Multiple news outlets publish professor’s 6 tips for spotting fake science news
How can you tell if science news is fact or fiction? Marc Zimmer, Jean C. Tempel '65 Professor of Chemistry, has six tips to help media consumers detect fake science.
Originally published by The Conversation, Zimmer’s tips for spotting scientific hyperbole have now been translated into six languages and republished by The Chicago Tribune, Salon, Alternet, and Snopes.
“There are plenty of reasons a science story might not be sound. Quacks and charlatans take advantage of the complexity of science, some content providers can’t tell bad science from good and some politicians peddle fake science to support their positions,” writes Zimmer, the author of the new book, The State of Science.
“If the science sounds too good to be true or too wacky to be real, or very conveniently supports a contentious cause, then you might want to check its veracity.”
