Anyone watching this documentary should be cautioned that one of its contributors, George Monbiot, has written on Bluesky about how he was essentially deceived, and his views misrepresented by the makers.
George Monbiot is an extremely credible UK based journalist who writes and campaigns on a bunch of issues relating to environment, including population growth and decline.
I'd take his word on these topics over the makers of this documentary every time so, caveat emptor.
That's quite the general statement! As to not get lost in the weeds, I'll just say (
[edit] actually didn't work out.. lol) that I don't see how his views were misrepresented. I don't think he says in his article 'Hatewashed' that he was deceived either. It's more like he's framing himself as a victim, but from the letter he posted: "
would appreciate being able to speak with you about the environmental challenges the planet is facing.", seems pretty clear to me that he just didn't expect that the mainstream narrative/position would be challenged.
Had he known beforehand, he might not have wanted to participate, but is this really unethical journalism as Monbiot claims? Maybe to some extent, but in my book, as long as his positions aren't misrepresented through misleading editing, which I don't think were, I wouldn't call it unethical. You can easily find his articles on the topic on his own website (
ex), and it aligns to what he said in the interview. It really seems to be a framing issue, like he didn't appreciate the negative light and negative feedback he received after the documentary was published, due to his claims/positions.
I don't think he was
"their target" either, just one example of someone holding his view on the topic. Some of his accusations towards the documentary, ex;
"because I’m “not honest”", might not be accurate either, likely something he inferred from something they said in the 2h50, but I rewatched his bit and didn't notice the bit where they supposedly said he was dishonest... (shrug)
Anyway, his bit is at
1h50 of the documentary. But if you haven't, I'd just watch it from the start and not to skip to that part. I'd say watch the documentary, then read Monbiot's articles, but IMHO, Monbiot is clearly wrong on the topic, so relying on his opinion or position would be a mistake. But it's clearly a contentious and divisive topic so... (which btw shouldn't be, but as Monbiot's 'myth' article, a lot of people like to associate the topic with 'isms', even if in reality it has nothing to do with it... Which is why the topic is typically shunned in most public circles.)
, but then again I am a tofu munching veggie crunching flag waver for Greta Thunberg and her actions in highlighting just how fucked we are.
Though it might not be apparent if you've been immersed in the culture, the level of material wealth enjoyed by average US Americans in 2025 would stagger their counterparts from 50 years prior.
