Chesley Bonestell, “The Exploration of Mars” (1953), oil on board, 143/8 x 28 inches, gift of William Estler, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Reproduced courtesy of Bonestell LLC.

Hazards of Science Reporting

February 16, 2017

 

2/16/17 – At a recent news conference, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others once again expressed concern that childhood vaccines may actually make some kids sick or cause autism—and that journalists and the government have been colluding to cover up the truth about vaccine safety. In Issues, a journalist who has covered such claims recounts what can happen when you report evidence of science distortion that upsets activists, noting that “with respect to some topics, the more you report facts, the less they seem to matter.”