Providence Journal editorial page writer Ed Achorn is well-known in Rhode Island for stretching – and sometimes abusing – the truth in order to make a point. He sometimes defends his misstatements by labeling critiques as assaults on the First Amendment, but more often he ignores critics altogether.
But he didn’t ignore Aaron Huertas on Twitter recently. Huertas is a communications officer for the Union of Concerned Scientists, a group that organizes scientists to come up with solutions to climate change. He took Achorn to task because a Providence Journal editorial misrepresented a recent Washington Post op/ed by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse that said fossil fuel companies should be held accountable for lying about their product’s harm to the planet.
Since Achorn so infrequently defends the Journal’s seemingly unscrupulous editorials, I’ve collected the Twitter exchange between the two here.
https://twitter.com/aaronhuertas/status/609048776339288064
https://twitter.com/aaronhuertas/status/609083926733303809
https://twitter.com/aaronhuertas/status/609102514479316993
https://twitter.com/aaronhuertas/status/609104383868059648
https://twitter.com/aaronhuertas/status/609113052500381697
https://twitter.com/aaronhuertas/status/609370346827968512
https://twitter.com/aaronhuertas/status/609376008093962240
https://twitter.com/aaronhuertas/status/609386052655149056
https://twitter.com/aaronhuertas/status/609399842260000768
https://twitter.com/aaronhuertas/status/609386565731794944
Achorn eventually decided to ignore Huertas. But he didn’t seem to stop tweeting about the issue….
"All Ministers … who were Oppressors, or intended to be Oppressors, have been loud in their Complaints against Freedom of Speech." — "Cato"
— Ed Achorn (@Ed_Achorn) June 12, 2015
…Yeah, because the fossil fuel companies are being oppressed if they can’t lie about the product they sell…
]]>