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The most frequent complaint about us skeptics is that we're party-poopers. How much more fun the world would be, say the non-skeptics, if only we all believed in unicorns, psychic powers, God, or panhandlers who really just lost their wallets and only need a few cents for bus fare back home.

Upon seeing what he deemed a poorly-constructed paper by a colleague in physics, Wolfgang Pauli is apocryphally said to have, "This isn't right. This isn't even wrong."

A journalist decided to tackle her favorite food concerns and check them out with experts from nearby medical centers the answers surprised her.

Some comments made by Dr. Ben Carson and Donald Trump during the GOP debates ignited controversy on a long-settled issue, but one that science deniers continue to raise: vaccine and autism in children. But a new study again shows that there is no link between vaccines and the condition.

New York, NY -- July 21, 2008. The latest attempt by proponents of organic agriculture to prove that organically grown crops are nutritionally superior to conventional ones has failed, according to Joseph D. Rosen, Ph.D., emeritus professor of Food Toxicology at Rutgers University and a scientific advisor to the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH).

Though we spent about nine months of the year focused almost exclusively on COVID, we did find time to debunk pseudoscientific nonsense. Here are the top 10 junk science and bogus health claims we debunked in 2020.

As is the case every year, 2019 was full of junk science, bogus health claims, misinformation, and outright lies. We debunked scores of them this year, but the following list is what we consider the top 10.

The FDA has tried to fight opioid addiction by asking patients to mail their excess prescription pain meds to the agency for disposal. It's an absurd proposal. There's lots of anti-pesticide 'facts' floating around the internet; let's debunk the most popular of these claims.

In a world dominated by the click of a button, where bad news seemingly travels at the speed of light, while science-based good news barely makes it into the media at all, it should come as no surprise that an article titled "Eight Foods That We Eat In The U.S. That Are Banned In Other Countries" would get a half million hits on BuzzFeed.

In part one of this series, we looked at some of the hallmarks of sloppy pesticide reporting. We round out our analysis here with a breakdown of three more themes common to this species of junk journalism.

Should Facebook be in the business of "debunking" news and scientific data when events are rapidly changing? What's true today may be declared false tomorrow, only to be declared true again a week later. Furthermore, does Facebook have the expertise to do so?

Dr. Chuck Dinerstein and Cameron English recently joined Dr. Jay Lehr and Tom Harris on The Other Side of the Story radio show to discuss the controversial claim that "obesity acceptance is ruining our health." Is that true, or has the public health establishment actually exaggerated the dangers of being overweight?

In a masterful example of thorough scientific reporting, Jon Entine makes it clear that the recent accusations that the group of pesticides called neonicotinoids (neonics) is responsible for Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) of honeybees are baseless.

1. In America, we have the luxury of plentiful, affordable energy and full bellies - and so we have groups who are raising a billion dollars a year criticizing modern science and technology. Most media outlets just play along but UPI recently took a critical look at one topic; the claims of health effects related to modern natural gas extraction.

The October DEA National Drug Assessment, which claimed that opioid analgesic pills were doing most of the killing was pure BS. Now there is even more evidence of this, courtesy of New Hampshire. Only 9% of OD deaths were from pills, the rest for heroin and fentanyl. More lies put to rest.

The American Council on Science and Health writes at least 1,300 original articles on our website, produces five books, and writes science op-eds in America's largest newspapers every month. That means we get a lot of media traction. Here is who used our work this past week.

Peer review is not a corporate conspiracy, even though at least one biology professor thinks so.

In the first of a series for the FOX podcast network, the Council's medical director clarifies misperceptions surrounding infant nutrition. This includes new trends, like importing specific organic formulas from overseas for being so-called "more pure" or "natural."

Branding normal phases of development and transitions have become a thing, mainly to sell books more than identify any new discovery. That said, the first three months of a baby’s life after birth and mom’s postpartum period is a rather unique time for many reasons.

Dr. Josh Bloom in TV interview about the unadulterated junk science behind a phony scare about premature infant deaths near a nuclear power plant in Huntsville, AL. The scare worked, but the data sure don t. Read more

Two new additions to the growing scientific (as opposed to the ideological) literature on reduced-risk nicotine products (e-cigarettes in shorthand) show more clearly their high likelihood of benefiting smokers trying to quit smoking.

A January 29, 2006 "Blog On!" column by Dawn Eden described avowedly skeptical and counter-skeptical blogs, noting ACSH's own HealthFactsAndFears.com:

In his syndicated column, Fox Business News’ John Stossel debunks the myths surrounding the recent claims of adverse health effects associated with bisphenol-A (BPA), a plastic ingredient widely and safely used in many products for over 50 years. Stossel stated that in many cases, the media is responsible for much of this fear-mongering in order to get better ratings.

The Centers for Disease Control notes that obesity-related cancers now comprise 40 percent of all cancers diagnosed. When scaremongering groups insisted chemicals were the problem, we noted this was happening.

This new work, "Factfulness," is all about giving us the means of debunking and separating the reality of life from the dramatic narratives we create instinctively or are told about. It continues the teachings and wisdom of Dr. Hans Rosling.