Public
Exxon and later ExxonMobil public communications · 1989-2004
New York Times advertorials and similar
“Public ads stressed uncertainty: the role of greenhouse gases was unclear, more research was needed, and costly action could be premature.”
The briefing is a staff preference: the mechanism is known, the company should plan. The advertorial is an audience preference: the mechanism is still a debate. Same firm, two climates.
The tell · If the technical brief is older than the uncertainty ad, the uncertainty is assigned, not discovered.
How this became public: Inside Climate News archive; later counted by Supran and Oreskes.