News and Comment
‘Ask for evidence’ campaign launch
14 September 2011
Today, leading scientists and public figures are helping to launch our national campaign, saying that consumers, voters and patients should demand evidence for scientific and medical claims to counter a tide of misinformation.Derren Brown, Jonathan Ross and Dara Ó Briain have joined with representatives of Mumsnet, patient groups and science bodies to back our national campaign, “Ask for evidence”. Its aim is to get more members of the public asking advertisers, companies, government bodies and other organisations to set out the evidence they have for their claims.
The public are bombarded with scientific and medical information: on advertising material, product websites, advice columns, campaign statements, celebrity health fads and policy announcements. Even where there is some regulation, in advertising or trading standards, claims that are not based on good evidence keep reappearing. The only way to address this is to equip people to ask questions about evidence for themselves. Over 5,000 scientists and hundreds of organisations are now on hand to help.
Find out more about the campaign.
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