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Why You Should be Skeptical of Science Headlines

Amy Tuteur has an important post over at Science-Based Medicine that you really should take the time to read. In a nutshell, she points out the problems with accepting the LATEST AND GREATEST SCIENCE DISCOVERY OF ALL TIME headlines that media organizations and (some) journalists love to put out there as a way to get attention.

Very much worth the read. And the next time someone tells you that red wine will make you live forever or that some breakthrough new drug is going to cure all of our metaphysical ills with a small pill, you owe yourself some followup to determine if there is actual science behind the claim or if it’s all just bread and circuses.

Most people are unaware that scientists issue press releases about their work and they are certainly unaware that medical journalists often copy them word for word. Instead of presenting an accurate representation of medical research, medical journalists have become complicit in transmitting inaccurate or deceptive “puff pieces” designed to hype the supposed discovery and hide any deficiencies in the research.

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