Science vs. Pseudoscience: Debunking Fake Science News and Developing Scientific Literacy
COVID19 and Fake News
Learn to Evaluate All Sources
See the Evaluating Sources tab from our Fake News Guide for more evaluation strategies.
FACT or OPINION?
Why people fall for misinformation
Learn to Recognize Pseudoscience
Learning to recognize pseudoscience begins with taking "a scientific approach to life." The Science Toolkit section from UC Berkeley's Understanding Science 101 covers how to recognize and critique media messages related to science.
Find more tips in the video and articles below, and on the "Evaluating Sources" page of this guide.
- Five Ways to Spot Fake News (Video)
- How to Recognize a Fake News Story
- How to Spot Fake News
- Here's How to Outsmart Fake News in Your Facebook Feed (If you have a Facebook account report any fake news you find in your feed, to encourage Facebook to block it. This article shows you how.)
Great Science Podcasts
- 60-Second ScienceIf you haven’t got much time to listen to a full-length science podcast, perhaps these short format podcasts by the Scientific American team might do the trick.
- FizzicsTWISTThe stranger side of science as well as current science news.
Regardless of how you look at it, there is a world of knowledge out there just waiting to be discovered. Soon you and your students might find yourself just as much looking forward to the next installment of your favourite podcast just as much as the anticipation many have for your favourite weekly TV show! - Infinite Monkey CageA massively successful science discussion show produced by the BBC and hosted by Professor Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince.
- Inquiring MindsHosted by neuroscientist and musician Indre Viskontas and science educator Kishore Hari, this podcast brings together science, society and politics to put the discoveries into context. Produced by Adam Isaak in partnership with the Climate Desk.
- The Naked Scientists PodcastRun by researchers from Cambridge University, this podcast aims to make science more accessible to anyone wanting to learn more about their world.
- Nature PodcastKerri Smith and Adam Levy work together to create a series of entertaining science podcasts covering the latest content on the Journal Nature
- RadiolabProduced by WNYC studios, this podcast covers a large variety of science & technology topics
- The Science ShowHosted by Robyn Williams from ABC’s Radio National, this science podcast covers the latest news and research in a longer format so as to cover the issues from multiple angles
- Science Vs.Hosted by Wendy Zuckerman and supported by Gimlet Media, Science Vs. looks at the science of current trends as well as looking into what is real and what is simply made up.
- The Skeptics Guide to the UniverseScience or Pseudoscience? Explore critical thinking and rationality in this podcast series that looks at facts and fallacies found in a variety of topics. Hosted by Dr Steven Novella and produced by SGU Productions.
- The Skeptic ZoneThe Podcast from Australia for Science and Reason - Since 2008. The Skeptic Zone Podcast is an independent production by Richard Saunders and the team of reporters.
- StarTalk RadioLove your space? This science podcast might grab your fancy as renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson brings together pop culture and science in an entertaining format.
- The Story ColliderA fascinating podcast where scientists speak about what it really like to work as a scientist as well as with a variety of stories from everyday people with a strong interest in science.
- Stuff You Should KnowPut simply, how does stuff work? Find out how all sorts of common things work in a format that takes the popular ‘how stuff works’ website to an audio format. Hosted by Charles Bryant and Josh Clark.
Learn Which Science-Related Websites Are Fake or Biased
Several scholars and journalists have compiled lists of fake news sites, including those that share pseudoscience. Here are some of the best:
- Media Bias/Fact Check (MBFC News) "Dedicated to educating the public on media bias and deceptive news practice," MBFC categorizes dozens of news sources based on their bias. The website also includes lists of reliable sources of scientific information, unreliable pseudoscience sources, and satirical sources.
- False, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and/or Satirical "News" Sources A comprehensive list of unreliable "news" sources, created by Professor Melissa Zimdars. See Zimdars's original document for "Tips For Analyzing News Sources," and read the Chronicle of Higher Education interview with her for more information about the project, and the response to it.
- Politifact This website seeks to present the true facts, unaffected by agenda or biases. Journalists set their own opinions aside as they work to uphold principles of independence and fairness.
- Bad Astronomy A blog on scientific controversies.
- SciCheck focuses exclusively on false and misleading scientific claims that are made by partisans to influence public policy.
- The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry "The mission of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry is to promote scientific inquiry, critical investigation, and the use of reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims."
- The Journal of Irreproducible Results “…offers spoofs, parodies, whimsies, burlesques, lampoons, and satires.”
- QuackWatch “…Your Guide to Quackery, Health Fraud, and Intelligent Decisions”
- Retraction Includes a select list of academic retractions.
- McGill University: Office of Science and Society: "The McGill Office for Science and Society (OSS) is a unique venture dedicated to the promotion of critical thinking, science communication, and the presentation of scientific information to the public, educators, and students in an accurate and responsible fashion. With a mandate to demystify science for the public and separate sense from nonsense, the Office has a history of tackling fake news in the world of science well before the term “fake news” even existed."
Books: Science vs Pseudoscience
Climatology Versus Pseudoscience by Call Number: QC 981.8 G56 N93 2015ISBN: 1440832013Publication Date: 2015-03-03This book explains the science of climate change in plain language and shows that the 2 to 4 percent of climate scientists who are skeptical that humans are the main cause of global warming are a fringe minority--and have a well-established history of being wrong.
The Demon-Haunted World by Call Number: Q 175 S215 1996ISBN: 039453512XPublication Date: 1996-03-05Are we on the brink of a new Dark Age of irrationality and superstition?
Pseudoscience by Call Number: Q 172.5 P77 P73 2019ISBN: 0262537044Publication Date: 2019-03-12Case studies, personal accounts, and analysis show how to recognize and combat pseudoscience in a post-truth world.
The Pseudoscience Wars by Call Number: Q 172.5 P77 G674 2013ISBN: 022610172XPublication Date: 2013-08-14Properly analyzed, the collective mythological and religious writings of humanity reveal that around 1500 BC, a comet swept perilously close to Earth, triggering widespread natural disasters and threatening the destruction of all life before settling into solar orbit as Venus, our nearest planetary neighbor
E-Books: Science Vs. Pseudoscience
Critical Thinking, Science, and Pseudoscience by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780826194268Publication Date: 2016
Good Science, Bad Science, Pseudoscience, and Just Plain Bunk by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781442217287Publication Date: 2012-01-01We are constantly bombarded with breaking scientific news in the media, but we are almost never provided with enough information to assess the truth of these claims.
Pseudoscience: a Critical Encyclopedia by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780313355080Publication Date: 2009-10-15What makes science science? How do we tell which assertions, beliefs, and methods are scientifically sound, and which are not?
The Critical Thinking Toolkit by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781118981993Publication Date: 2016-06-02The Critical Thinking Toolkit is a comprehensive compendium that equips readers with the essential knowledge and methods for clear, analytical, logical thinking and critique in a range of scholarly contexts and everyday situations.
