[ weird things ] | mass media
articles tagged: mass media
how to sell the same aliens twice
# astrobiology

how to sell the same aliens twice

Alien hunting is a long, complicated, and arduous process. Pop sci news coverage wants to make it sound fast paced and exciting, even if editors have to sell the same stories again and again.

time.com fawns over anti-vax activists
# health

time.com fawns over anti-vax activists

Still not grasping the impact of anti-vaccination activists, the media is treating them as bold, outspoken advocates for a different view, not the public health menaces they are.

mass media: say it now, fact check it later
# science

mass media: say it now, fact check it later

Driven by the need for clicks and eyeballs, media outlets are almost uniformly bad at reporting science stories without giving a platform to cranks and denialists.

just keep smiling, no matter what
# health

just keep smiling, no matter what

A disturbing new trend is invading American discourse: toxic, weaponized positivity and optimism.

why you should support your skeptics
# science

why you should support your skeptics

Science and skeptical blogs seem to be everywhere. Unfortunately their combined audience pales in comparison to the bully pulpits of committed cranks and anti-science activists on a mission.

goodbye to the decade of the crank
# science

goodbye to the decade of the crank

If you're a divisive, scientifically illiterate crank whose only talents are to start fights and attract attention, you've been living your best decade.

check your caller i.d., it might be brain cancer
# health

check your caller i.d., it might be brain cancer

Politicians are not waiting for the science when it comes to the possible dangers of cell phones and legislating based on slim to nonexistent evidence.

when a fiery demagogue reaches a new low
# politics

when a fiery demagogue reaches a new low

Bill Donohue, a fire and brimstone polemicist with morals considered barbaric by 15th century standards, mouths off on Christians' duty to outbreed the secular and educated.

creationists start circling ida’s cadaver
# evolution

creationists start circling ida’s cadaver

Creationists believe that the scientific conclusions about Ida the fossil are a death blow to evolution. In reality, they're just attacking the much ridiculed hype generated by its discoverer.

when you really need a controversy…
# politics

when you really need a controversy…

How do you cover a schism that doesn't actually exist? You whip one up from cherry-picked quotes and use them to stir up a tempest in a teacup.

    newer articles
older articles