I don't think fashion comes into it. Chomsky was always on the marginalized radical left. He would never have been given a column in a major mainstream journal. He hasn't been great on some topics in recent years like Libya and Syria but that stands out in stark contrast to a whole lifetime of consistent and principled dissent - which included both activism and a mind-blowing quantity of public talks and writing - on US foreign policy to say nothing of his eye-opening analysis on countless topics related to politics, history, and media. So I think, given his age and vast contributions, he should get some slack. Monbiot's something else altogether. He's a professional journalist for a mainstream sell-out rag and has gone from sometime dissident to careerist chancer who has even sunk to smearing genuine dissidents - like Chomsky, Pilger, Herman, Peterson, and probably others - to gain favour with a corrupt establishment that he can't bring himself to turn his back on. Just look at the difference between Chomsky's unrestrained defense of Assange - visiting him in the embassy, speaking about him publicly on every opportunity, calling him a hero, writing open letters and signing petitions in his defense - to Monbiot's cowardice. That alone speaks volumes about the difference between them.