Many scientists, science communicators, or skeptic activists know, how uncomfortable and disinforming it is to have your message misquoted, edited, or twisted to fit the narrative. How serious are the consequences?
A new documentary Science Friction plans to explore the consequences of misinterpretation, but they need your help. The creators and producers Skeptoid Media, Inc. are raising funds for their endeavor.
If you are still looking for a holiday gift for yourself or others, donate in your name or in the name of your loved ones! All donors will be thanked in the end credits.
The “Vaxxed” conspiracist film logo was used to spread the fake news.
Warning: anti-vaccination groups all over the world are trying to push a fake news story (using #Icantforget) about a kid that supposedly died from SIDS (also known as cot death). However, the kid in the photo is alive and well, and vaccinated. The antivaxxers didn’t even have permission to use the photo; it was stolen from a photoshoot series of the son of Australian photographer Brayden Howdie.
Last Sunday, one day before its 23rd anniversary, representatives of member organisations of the European Council of Skeptical Organisations (ECSO) elected a new Board. This happened during the 17th European Skeptics Congress in Wrocław, Poland. The ECSO Board 2017-2019 is constituted as follows:
President: Claire Klingenberg
(Czech Skeptics Club Sisyfos, Czechia) Vice-president: Tim Trachet
(SKEPP, Belgium) Treasurer: Amardeo Sarma
(GWUP, Germany/Austria/Switzerland)
Member: Paola De Gobbi
(CICAP, Italy) Member: Pontus Böckman
(Vetenskap och Folkbildning, Sweden)
Associate member: András Gábor Pintér
(Szkeptikus Társaság, Hungary) Associate member: Michael Heap
(Association for Skeptical Enquiry, UK) Associate member: Catherine De Jong
(Vereniging tegen de Kwakzalverij, Netherlands) Associate member: Leon Korteweg
(De Vrije Gedachte, Netherlands)
The newly elected ECSO board, convening at the 17th European Skeptics Congress in Wrocław, Poland. Back row: Catherine de Jong, Paola De Gobbi, Pontus Böckman, Amardeo Sarma, András Gábor Pintér. Front row: Michael Heap, Tim Trachet, Claire Klingenberg, Leon Korteweg. Photo taken by Eran Segev (CC-BY-SA 4.0).
Gábor Hraskó has stepped down as president, and was thanked for his efforts in chairing the rationalist pan-European umbrella in the past four years. Hraskó, though unofficially in capacity, will still be instrumental in the functioning of ECSO.
The Council also welcomed a new member organisation to its ranks: the Polish Skeptics Club (Klub Sceptyków Polskich, KSP), founded in 2010 and co-organiser of the 17th European Skeptics Congress.
Aside from choosing a fresh leadership, reforms and expansions of the ECSO’s functioning, activities and international cooperation were extensively discussed. One of the first orders of business is to analyse relationships that ECSO has with its member organisations and see what the new Board can do to make ECSO a powerful ally for its members, both nationally and internationally.
Thanks to Adam Kumiszcza, TheESP now has it’s own Wikipedia page! The European Skeptics Podcast (TheESP) is a weekly podcast hosted by three skeptics representig several European skeptic organisations in Europe: András G Pintér from Hungary, Jelena Levin from Latvia and Pontus Böckman from Sweden. The main goal of the podcast is to support European level actions within the skeptical movement.
