that’s not how science works

mass_shooter_media_myth

Mass Shooter Media Myth

On February 2019, television personality John Stossel released a video to Facebook watch, entitled “Media Hype Questionable Gun Control Study/MASS SHOOTER MEDIA MYTH.” That video was first shared to YouTube on December 18 2018. The clip was just under five-and-a-half minutes, and in it, Stossel introduces a segment challenging a purported “media myth” involving mass …

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Do the Colors You See in a Photograph Reveal Left or Right Brain Dominance?

On May 3 2019, @CNYcentral shared the following tweet featuring a photograph of a shoe with a claim that the colors in which it appeared to render revealed whether a reader is either “left-brained” or “right-brained”: In the tweet @CNYcentral claimed  that if “the right-half of your brain is dominant, you will see a combination …

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every_week_21_fathers_suicide_custody

Do 21 Fathers Die of Suicide Each Week Because of Child Custody Disputes?

In March 2019, a photo-based Facebook image post (archived here) contained the claim that 21 fathers died by suicide every week specifically because of “child access issues”: The post included a status update comment and a message on a sign which read, respectively: To all you women who play god with your kids just to …

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Can Apple Cider Vinegar and Coconut Oil Defeat Head Lice?

A December 2016 post on the Facebook page “Mummies & Daddies” circulates in perpetuity, continuing to spread misinformation about the effectiveness of apple cider vinegar (sometimes shortened to the initials ACV) and coconut oil as a treatment for head lice infestations in children: Underneath a photograph of a woman nit combing a child, text states: …

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peppa_pig_effect_accent

Is ‘Peppa Pig’ Giving American Kids British Accents?

In early February 2019, a number of outlets began reporting on the “Peppa effect,” a purported trend causing American preschoolers who watched the show to speak in British accents. The claims were virtually guaranteed to achieve viral traction, probably owing to the number of parents across the United States whose young children watched the often …

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