All across the globe the virtual signaling fools that we pay to manage our councils are spending ratepayer money like water on “renewable” energy fads, and if a NZ Herald article is accurate, the managers at Auckland Transport are a prime example.

They’ve just spent $1.2 million on a hydrogen powered bus, which is basically the same as a diesel powered bus except it has to be seriously modified so the hydrogen can be stored safely on board. Its far more complicated than the simple tanks needed for hydrocarbon fuel.

The bus will be trialed for two years, basically to see if a fleet of such buses would be an economic proposition or not. Most likely not, because as evidence continues to mount that claims of man caused climate change are fraudulent, the whole exercise is futile anyway.

However the real issue here is not the scam of the bus, but the reporting by the NZ Herald. The article is under the byline of one Alexander Robertson, who one would presume works for the Herald. I wrote to him and asked him why the article was labeled “paid promoted content”. Here’s the email-

Hi Alex,

re your hydrogen powered bus story in the NZ Herald. I want to do a blog post analyzing your article, and for the sake of accuracy I was hopeful you could answer a few questions.

1) The article is described as “paid promoted content”, does this mean it is a press release from Auckland Transport or some such organisation?

2) Did you write any part of the article?

3) Does paid promoted content allow any exercise of the traditional requirements of true journalism, such as skepticism, seeking truth, looking for the story behind the story?

4) One must assume from the content that the answer to question 3 is “no”. If by chance it is “yes”, then why is there no reporting on the critical issue here which is the production of the hydrogen, and the energy requirements and CO2 production involved? Storing the produced hydrogen on the bus and using it as a power source for the bus engine of course produces practically zero exhaust gases but this is hardly a significant fact. The issue with hydrogen always has been its production, but this important matter is not addressed at all in the article.

5) Do you as a journalist perceive anything unethical in the NZ Herald, a newspaper that depends upon the trust of its readers for its survival, producing this kind of article?

Hoping you can respond.

Thanks and regards
The Redbaiter

So far I have received no answer, but when I checked the article again before posting this, the “paid promoted content” label was no longer visible. So what does that mean? It was mistakenly labeled or what?

Will I get a response from Alexander?

In the end I guess it hardly matters. We already know the answer. So called journalists these days are just like the managers at Auckland Transport, more interested in virtual signaling and dispensing propaganda for their global socialist overlords than bringing truth to the public.