internet: Debunker

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

A debunker is a person or organization that exposes or discredits claims believed to be false, exaggerated, or pretentious. The term is often associated with skeptical investigation of controversial topics such as UFOs, claimed paranormal phenomena, cryptids, conspiracy theories, alternative medicine, religion, and exploratory or fringe areas of scientific or pseudoscientific research. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, "debunk" is defined as: "to expose the sham or falseness of." The New Oxford American Dictionary defines "debunk" as "expose the falseness or hollowness of (a myth, idea, or belief)". If debunkers are not careful, their communications may backfire – increasi…

Evidence: 59 • authority: 72

Scientific skepticism or rational skepticism (also spelled scepticism), sometimes referred to as skeptical inquiry, is a position in which one questions the veracity of claims lacking scientific evidence. In practice, the term most commonly refers to the examination of claims and theories that appear to be unscientific, rather than the routine discussions and challenges among scientists. Scientific skepticism differs from philosophical skepticism, which questions humans' ability to claim any knowledge about the nature of the world and how they perceive it, and the similar but distinct methodological skepticism, which is a systematic process of being skeptical about (or doubting) the truth o…

Evidence: 54 • authority: 88

UFOs, Conspiracy Theories and the New Age. How–and why–were UFOs so prevalent in both conspiracy theories and the New Age milieu in the post-Cold War period? In this ground-breaking book, David G. Robertson argues that UFOs symbolized an uncertainty about the boundaries between scientific knowledge and other ways of validating knowledge, and thus became part of a shared vocabulary. Through historical and ethnographic case studies of three prominent figures–novelist and abductee Whitley Strieber; environmentalist and reptilian proponent David Icke; and David Wilcock, alleged reincarnation of Edgar Cayce–the investigation reveals that millennial conspiracism offers an explanation as to why th…

Evidence: 43 • authority: 72

Skepticism (US) or scepticism (UK) is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the person doubts that these claims are accurate. In such cases, skeptics normally recommend not disbelief but suspension of belief, i.e. maintaining a neutral attitude that neither affirms nor denies the claim. This attitude is often motivated by the impression that the available evidence is insufficient to support the claim. Formally, skepticism is a topic of interest in philosophy, particularly epistemology. More informally, skepticism as an expression of q…

Evidence: 43 • authority: 72

The Enfield poltergeist was a claim of supernatural activity at 284 Green Street, a council house in Brimsdown, Enfield, London, England, between 1977 and 1979. The alleged poltergeist activity was centred on sisters Janet, aged 11, and Margaret Hodgson, aged 13. Some members of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) such as paranormal investigator Maurice Grosse and writer Guy Lyon Playfair, believed the haunting to be genuine, while others like Anita Gregory and John Beloff were "unconvinced" and found evidence the girls had faked incidents for the benefit of journalists. Members of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), including stage magi…

Evidence: 43 • authority: 72

The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is a program within the U.S. non-profit organization Center for Inquiry (CFI), which seeks to "promote scientific inquiry, critical investigation, and the use of reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims." Paul Kurtz proposed the establishment of CSICOP in 1976 as an independent non-profit organization (before merging with CFI as one of its programs in 2015), to counter what he regarded as an uncritical acceptance of, and support for, paranormal claims by both the media and society in general. Its philosophical position is one of…

Evidence: 43 • authority: 88

Fringe Rhetorics. Fringe Rhetorics: Conspiracy Theories and the Paranormal identifies the rhetorical similarities of conspiracy theories and paranormal accounts by delving into rhetorical, psychosocial, and political science research. Identifying something as “fringe” indicates its proximal placement within accepted norms of contemporary society. Both conspiracy theories and paranormal accounts dwell on these fringes and use surprisingly similar persuasive techniques. Using elements of the Aristotelian canon as well as Steve Oswald’s strengthening and weakening strategies, this book establishes a pattern for the analysis of fringe rhetorics. It also applies this pattern through rhetorical a…

Evidence: 43 • authority: 72

This is a list of topics that are generally considered pseudoscience by the scientific community. Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be scientific or factual but are inherently incompatible with the scientific method. Detailed discussion of these topics may be found on their main pages. Criticism of pseudoscience, generally by the scientific community or skeptical organizations, involves critiques of the logical, methodological, or rhetorical bases of the topic in question. Some of the listed topics were subject to scientific research in the past and today are considered refuted, but resurrected in a pseudoscientific fashion. Other ideas presented here…

Evidence: 38 • authority: 80

UFOs, ghosts, and cryptids on TikTok: How short-form videos on a social media platform present paranormal phenomena

Evidence: 38 • authority: 72

Coast to Coast AM is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics, most frequently relating to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 1988 until 2003; the program is currently hosted by George Noory. The program is distributed by Premiere Networks, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, both as part of its talk network and separately as a syndicated program. The program now airs seven nights a week from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. ET. It airs on over 600 affiliates, and has repeatedly been called the most popular overnight show in the country.

Evidence: 38 • authority: 72

Some conspiracy theories argue that various governments and politicians globally, in particular the United States government, are suppressing evidence that unidentified flying objects (UFO) are controlled by an extraterrestrial or "non-human" intelligence, or built using alien technology. Since the 1980s, such conspiracy theories often argue that world governments are in communication or cooperation with extraterrestrials, and some claim that the governments are explicitly allowing cattle mutilation and alien abduction. Mainstream scientists, government investigators, and skeptics maintain that little or no evidence exists to support conspiracy theories regarding alien visitation. Despite c…