If you think scientists and the media that “report” their findings are somehow “objective” and above criticism, think again, says Christine Dao on ICR:

… just how much can the lay public trust science news when it enters the mainstream media? The answer may frequently be, “Not much.”

Even under controlled laboratory conditions, major mistakes—and, less frequently, outright instances of fraud—have occurred:

… despite the rigors under which scientific investigations are supposed to be conducted, the lay public should understand that scientific results and conclusions reported in the news will not always be entirely accurate—not just in the reporting, but possibly in the research itself.

The common picture of the purely objective scientist is a myth; a credulous and scientifically ignorant media compound the error every day.

Mike Gray