There's a problem with gas stoves: the suppression of information about their harmful effects.
Washington Gas — a utility in the nation's capital and a newsroom sponsor of WUSA9 — appears to have dictated the coverage of pre-Thanksgiving stories about the effects of gas stoves, which include dangerous indoor air pollution, Heated reported.
The CBS TV station, which is owned by Tegna, published three stories a week before the biggest cooking holiday on the calendar about a two-year study of gas stoves in Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland. The research showed two-thirds of kitchens with those appliances have an "unsafe level of nitrogen dioxide when those stoves are running for 30 minutes."
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Later that day, links to two of the stories were broken, which was discovered by Beyond Gas D.C. The other story had aired during a morning newscast. One was republished six days later with information from Washington Gas about the positives of gas. The other has never reappeared (read it here).
"The practice of taking down a published story, commonly known as 'unpublishing,' is considered ethically problematic across the journalism industry," Heated reported. "Unpublishing not only undermines the public record; it raises concerns about censorship and editorial independence."
The outlet noted unpublishing is not taken lightly. It is rarely done and only if a story has major factual errors, if there was unethical reporting, or if it threatens a source. Editors should also be transparent about why they unpublished a story; it's one of the reasons editor's notes exist. Heated did not receive a response from WUSA9 or Washington Gas when it reached out.
"There's been no questioning of the veracity of our results or our process," study co-author Barbara Briggs said. "If anybody has questions, they should ask them."
Briggs called the health risks of gas stoves "significant" but noted they can be mitigated, including by placing an exhaust fan in a window. To eliminate such hazards, people can switch to an induction cooktop.
Children, older people, and those with respiratory problems and other health issues can be most affected by the pollution caused by gas stoves. The problem is not new.
"[WUSA9] essentially told Washington Gas, 'We'll kill the story, and let you decide when and whether we republish it,'" Mark Rodeffer of the Sierra Club District of Columbia told Heated. "It's shocking to me that they're letting one of their advertisers dictate stories."
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