Term

Definition

Note

False connection and misinterpreted content

Wrongly interpreted, explained or incorrectly understood content - with or without intention

Can become disinformation when the receiver of the information doesn’t notice or isn’t aware of the error and as a result believes something in a wrong way

Wrongly interpreted statistics - misuse of numerical data

Data and statistics are often misinterpreted in one or more of the following ways:

We recommend that you watch the Ted-Ed's “How statistics can be misleading" video by Mark Liddell (currently available with subtitles in 25 languages).

Vaccine myths

U.S. public health officials have been combating misconceptions about vaccine safety for over twenty years. They’ve had mixed success. Despite the fact that numerous studies have found no evidence to support the notion that vaccines cause autism and other chronic illnesses, a growing number of parents are refusing to vaccinate their children. Misconceptions arise - int his particular case - because there is a poor general understanding of how vaccines work. For example, This article provides a summary of the most common misconceptions related to vaccination:

> The “Overloaded Immune System” Misconception
> The “Disappeared Diseases” Misconception

> The “More Vaccinated Than Unvaccinated People Get Sick” Misconception
> The “Hygiene and Better Nutrition Are Responsible for the Reduction in Disease Rates, Not Vaccination” Misconception
> The “Natural Immunity Is Better Than Vaccine-acquired Immunity” Misconception

Science fraud

The lessons of famous science frauds is an article shedding light on two cases in which scientists have failed the standards.

Michael LaCour was a promising young social scientist until his eye-catching study about swaying public opinion on gay marriage, published last year in one of the world’s leading journals, turned out to have been built on data that can’t be found.

Anil Potti was a rising star at Duke whose studies of cancer genetics drew heaps of praise — and research dollars — until his academic career crumbled under questions about his résumé, and the integrity of his findings.”