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When the Media Propagate Bad Science
(October 5, 2004) -
Robert Park teaches physics at the University of Maryland. With
his book Voodoo Science — The Road from Foolishness to
Fraud, he wants to help people distinguish real scientific
advances from fraudulent claims.
What do you mean  by
scientific foolishness?
Fears cultivated almost exclusively by the media
despite scientific evidence. A good example is the claim that
high-voltage power lines cause cancer. Media interest in the issue
spawned an entire research "industry": scientists embarked
on studies of magnetic fields, companies made products that emitted
weak magnetic fields, etc. The fear then spread to cellphones.
In that case, it wasn’t researchers who sounded the alarm,
but a guest of CNN host Larry King who was suing telephone manufacturers
after his wife died of brain cancer. Since then, despite evidence
to the contrary, we’re led to believe that cellphones may
be hazardous.
How do you recognize fraudulent claims?
When the media get the story before the researcher
has submitted the work to peers, the alarm bells should go off.
Serious researchers start by presenting their findings at scientific
conferences or in scientific journals. You also have to be careful
when you’re told powerful interests are trying to hush up
the story…even if that sometimes does happen.
What should journalists do when competitors are
covering an issue they consider scientifically invalid?
Journalists have a responsibility to help the public
distinguish true from false, not by censoring the news, but by
treating it with scepticism and putting the facts into perspective.
Three other speakers will join Robert Park for the panel discussion
on From Hypothesis to Hype: Crossing the Line (105A)this
afternoon from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in Cartier AB room.
Interview by Raphaëlle
Derome
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