This Might Be the Most Jaw-Dropping Tale of Fraud You Read This Year

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Yesterday, a friend emailed to complain about this headline at NBC News: 

Climate change expert’s fraud was ‘crime of massive proportion,’ say feds

Technically, this headline is correct. It’s about a guy who’s a climate change expert. And he did perpetrate a fraud. The thing is, his fraud had nothing to do with the fact that he’s a climate change expert. So why make it sound that way in the headline? Is it just clickbait for the fever swamp denier crowd?

And yet! You really, really ought to click the link and read the story anyway. Just ignore the ridiculous headline and dig in. This really is one of the more remarkable fraud stories of the year. I guarantee your mouth will be hanging open by the time you finish it.

Fact:

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