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Derek Cressman

@derekcressman.bsky.social
11K followers 9.3K following 954 posts

Sci-Fi author and satirist probing the nexus of advertising, brain implants, Citizens United, and post-truth reality. Organic olive farmer. Climate hawk. www.derekcressman.com

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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 8h
“I believe there’s about a 50% chance we all die because of the development of smarter-than-human AI systems, and that our actions over the next two to 10 years will determine the outcome.” www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
OpenAI safety leader quits, warning AI company’s culture is ‘broken’
David Robinson joins other insiders in urging industry to take more care over rapidly developing technology
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 15h
“Being a global a**hole is bad for business” www.thepoke.com/2026/10/03/t...
thepoke.com
Tourism chiefs can’t understand why the number of visitors to the US has dropped by 2 million in the past year, and people are happy to solve the mystery for them
The tourism industry in the US is in crisis. That’s the message from a report by the Semafor outlet this week, finding that “overseas visitors to the US are on track to drop by almost two million year...
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
'You have no shame': Conservative fury hits Trump official over lavish party video www.rawstory.com/dan-scavino-...
rawstory.com
'You have no shame': Conservative fury hits Trump official over lavish party video
Republicans and Democrats alike over the weekend criticized a White House official for a social media post.Meghan McCain had a short response for Dan Scavino, a top White House aide, after he posted a...
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Would you like ads with that? In August, 450 McDonald's began displaying advertising for other companies on its digital drive-thru order boards. www.cnbc.com/2026/09/23/w...
cnbc.com
Why McDonald's is following Walmart and Amazon into the advertising business
McDonald's is following the lead of Amazon and Walmart as it starts its own media network.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
"looking at myself was on the creepy side—my smile wasn’t quite right, and my eyes were a little too wide, like I was shocked to have been uploaded into a cloud server." gizmodo.com/meta-hologra...
gizmodo.com
Meta's Unnerving Holograms Might Just Break Your Brain
A little deepfake as a treat.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Forty percent of TikToks about a weight loss drug in England are "stealthy advertising" - with hidden discount codes - despite it being illegal to promote prescription medicine in the UK. www.vtcng.com/state_and_wo...
vtcng.com
2 out of 5 TikTok Mounjaro videos are ‘stealthy advertising’
Almost half of the creators said they had bought their Mounjaro through an online pharmacy.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
“Made-for-advertising (MFA) describes websites built to sell advertising impressions rather than to serve readers. Their operators buy visitors cheaply, usually through clickbait ads … then show each visitor far more ads than a normal page would carry.” ppc.land/made-for-adv...
ppc.land
Explaining made-for-advertising
Made-for-advertising sites buy cheap traffic and resell it as programmatic impressions, using dense ad layouts, auto-refresh, slideshows and templated content.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
When your implant says the quiet part out loud… www.gadgetreview.com/neuralinks-b...
gadgetreview.com
Neuralink's Brain Implant Turned Imagined Speech Into Audible Words
Neuralink's VOICE trial implant converts imagined speech into audible words using a patient's own pre-illness voice, but peer-reviewed data is still pending.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
“The Epstein global billionaire class are all ‘dear friends,” author Derek Cressman told his followers in a social media post. www.rawstory.com/don-trump-jr...
rawstory.com
‘Oops’: Don Jr.'s bride tramples over his wedding story with 'incredible' contradiction
New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker spotted an overlooked detail in the Trump family’s response to questions about the Putin-linked Russian oligarch who reportedly helped bankro...
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
‘You have met with Putin many times. Doesn’t it seem to you that Putin has been deceiving you this whole time? ‘Don’t you find it repulsive to sit at the same table with an international war criminal, ...who is personally responsible for Ukraine’s tragedy?’ www.thepoke.com/2026/09/07/t...
thepoke.com
This Ukrainian journalist’s devastating question for Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff was a magnificent example for American reporters everywhere
Donald Trump infamously claimed he would bring an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine within 24 hours of returning to the White House. So we weren’t exactly holding out any hopes after his ‘top negoti...
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Subsense’s brain-computer interface uses nanoparticles administered through the nose. startupfortune.com/ray-kurzweil...
startupfortune.com
Ray Kurzweil joins Subsense, the brain interface startup you snort - Startup Fortune
Ray Kurzweil joins Subsense, a Palo Alto startup building a nasal-nanoparticle brain-computer interface as an alternative to Neuralink's implants.
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Reposted by Derek Cressman
Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Hegseth has taken out more American generals than Iranian ones.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Even the sycophants are fake
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Reposted by Derek Cressman
F Minus @fminus.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Do you live in one of the 500+ cities and counties spending taxpayer funds to hire Congressional lobbyists who work for climate-cooking fossil fuel companies? Time to shame our local govs into cutting ties with #fossilfuellobbyists @polluterspay.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
US fossil fuel lobbyists also represent hundreds of cities fighting for climate damages
Analysis of federal lobbying disclosures shows local governments working with firms also linked to fossil fuel giants
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
How Neil Stephenson’s Seveneves Explains Elon Musk medium.com/@DerekCressm...
medium.com
How Neil Stephenson’s Seveneves Explains Elon Musk
If you’re looking to understand, or rationalize, Elon Musk’s bizarre obsession with establishing human colonies on Mars, pick up Neal…
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
'Complete sham:' Conservatives crushed as NYT kills Trump deficit dreams with single chart www.rawstory.com/trump-defici...
rawstory.com
'Complete sham:' Conservatives crushed as NYT kills Trump deficit dreams with single chart
A New York Times chart showing the stark impact President Donald Trump's administration has had on the federal deficit made the rounds on social media Wednesday, prompting a mix of alarm and mockery, ...
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Transforming audio wearables into ambient optical sensors represents a subtle yet massive shift away from screen-bound computing. By moving the visual ingestion pipeline to your ears, Apple is sidestepping the social stigma that has long stalled smart glasses. www.techrepublic.com/article/news...
techrepublic.com
Apple Camera-Equipped AirPods Leak: What We Know
A leaked macOS demo shows Apple’s camera-equipped AirPods using Visual Intelligence, while launch timing, pricing, and privacy details remain unclear.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
"Chinese devices – which enable patients to control digital technology using their thoughts alone – can be inserted via a vein like a stent, unlike conventional BCIs that require patients to undergo brain surgery." www.scmp.com/business/com...
scmp.com
China races to develop brain-computer interfaces that can be inserted in minutes
The technology – which allows patients to control digital devices using their thoughts – can be implanted like a stent in just a few minutes.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Utah is taxing advertisers that target you based upon online activity. www.sltrib.com/news/2026/08...
sltrib.com
In rare move, Utah lawmakers decided to tax large tech companies. A new lawsuit argues it’s illegal.
The new tax is meant to target ads “intentionally designed to addict our minors,” a lawmaker said. In a new lawsuit, the Utah Taxpayers Association says it violates federal law.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Artificial unintelligence. x.com/factpostnews...
x.com
FactPost (@factpostnews) on X
An Indiana data center project cut power for tornado warning sirens ahead of severe local storms.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
“Our guys are very spoiled. They’re very spoiled. They like the Escalade. So do I.” www.indy100.com/politics/tru...
indy100.com
Trump bragging about White House 'buying 250 Cadillac Escalades' sparks backlash
Donald Trump has sparked criticism among critics online after boasting about the White House buying 250 new Cadillac Escalades for his presidential motorcade. The president spoke in front of a crowd g...
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
"Decoded [brain] signals control a virtual cursor that moves across a computer screen, which is then translated into wheelchair commands and recognized by the chair’s control system." interestingengineering.com/science/brai...
interestingengineering.com
US: Neuralink lets paralyzed patients control wheelchairs by thought
Neuralink has developed a brain implant that lets clinical trial participants with paralysis control wheelchairs using only their thoughts.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Glasses outfitted with cameras can beam near-infrared light to a chip implanted in the eye, which converts it into signals for the retina. thenextweb.com/news/science...
thenextweb.com
A retina chip that restores sight goes on sale in Europe
Science Corp's Prima retina implant restores some sight and has won EU approval, the first US brain-implant device to reach ordinary patients.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Oops: OpenAI’s new model went rogue and hacked another company - The Washington Post
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Electronic Arts is working to bring 3D advertisements to video games. www.polygon.com/ea-in-game-a...
polygon.com
Electronic Arts is charting out a bold new frontier in making gamers’ lives worse
Won't someone think of the brands?
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
"Chinese medical staff have successfully implanted a brain–computer interface (BCI) that has received full commercial approval into a patient with spinal cord injury. The device reads brain signals and converts them into hand movements" www.dongascience.com/en/news/79006
dongascience.com
China’s Fudan Hospital implants world’s first commercial BCI chip in patient
Shanghai team uses NeuraClear Medical Technology’s NEO system for spinal cord injury rehabilitation ahead of Neuralink’s FDA approval
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Fossil fueled climate change is real, expensive, and deadly. Solar and wind power are real, affordable, and don’t cause air pollution. We have a choice. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/03/c...
nytimes.com
Without Climate Change, U.S. Heat Wave Called ‘Virtually Impossible’
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Musk "believes AI represents an existential risk and that the safest outcome is one where humans and machines merge rather than compete." glitchwire.com/news/elon-mu...
glitchwire.com
Elon Musk's Bandwidth Argument for Neuralink Has a Problem: The Brain Itself — Glitchwire
Musk's latest X post frames Neuralink as the solution to human cognitive bottlenecks. New neuroscience research suggests the limitation isn't the interface, it's the architecture.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
“Until the entire digital economy gets a severe overhaul, it’s safest to assume that modern-day social media is just a wholesale ad network that’s left your ad blocker in the dust.” slate.com/technology/2...
slate.com
Social Media Has Been Secretly Flooded by a New Kind of Content. You Probably Haven’t Noticed—and That’s the Problem.
The most popular ads on social media look like anything but.
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Reposted by Derek Cressman
Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
“Mr. Greenspan (eventually) questioned the principles he had developed as a young disciple of Ayn Rand and employed in a storied career as an adviser to corporate chieftains and later to U.S. presidents.” #EpicFail www.nytimes.com/2026/06/22/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Alan Greenspan Was Wrong About One Thing. It Was a Big One.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
“Mr. Greenspan (eventually) questioned the principles he had developed as a young disciple of Ayn Rand and employed in a storied career as an adviser to corporate chieftains and later to U.S. presidents.” #EpicFail www.nytimes.com/2026/06/22/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Alan Greenspan Was Wrong About One Thing. It Was a Big One.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Stephen Miller's big UFO announcement backfires: 'They're coming to take you home!' www.rawstory.com/stephen-mill...
rawstory.com
Stephen Miller's big UFO announcement backfires: 'They're coming to take you home!'
Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, was mocked on Friday after he announced that a batch of UFO videos and materials had been released to the public.Miller shared the government news in...
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
The Supreme Court Doesn’t Own the Constitution www.nytimes.com/2026/06/10/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Supreme Court Doesn’t Own the Constitution
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
The rich play by different rules. She Confessed to Fraud. Her Board Let Her Stay in Charge. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/07/b...
nytimes.com
She Confessed to Fraud. Her Board Let Her Stay in Charge.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
"Increasingly, online ads are less of an interruption to the content you consume. Instead, they’re designed to dissolve into the flow itself." theconversation.com/online-ads-a...
theconversation.com
Online ads are becoming harder to spot – but we’re not powerless to stop it
Increasingly, digital advertising is designed to dissolve into the flow of the content you consume online.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
“If someone began a YouTube session with a query about linear equations, the platform would first offer a learning video. But after that, the algorithm would recommend a Will Ferrell comedy video.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/u...
nytimes.com
‘Teachers Are Going to Hate It’: How Social Media Apps Hooked Teens at School
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
“Meta said that nearly 98% of its $56.3 billion in first-quarter revenue came from advertising.” www.cnbc.com/2026/05/30/m...
cnbc.com
Meta has struggled at selling anything other than ads. Will AI be different?
Meta is making a major push to expand its business beyond online advertising, but past efforts show that success is far from guaranteed.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
"A central focus of ours is making ads feel like content—contextually relevant, aligned with users' interests, and integrated into real-time conversations." www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/bus...
hollywoodreporter.com
Elon Musk’s Grandiose Media Ambitions Are Now a Real Threat to Some Major Players
SpaceX's IPO filing reveals ad revenue for X is still below what it was when Musk acquired Twitter, but it is growing again. Meanwhile, Grok is producing 2 billion AI videos per month, while SpaceX's ...
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Reposted by Derek Cressman
Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
“Restoring control of people who are tetraplegics and restoring sight I think are pretty big deals,” Musk boasted. “They’re sort of what I might call Jesus-level technologies.” futurism.com/future-socie...
futurism.com
Elon Musk Compares His Work to Miracles Performed by Jesus Christ
Elon Musk compared the work of his brain implant company Neuralink to the miracles performed by Jesus Christ.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
"an ad-supported subscriber can generate nearly $25 in monthly revenue — surpassing the $19.99 premium price point [for ad free subscribers]— once they cross the 41-hour monthly watch threshold." www.insighttrendsworld.com/post/streami...
insighttrendsworld.com
Streaming’s Great Inversion: The Strategic Death of the Premium Subscription and the Global Shift toward Ad-Tier Revenue Parity
The Linearization of Digital: Why the $20 Premium Ceiling is Forcing a High-Stakes Return to the Attention EconomyThe Netflix logo on a Hollywood high-rise in early 2026 marks the spot where streaming...
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
“Restoring control of people who are tetraplegics and restoring sight I think are pretty big deals,” Musk boasted. “They’re sort of what I might call Jesus-level technologies.” futurism.com/future-socie...
futurism.com
Elon Musk Compares His Work to Miracles Performed by Jesus Christ
Elon Musk compared the work of his brain implant company Neuralink to the miracles performed by Jesus Christ.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
“Alphabet generated more than 70% of its 2025 revenue from online advertising. Of the $201B Meta generated that same year, roughly 98% came from ads.” lbbonline.com/news/The-Wor...
lbbonline.com
The World Runs on Advertising. That’s the Problem | LBBOnline
Little Black Book, Mike Leslie, Full Punch founding partner and CEO, discusses why in order to stay relevant, advertising still has to run on ideas
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Reposted by Derek Cressman
Walker Bragman @walkerbragman.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Honestly, they should do this. In the fight against fascism, if you live by the norms, you die against the wall.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
“The more users quit, and the more corroded Meta’s apps grow, the faster we can all log off and close this chapter of the social-media revolution forever.” www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Meta Is Dying. It’s About Time.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
After Watergate, Congress passed tough limits on campaign spending. The Supreme Court gutted them in a case called Buckley v Valeo. The NYT has finally written about it. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/06/u...
nytimes.com
A Look Inside the Case That Enshrined Political Power for Billionaires
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
"Amsterdam has become the world's first capital city to ban public advertisements for both meat and fossil fuel products." www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Amsterdam bans public adverts for meat and fossil fuels
Local politicians say the move is in line with the Dutch capital's environmental targets.
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Reposted by Derek Cressman
Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
“Trump should be praised to the crystal chandeliers for embracing my firm belief that the wealthy must have comfort and luxury so our happiness can trickle down to the masses. Ballroom scraps for all, I say!” www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
usatoday.com
I've had it with all the griping about high gas prices | Opinion
Listen up, non-rich Americans. I'm growing tired of your annoying complaints about high gas prices.
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
“Trump should be praised to the crystal chandeliers for embracing my firm belief that the wealthy must have comfort and luxury so our happiness can trickle down to the masses. Ballroom scraps for all, I say!” www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
usatoday.com
I've had it with all the griping about high gas prices | Opinion
Listen up, non-rich Americans. I'm growing tired of your annoying complaints about high gas prices.
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Reposted by Derek Cressman
Eleni Kounalakis @eleniforca.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
I am deeply honored to have earned the endorsement of the Sierra Club. The Sierra Club is our country’s oldest and largest nonprofit grassroots environmental organization. I am committed to working alongside them to protect CA and our natural environment. @sierraclub.org @sierraclubca.bsky.social
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Derek Cressman @derekcressman.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
“Republican allies of the oil and gas industry question the objectivity of an independent report from the nation’s top science advisers on the harms of human-caused climate change.” apple.news/AigozYAVIRiG...
apple.news
Fossil-Fuel Funded GOP Leaders Claim a Renowned Scientific Institution Has ‘Potential Conflicts of Interest’ — Inside Climate News
Republican allies of the oil and gas industry question the objectivity of an independent report from the nation’s top science advisers on the harms of human-caused climate change.
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