As NY State Probes Exxon, Oil Giant Targets the Journalists Who Exposed Climate Change Cover-Up

Oil giant ExxonMobil is under criminal investigation in New York over claims it lied to the public and investors about the risks of climate change. Now Exxon is fighting back against the journalists who exposed how it concealed its own findings dating back to the 1970s that fossil fuels cause global warming, alter the climate and melt the Arctic ice. Students at Columbia Journalism School collaborated with _The Los Angeles Times_ on two of the exposés. Exxon accused the students of producing inaccurate and misleading articles. In its complaint, Exxon also referred to the "numerous and productive relationships" Exxon Mobil has with Columbia; Exxon has donated nearly $220,000 to the school. On Tuesday, Steve Coll, the dean of the Columbia journalism school, responded to Exxon's critiques after an extensive review. Our guest Bill McKibben has been following the Exxon exposes closely. In October he was arrested after staging a one-man protest at a local Exxon station. He held a sign reading, "This pump temporarily closed because ExxonMobil lied about climate."