This is pretty common. A headline and a story imply that North Carolina largemouth bass contain high levels of mercury. We are told they’ve been put on an “advisory list.” We’re told by a Duke scientist that coal-fired power plants spew mercury into the air and it is then deposited on the land and in the water. We’re told by the same scientist how fish can absorb this mercury as the tainted water flows over their gills.
But we aren’t shown any indication that anyone actually tested the largemouth bass to actually see if this is happening. Maybe they did, but the story doesn’t tell us. That leads me to wonder if this is all journalistic sleight of hand. In short, the headlline, “Mercury taints anglers’ catches,” is not supported by the story beneath it. Is this just an oversight or a global-warming-style alarmist story not backed up by an real data?
