Real life and fake horror dominated Doubtful News this week. Here is a rundown of the headlines last week on Doubtful News.
Last week was a bucket o' fun for "Psychic Sally Morgan". This week was no better. Some people don't know the history of skeptics digging at this celebrity psychic so we provided a chronology from when it ramped up in 2011. You can decide if the pressure against Sally is warranted or wasteful activities for skeptical activists: The Saga of Psychic Sally and the Persistent Skeptics
Masaru Emoto, who believed water reacted to positive speech, has died. Emoto died at age 71 from an illness. He believed that mean or friendly words could effect changes in the water. His ideas, however, were never validated.
Black eyed child craze is for the extremely gullible Riding the wave of unsubstantiated, urban legend, "black-eyed children" stories, a women gets her family picture posted in the media. It's an obvious hoax.
Ebola roundup – facts, fear, fiction. The US FDA cracks down on nonsense Ebola treatment claims while the sale of sanitizers and disinfectants surge in response to concerns about contamination.
Two stories that were, again, quite easily revealed as not impressive made the rounds in the media: This week’s travel horror: burrowing spider – likely fake and texts from the dead -- This number has been reassigned, stop texting
Our big story was a big crab. It was obviously fake from the onset (and it's rather discouraging that many people didn't find it completely absurd.) Finally, the originator admitted it was fake. Too late, we'd already figured that out. But many people hadn't. Imitation crab: Picture of giant crustacean off Kent is fake.
In the real world, incredibly, several people were labeled witches and torched in Tanzania. This is an ongoing problem noted by SWIFT contributor Leo Igwe. There are parts of the world were superstition rules. People die horrible deaths as a result.
Alleged witches burned to death in Tanzania
What can we do against atrocities and misinformation. At least you can stay informed. Visit DoubtfulNews.com for more stories everyday. You will be prepared to respond when friends and family pass on these false stories and superstitious beliefs. Do your part. Spread the word. Share.
Last week was a bucket o' fun for "Psychic Sally Morgan". This week was no better. Some people don't know the history of skeptics digging at this celebrity psychic so we provided a chronology from when it ramped up in 2011. You can decide if the pressure against Sally is warranted or wasteful activities for skeptical activists: The Saga of Psychic Sally and the Persistent Skeptics
Masaru Emoto, who believed water reacted to positive speech, has died. Emoto died at age 71 from an illness. He believed that mean or friendly words could effect changes in the water. His ideas, however, were never validated.
Black eyed child craze is for the extremely gullible Riding the wave of unsubstantiated, urban legend, "black-eyed children" stories, a women gets her family picture posted in the media. It's an obvious hoax.
Ebola roundup – facts, fear, fiction. The US FDA cracks down on nonsense Ebola treatment claims while the sale of sanitizers and disinfectants surge in response to concerns about contamination.
Two stories that were, again, quite easily revealed as not impressive made the rounds in the media: This week’s travel horror: burrowing spider – likely fake and texts from the dead -- This number has been reassigned, stop texting
Our big story was a big crab. It was obviously fake from the onset (and it's rather discouraging that many people didn't find it completely absurd.) Finally, the originator admitted it was fake. Too late, we'd already figured that out. But many people hadn't. Imitation crab: Picture of giant crustacean off Kent is fake.
In the real world, incredibly, several people were labeled witches and torched in Tanzania. This is an ongoing problem noted by SWIFT contributor Leo Igwe. There are parts of the world were superstition rules. People die horrible deaths as a result.
Alleged witches burned to death in Tanzania
What can we do against atrocities and misinformation. At least you can stay informed. Visit DoubtfulNews.com for more stories everyday. You will be prepared to respond when friends and family pass on these false stories and superstitious beliefs. Do your part. Spread the word. Share.
