Which source of global temperature data do skeptics prefer these days?

They just say they're all fake.  It doesn't matter if they're all created by different agencies. They can't accept that all the data support AGW. There's a fairly large segment of society has become more and more disconnected from objective reality.

You mean "as government figured out how to "correct" past data making it seem the "pause" wasnt real?

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I like woodfortrees. But I use only raw data. It may not be exactly accurate, but it will be the most accurate. 

One point to look out for is data that Jimmy Hanson had anything to do with. He is an absolute scoundrel. And I really mean that. I can show you many many examples of where he has corrupted data to show Global Warming. He has a lot of ignoramus followers, even on this site, and they will drink Kool-Aid for him. He has 'adjusted' temperatures many times and it is always in favor of the earth heating up.

There are many things to consider when you search for the real temperature. Most important is the date the data was collected. The following is the longest single record of temperature data collection. It is in England at almost the time of the invention of the thermometer. 

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/10/30/how-long-bef... 

This tracks precisely with the1990 UN-IPCC report on page 202. 

Also, temperatures were not always measured in less than a degree, or integer. It was either 60 degrees or 61 degrees, never 60.4 degrees. In the mid-1800s temperature measurements were incremented by 1/3 degrees and they were collected from all over the US by telegraph and kept in Cincinnati. In 1869, the same year the Golden Spike was driven, Philadelphia started to keep its own temperature record and it was also in 1/3 degree increments. 

As we press on, sea temperatures were taken. This was by dipping a bucket into the sea and measuring it. Simple isn't it? However, that change with the advent of motor propelled ships where they would take water temperatures from the intake manifold. This caused a good increase in the earth's temperature, at least data-wise. 

Then we started to collect temperature data with thermocouples. Then in 1979 we started to collect temperatures with satellites. Then in 1997 we found flaws in the 1979 satellite method of measurment and corrected that. In the early 2000s there was some debates whether land measurement was superior over satellite measurement. 

So, it is possible to see that there are a lot of variables to be considered when considering official temperature data. To a true scientist, these variations in temperature taking and recording are a nightmare. To scam artists, like Jimmy Hansen, they are a true blessing. 

So do your own research and double-check for integrity. I like woodfortrees at this time.

World average temperature data has been fooled with so much how can it be trusted and what does it really mean??

I prefer something like the diagram below, which monitors and predicts the Sun's action and seems to be correct. The Earth is definitely cooling and that can be verified by observation, for example crop losses due to early cold and snow, winter sport venues starting in early November and lasting longer into the Spring months.

New solar research regarding Solar Plasma Forcing via NASA's Parker Probe research project is proving the diagram below to be the correct depiction of Climate Change on Earth.

Political Climate Science with its made up think tank theories, bogus data, climategate controversies, false predictions is crumbling fast.

Nature cannot be controlled by Mankind.

socialism

if we cant be rich, lets be equally poor