Cancer Quackery on YouTube
Many outlets are covering the story of Mari Lopez, a YouTuber who claimed, along with her niece, Liz Johnson, that a raw vegan diet cured her breast cancer. Johnson recently updated the videos with a...
View ArticleBad Science Promoting Organic Apples
Are we eating apples wrong? An ABC news headline reads, “If you aren’t eating the whole apple, you might be eating it the wrong way, a study finds.” This reporting is based on this study, which is a...
View ArticleFalse Memories and Fake News
Here’s yet another reminder that our memories are reconstructed fabrications our brains use to reinforce existing narratives. A new study of 3,140 participants finds that exposing people to fake news...
View ArticleThe Science Wars
In an ideal world (not the one we live in) science should be apolitical. In fact, it should be completely protected from political and other ideological influence. By this I mean the conduct of...
View ArticleSpoofing the Lede in Science Journalism
In journalism “burying the lede” means that the truly newsworthy part of a story is not mentioned until deep in the story, rather than up front where it belongs. I tried to find if there is a term that...
View ArticleNews vs Commentary
The line between news and commentary has arguably become more blurred in recent decades. This has implications for libel law, which also reflects the shifting media landscape. A recent lawsuit...
View ArticleDo Your Own Research?
A recent commentary on Forbes advises: You Must Not ‘Do Your Own Research’ When It Comes To Science. I agree with everything the author, Ethan Siegel, says in the piece. It was a good start – but did...
View ArticleMiscibility Gaps Alloy Thermal Storage
I was recently sent this article about a new miscibility gaps alloy (MGA) thermal storage material. The technology is, perhaps, an incremental advance and may be useful for grid storage, but the...
View ArticleReview of The Social Dilemma
I just watched the Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma, and found it extremely interesting, if flawed. The show is about the inside operation of the big social media tech companies and the impact...
View ArticleJoe Rogan and the Media Algorithm
The latest controversy over Joe Rogan and Spotify is a symptom of a long-standing trend, exacerbated by social media but not caused by it. The problem is with the algorithms used by media outlets to...
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