The Climate Reality Project and Arnold Worldwide Introduce Reality Drop
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 28, 2013
CONTACT: Bill Rigler, The Climate Reality Project, +1-917-415-0612, press@climatereality.com Wendi Smith, Arnold Worldwide, +1-617-587-8131, wsmith@arn.com
Long Beach, CA (February 28, 2013) — The Climate Reality Project and Arnold Worldwide today announced the global launch of Reality Drop (www.realitydrop.org), an innovative social media tool that educates users about the reality of climate change and uses modern gaming techniques to combat professional climate deniers.
Developed through a collaboration with the website Skeptical Science, Reality Drop curates hundreds of online news articles daily for articles that demand a response—whether it's a misleading quote from a climate denier or a heated debate raging in the comments section. Reality Drop also catalogs more than one hundred of the most pervasive and topical climate myths, and distills complex science into simple and succinct rebuttals that can be shared on social networks or on comment threads beneath news articles. Reality Drop makes it easy for users to find the best science-based response, to apply accessible and easy-to-understand language, add their voice to the conversation—and help cool the argument.
“Just like the tobacco companies in the '50s, the fossil fuel industry has engaged in a well-funded and coordinated effort to mislead the public about the scientific reality of climate change,” said Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States, and Founder and Chairman of the Climate Reality Project. “Reality Drop provides an easy, intuitive way for people to arm themselves with the facts, educate their friends, family, and networks, and call on the media to report the truth.”
“When we sat down with Al Gore to talk about ways to move the climate change conversation forward, media coverage had declined sharply over the past three years,” explained Pete Favat, Managing Partner and Chief Creative Officer, Arnold Worldwide. “We had to custom-design a strategy that wouldn’t just find the right people passionate about this topic, but also make it easy for them to speak up and take part in real-time discussions that work in our digital culture. Traditional advertising just can't do that.”
“More and more, readers of online publications are leading by steering the public conversation, which is why Reality Drop is both timely and powerful,” said Maggie L. Fox, President and CEO of The Climate Reality Project. “We hold the media accountable to report the real facts, and we educate our communities about the reality we are facing together. Reality Drop connects and empowers these communities to engage in a fact-based conversation about climate change, and have fun in the process.”
Reality Drop is made possible in part through the generous support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. More information can be found at www.macfound.org.
To try out Reality Drop and for more information, please visit realitydrop.org.
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About The Climate Reality Project The Climate Reality Project is one of the world's leading organizations dedicated to mobilizing action around climate change. With a global movement more than 5 million strong and a grassroots network of trained Climate Leaders, we are spreading the truth and unleashing the cultural momentum to solve the climate crisis. Former Vice President and Nobel Laureate Al Gore is the Founder and Chairman of The Climate Reality Project. For more information, visit www.climaterealityproject.org or follow us on Twitter at @ClimateReality.
About Arnold Worldwide Arnold Worldwide is a global communications company and one of the top five most creatively awarded agencies of the past decade. Arnold delivers services across all communication touch points – advertising, digital, promotions, direct, design, branded content – and is part of Havas Creative with offices in Boston, New York, Washington DC, Toronto, London, Amsterdam, Prague, Milan, Madrid, Moscow, Lisbon, Sydney, São Paulo and Shanghai. www.arn.com.