Desperation appears to be seeping into the mainstream media narrative about the incoming migrant caravan. When news first broke about the Central Americans trekking toward the United States-Mexico border, some in the advocacy media claimed that the migrants were fleeing “violence,” “poverty,” and “anguish” in their native countries. Now, the press has unveiled a new spin, and it comes straight out of the liberal playbook.
...the left often moves the goal post when they aren’t winning the battle of ideas.
According to The Guardian, citing data from “experts,” the driving force behind the migrant caravan is global warming. While some may be fleeing for a better life and to escape violence, this is another example of how the left often moves the goal post when they aren’t winning the battle of ideas.
Advancing the Narrative
The outlet argued that the “changing climate is forcing farmers off their land – and it’s likely to get worse.” Several other left-leaning outlets advanced this same theory.
HuffPost published a piece arguing that the migrant caravan “foreshadows” what is to come with global warming. The outlet also claimed that security experts argue “hunkering down” and “militarizing borders” won’t do anything to alleviate global warming.
Likewise, E&E called the caravan a “preview of climate migrations,” suggesting that more people will be driven from their homes due to “man-made” global warming threats. Calling it a “future that’s rapidly approaching,” the Center for Climate and Security’s Frank Femia told E&E that “climate refugees” helped spark the Syrian civil war around 2011 and that the warning signs are visible in Central America.
Conflict researchers have largely debunked many of the claims connecting global warming to armed disputes and migration, but some mainstream outlets are pushing the theory to make the case for accepting migrants into the United States.
Is The Climate Change Argument True?
The climate change theory is far from settled, and both sides of the political aisle tend to hold drastically different views on it. Scientific data also seems to tell a much different story than what the media has reported. The issue is incredibly political because the evidence does not provide definitive proof that humans are responsible for the changing climate.
A piece published by The American Thinker cited data from NASA showing that temperatures have historically been warmer than they are now. It also shows that carbon dioxide levels have often been higher throughout Earth’s history, sometimes by as much as tenfold.
Express UK reported that: “A petition by scientists trying to tell the world that the political and media portrayal of global warming is false was put forward in the Heidelberg Appeal in 1992. Today, more than 4,000 signatories, including 72 Nobel Prize winners, from 106 countries have signed it.”
Use Whatever Works
While the debate on climate change will undoubtedly rage on, the issue at hand is that there seems to be a theme of using whatever works to alleviate concerns about the 7,000-strong caravan marching toward the United States.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and New York Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calling for America to be “welcoming and tolerant” toward the migrants generated a great deal of attention. But other alarming and chilling stories regarding the caravan aren’t getting that same treatment.
Migrants set fire to Mexican Immigration facility.
Mexican news outlet Televisa Noticias explained that migrants from the caravan torched the Mexican government facility provided to house them. It was also reported this week that Mexican authorities arrested two Hondurans who allegedly shot a gun at federal police officers. One man, who claimed to be a part of the caravan, also told Fox News that he wanted to get to America so President Trump could pardon his murder conviction.
These incidents follow news that Mexican government officials are warning of Molotov cocktail attacks near a second migrant caravan, which is expected to link up with the first one.
Aside from these troubling accounts, it’s easy to see the media narrative shifting. Several outlets claimed that the migrants were fleeing “violence” and “poverty.” Then, President Trump took heat for sending 5,200 American troops to the country’s southern border. Now, several in the media are arguing global warming forced the 7,000-strong caravan to all of a sudden abandon their homes.
Though most people sympathize with migrants looking to escape violence and create a better future for their family, that can’t take a back seat to federal immigration laws and securing the border. Those in the press who weaponize the situation to advance their narrative just show how so many are just slinging ideas out there to see what sticks.
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