Politico is in hot water after the internet spotted the sponsor of one of its articles about the disastrous effects of warming global temperatures.
After the remnants of Hurricane Helene devastated Asheville, North Carolina, the digital news organization published a piece days later suggesting there might not be any climate havens remaining as extreme weather events grow more intense.
The problem? The business supporting the reporting is one of the dirty energy companies primarily responsible for creating pollution that is linked to the uptick in more severe extreme weather.
"Politico, I loved your piece on how nowhere is safe from climate disaster," The Cool Down called out via our Instagram account (@the_cool_down). "Who sponsored it? Who sponsored it?"
The sponsor in question is Chevron, a company listed for years as one of the world's biggest polluters.
"All big publishers gotta stop doing this! Looking at you NYT!" one commenter said.
According to reporting by The Intercept, The New York Times was among the major media companies that generated revenue from dirty energy advertisers from October 2020 to 2023, along with Politico, Bloomberg, The Washington Post, Reuters, The Economist, and the Financial Times. For its part, The New York Times pulled in more than $20 million.
With advertising revenue an important source of funds for media organizations, critics have questioned whether dirty energy advertisers could pressure journalists to water down or limit access to information regarding the environmental impact of their products — misleading consumers to believe their business activities are less harmful than they actually are.
"Not only does it undermine the climate journalism these outlets are producing, but it actually signals to readers that climate change is not a serious issue," one climate reporter told The Intercept, highlighting how readers might begin to question the reporting's credibility.
To manage this, some media organizations, including NPR, generally try to keep oil and gas advertisements away from environmental stories. Others argue that dirty energy sponsorships give media companies money for climate-focused work.
Nonetheless, commenters were not afraid to call out Chevron and Politico for the apparent hypocrisy.
"Chevron, what are you doing here?" one Instagrammer asked.
"@Politico, we see!!!" another said.
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