The threat of "fake news" in America is most synonymous with the current discourse within the US political system. However, a more insidious brand of fake news seems to be affecting the public’s perception of science. Currently, 32% of Americans hold a bachelor’s degree or higher; as of 2013, science and engineering bachelor’s degrees accounted for 32% of all bachelor’s degrees. With such a small fraction of Americans with an academic scientific background, it is easy to see how the general public can have difficulty distinguishing science fiction from science fact. In an effort to combat fake news in the science community, librarians at Marston Science Library at the University of Florida have created a one-hour workshop entitled “Fake News: Science Edition.” These one-hour workshops are designed to inform the public about the most prominent types of fake science news, the characteristics of fake science news, and ability to discern between good science communication and sensationalized misinformation.

1. Fake News: Science
Edition
Samuel Putnam
Engineering Librarian, Marston Science Library, University of Florida

2. Goals for Today
Define our terms
Identify types of “Fake News”
Share the Misinformation Checklist

3. –Lui Lam, San Jose State University
“Science is humans' honest and earnest pursuit of
knowledge about Nature—which includes humans
and (living or nonliving) nonhuman systems, i.e., all
simple and complex systems…”

4. Fake News
• "screamed excitement, often
about comparatively unimportant
news."
• "lavish use of pictures, many of
them without significance."
• "impostors and frauds of various
kinds," including "faked interviews
and stories."
• "more or less ostentatious
sympathy with the underdog, with
campaigns against abuses
suffered by the common people."

5. Fake News
• "screamed excitement, often
about comparatively unimportant
news."
• "lavish use of pictures, many of
them without significance."
• "impostors and frauds of various
kinds," including "faked interviews
and stories."
• "more or less ostentatious
sympathy with the underdog, with
campaigns against abuses
suffered by the common people."
Frank Luther Mott
(1941). American
Journalism, p. 539.

6. Predatory open-
access journals

8. Retractions

11. Media
Misinformation

12. Link to the
source

13. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fossilized-poo-reveals-vegetarian-dinosaurs-had-a-taste-for-
crabs/

15. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fossilized-poo-reveals-vegetarian-dinosaurs-had-a-taste-for-
crabs/

16. Interview the
researcher

17. Consult the field

18. Samuel Putnam
Engineering Librarian
Marston Science Library
University of Florida
srputnam@ufl.edu
@samuel_putnam
https://medium.com/@samuel_putnam/
guides.uflib.ufl.edu/fnse