New paper by a couple of academic climate scientists from Australia and Sweden is given a going over at https://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/02/13/claim-0-7c-century-is-exceptional/ … but read the comments below to find out more about how it was done – smoothing the data over the last 7000 years (obliterating highs and lows of temperature spikes). One guy compares this to comparing the speed of sea level rise as the tide comes in twice a day with the average rise over the last year or more. What is the purpose of the smoothing? That is all you need to ask. The answer is to eliminate all historical temperature spikes but leave the current El Nino spike at the end intact.
Who are these academic climate scientists aiming their dodgy data at? The gullible. In other words, the mainstream media and the CAGW enthusiasts who love to tweet virtue signals on every absurdity under the sun. Everyone else will laugh – but everyone else doesn't matter. They are feeding the CAGW faithful and they lap up this kind of stuff.