soon’s work was funded “almost entirely” by the fossil fuels industry, including Exxon Mobil, Southern Company, the American Petroleum Institute, and the Charles G. Koch Foundation. [The Guardian, 2/21/15]
   
• Soon described his papers as “deliverables” to his corporate funders. Emails revealed that one of the country’s largest utility holding companies, Southern Company, paid Soon to publish research examining the sun’s role in driving climate change. At the time, Southern relied heavily on coal. Scientists have long recognized that solar activity cannot be responsible for the rapid warming that the planet has experienced in recent decades. [The New York Times, 2/21/15; Inside Climate News, 2/21/15; NASA, accessed 1/11/24]
   
• The investigation also found that Soon failed to disclose his relationship with Southern Company in some of his research papers, violating ethical guidelines upheld by scientific journals. Despite accepting more than $400,000 from the company, Soon insisted he had no conflicts of interest, raising the alarm for academics and scientists. His papers, which have been published in top scientific journals, push a “range of climate-denial perspectives.” [Inside Climate News, 2/21/15]

Soon has for years been a go-to source for media and lawmakers keen on protecting fossil fuel interests

• Soon and his work have been used by the GOP in their efforts to block climate action. Climate denier and former Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe has cited Soon in press releases and on the Senate floor. In 2013, Soon testified in support of an effort to repeal Kansas’ renewable energy standard in front of state legislators, claiming that climate change isn’t a problem. [DeSmog, accessed 1/11/24; Energy and Policy Institute, 8/28/15; U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works, 5/14/08, 7/29/03]
   
• Soon has worked with right-wing think tanks that influence climate policy. Soon has spoken at conferences hosted by the Heritage Foundation, the Texas Public Policy Institute, and the Heartland Institute. In 2014, he was awarded the “Courage in Defense of Science Award” by the climate denier organization now called CO2 Coalition. [DeSmog, accessed 1/11/24, 1/12/24; Heartland Institute, accessed 1/12/24]
   
• Since Soon’s interview with Carlson, several well-known conspiracy theorists praised his ideas. Jimmy Corsetti, a YouTuber who has pushed the idea that a polar shift is responsible for climate change impact, and The Vigilant Fox, a figure known for spreading anti-vaccine misinformation, and many more, praised him on social media. [Twitter/X, 1/9/24, 1/9/24; Media Matters, 5/24/23; Forbes, 11/26/22]