News You Can Trust?

Climate Change In The Media: The Good, The Bad, & The Fox News  . . .

A lie can corrupt the mind by stealing your ticket to reality and by insidiously destroying your sanity  #Truth

"Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has just published an analysis of 2013 climate coverage by the three major American cable news networks. The report and data are available online, and the results are summarized in the figure below.

UCS reviewed nearly 600 segments mentioning "global warming" or "climate change" across the networks' most prominent evening and weekend programs during the 2013 calendar year. Segments that contained any inaccurate or misleading representations of climate science were categorized as misleading; otherwise they were characterized as being accurate."


Something a bit more troubling, according to another study reported in Mcclure's Magazine, the Standford School of Medicine showed the top eight reasons why published research is wrong and how we need to be on guard when determining what is the real truth at hand when being informed by the media. 

"Here are a few of the reasons it found:

1. Researcher Bias
Many scientists depend on grants from government or industry, and this creates an incentive to deliver pleasing results to the hand that feeds.

2. Lottery Effect
If 10 studies show inconclusive (boring) results, but an eleventh study shows a positive (exciting) result – the ‘exciting’ study is the one that will be submitted for publication.

3. Publication Bias
Scientific Journals favor studies that show something “new,” so there is little incentive for studies that show an old theory was “right all along,” or everything is just fine.

4. False Alarms
The tolerance used in clinical studies means that even if a theory is wrong – it could still appear as true in 1 out of 20 studies.

5. Random Patterns
Look at enough unrelated data, and a correlation can be found for just about anything. But correlation does not equal causation.

6. Human Error
Simple mistakes, co-mingling of data, unreliable memories, and wishful thinking can and do influence study results.

7. Reporter Bias
Reporters and editors have a favored view of the world, and are quick to give top billing to studies, which seemingly confirm them.

8. Fraud
Data can be invented or manipulated in very creative ways, sometimes with malice, and sometimes even with good intentions."

Signing Off Pink
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