New research published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology reveals that “Trusting Science” has made people more likely to disseminate false claims than those who use critical evaluation. The study revealed that when an article contains scientific references, people view the article as credible and boldly share it without considerations for reporting bias, prejudice or political motivations. 

In this episode we will discuss how blind acceptance of information in the presence of simple scientific references sterilises critical analysis. It cultivates a damaging attitude of “blind faith” towards anything that seems remotely “scientific” when it is, in function, propaganda.