Last spring I stepped down from the chair and the editorial board of the Swedish Skeptics, but I remain an enthusiastic member of the association and we have a really strong executive board these days. Now they have announced the Swedish Skeptics' annual awards for 2014.
The Enlightener of the Year award is given to Viralgranskaren, “The Viral Investigator”, a column in the Swedish version of the free subway newspaper Metro. Here journalists Jack Werner, Linnéa Jonjons och Åsa Larsson investigate claims that go viral on the social media: everything from fake celebrity deaths to racist propaganda and food safety alarmism. "The Viral Investigator also gives its readers practical advice about how they can become better investigators, and about the tell-tale signs to identify stories that are probably fake." In November Werner, Jonjons and Larsson received The Swedish Grand Journalism Prize for Innovator of the Year.
The Deceiver of the Year anti-award is given to one of the country's main morning TV news shows, TV4 Nyhetsmorgon. They have "repeatedly aired pseudoscientific and false claims, dealing among other topics with psychology, psychiatry, medicine and veterinary medicine".
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False claims? I'll give you false claims! -The mother of all kooks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHLOfA4hfjM&feature=player_embedded
This sort of issue is a target-rich environment for skeptics: “Four healthy ageing diet myths busted” http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jan/07/healthy-ageing-diet-myth…
T V4 has given up any ambitions bey ond making $$$ despite the claims made when they got their permit to broadcast 20 years ago.
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Indian scientists at odds on ancient discovery claims http://phys.org/news/2015-01-indian-scientists-odds-ancient-discovery.h…
A series of sensational claims, including that ancient Hindu sages were the pioneers of aviation and algebra, have triggered a furious debate in Indian academic circles amid warnings that nationalist breast-beating could undermine the country's burgeoning scientific reputation.
Fake stuff no longer welcome at the Discovery Channel.
(Happy dance) :)
"New chief of Discovery Channel wants to get rid of mermaids, megalodons, and all the other fake shit"
.
"Bye bye, men eaten by snakes!
So long, mermaids!
"Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Megalodons!
TV critics fell deeply, madly in love with new Discovery Channel chief Rich Ross this morning when he said he would not continue the network’s trend of telecasting fake stuff.
“It’s not whether I’m a fan of it,” Ross said, which critics let slide. “I don’t think it’s right for Discovery Channel, and think it’s something that has run its course. They’ve done very well… but I don’t think it’s something that’s right for us.”
(snip)
"Critics came ready to do battle with the new programming chief over some of the programs they most love to hate on the brand they once adored. That includes its two fake mermaid documentaries, and two suggesting the Megalodon still roams the ocean"
Worldnetdaily Again Promotes Geocentrist Documentary http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2015/01/20/worldnetdaily-again-p…