All posts tagged: article

Why You Should Be More Skeptical the Next Time You Read a Health News Article

Why You Should Be More Skeptical the Next Time You Read a Health News Article

Published by skeptic

Last year, wasabi had a big moment. CBS News claimed the sushi condiment could offer a “boost in memory,” while USA Today suggested it was linked to “a better brain.” The New York Post noted​ it had “really substantial” cognitive benefits. Yes, the spicy green stuff you always wish is guacamole was lauded by the press following the release of a new study. However, what was not mentioned was that the study had a small sample size, was published in a low-quality journal, and was funded by Kinjirushi Co., the leading global manufacturer of wasabi products—quite literally Big Wasabi. While that doesn’t necessarily invalidate the study’s findings, it’s relevant information to pass on to the reader, isn’t it?  It’s just one example, but hype is becoming more common as reporters increasingly regurgitate press releases with barely any skepticism or due diligence. This is one reason why, in 2016, epidemiologist Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz, MD, started a newsletter where he covers many misrepresented studies, such as headlines suggesting light pollution increases the risks of Alzheimer’s (Forbes), common food …

How to use ChatGPT to summarize a book, article, or research paper

How to use ChatGPT to summarize a book, article, or research paper

Published by skeptic

blackred/Getty Images Sometimes it can be hard to get all your reading done, especially with ADHD diagnoses on the rise. If you’re tasked with a school or work project and you’re pressed for time (or focus), artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots like ChatGPT can help summarize long articles, research papers, and books to make them a bit more accessible.  Also: You can now talk to ChatGPT on the phone – no Wi-Fi needed ChatGPT has come a long way from its launch in 2022, especially since it got web browsing last spring. However, all AI chatbots can make mistakes — don’t rely entirely on ChatGPT’s summary for your understanding of a text. Though ChatGPT now provides citations, they aren’t always correct. Plus, an AI system won’t interpret more abstract concepts or literature the way a human mind can, meaning it won’t necessarily capture certain themes or details. Think of ChatGPT as a tool that can help make a dense text more approachable. If you’re using it to help with other parts of your work, such as writing, tread …

MP threatened journalists with police action after gurdwara article

MP threatened journalists with police action after gurdwara article

Published by skeptic

An MP has apologised to a Birmingham newspaper after threatening to report them to the police over an article which raised concerns about a local Sikh place of worship. The Birmingham Dispatch says Preet Gill MP accused them of “seeking to bully” her, misogyny, and inaccurate reporting, following the publication of an article on Guru Nanak Gurdwara (GNG) in Smethwick. Gill reportedly told the Dispatch she intended to report them to “local police” and the “standards commissioner”. The Dispatch also claims Gill “seemed to allege” they had received an “underhand payment” to run the piece. Elected in 2017, Gill is the first Sikh woman elected to the House of Commons. She is chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Sikhs, and was formerly Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development. The original article raised concerns about GNG, where portraits of members of proscribed terror organisation Babbar Khalsa are reportedly displayed on a ‘Martyrs of the Sikh Homeland of Khalistan’ memorial wall. Gill describes GNG as her “local place of worship”. In 2023, she was …

The best luxury hotels in the Cotswolds

The best luxury hotels in the Cotswolds

Published by Sam

From gracious old farmsteads and magnificent manor houses to an ancient coaching inn creaking with Tudor character, the top luxury hotels in the Cotswolds combine a wonderful sense of history with contemporary style and outstanding modern British cuisine. Whether near picturesque Broadway in the north of the region or close to Bath in the south, location is a key attribute to them all: some offer serene escapes in acres of their own rolling parkland; others sit amid superb gardens; and several take over classic honey-stone villages that look as if they have been beamed in from a halcyon era of the past. They all excel in providing creature comforts, whether crackling fires by kick-back sofas, canopy beds with soft throws, or suites with terraces and hot tubs. Facilities are top-notch too, ranging from beautiful bars and quiet terraces to blissful spas with inviting pools and even an opportunity for equine adventures. Read on to discover our pick of the best luxury hotels in the Cotswolds. Source link

Complaint rejected over article linking Doug Barrowman to suicides

Complaint rejected over article linking Doug Barrowman to suicides

Published by Sam

Baroness Michelle Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman. Picture: PA Media The Daily Mail was justified in reporting that businessman Douglas Barrowman made millions from tax avoidance schemes that led to suicides, according to press regulator IPSO. Barrowman, the husband of Tory Peer Baroness Michelle Mone, claimed an article headlined: “How Baroness Bra’s (equally flashy) husband made £300m from dubious tax-avoidance schemes that ruined thousands and led to two suicides” was inaccurate. The piece, from January 2024, reported that Barrowman was “behind a company that, for most of the 2010s, sold flawed tax schemes to mostly middle-class workers”. It said that, when the scheme “unravelled”, “clients were left facing huge tax bills”, and it reported many were “financially ruined and at least two former customers of his firms have since committed suicide”. Barrowman argued the deaths had come about because of HMRC’s conduct in recouping the funds, not because of the scheme itself or his actions. Thanks for subscribing. Close The article also described Barrowman as a “roly-poly Scottish businessman” with “cocktail-sausage fingers” and “recently …

An Article the Likes of Which Nobody Has Ever Seen

An Article the Likes of Which Nobody Has Ever Seen

Published by José

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. But don’t worry—nobody has, ever. Or at least, that’s what Donald Trump would say if asked about, well, anything. It’s the ex-president’s favorite locution. “Groceries, food has gone up at levels that nobody’s ever seen before. We’ve never seen anything like it—50, 60, 70 percent,” Trump said recently. (This is not true, though if it were, it would be unlike anything seen in American history.) He used the same phrase to speak about law and order last month: “We’re here today to talk about how we are going to stop the Kamala crime wave that is going on at levels that nobody has ever seen before.” (The country is not even at its most violent point in Trump’s life, much less ever.) Or sometimes he uses it more generally: “Our country cannot stand another four years of what we’ve been through. Our country has been through a trauma, the likes of which we’ve never seen before.” (Not for the first time, he seems to have forgotten about …

Sarah Lancashire’s blended family and kids’ 16-year age gap

Sarah Lancashire’s blended family and kids’ 16-year age gap

Published by skeptic

Happy Valley actress Sarah Lancashire is notoriously private about her home life, deciding not to have social media accounts unlike many celebrities. Away from cameras, she is a mum-of-three as well as being step-mum to her husband’s three children. Sarah, 59, is married to TV producer and executive, Peter Salmon, 67, a well-known TV producer and executive. Find out more about former Coronation Street star Sarah’s children below, and the large age gap between her sons. WATCH: Did you watch Happy Valley series 3? Sarah Lancashire’s sons from first marriage Sarah married Gary Hargreaves – a music lecturer 11 years her senior – at the age of 22 and they welcomed two sons together, Thomas in 1987, and Matthew in 1988, before separating in 1995 and divorcing soon after. © ITV/ShutterstockSarah Lancashire as Raquel Watts on Coronation Street in 1994 Sarah previously revealed she got married to Gary as she fell pregnant, later telling The Mirror: “Im a very traditional girl and was horrified at the thought of having a child out of wedlock. “I didn’t …

The best family hotels in Majorca

The best family hotels in Majorca

Published by skeptic

The joy of Majorca is that there is a huge selection of welcoming properties island-wide catering for family needs. A warm ambience with engaged staff can be expected and on-site child-friendly activities, sports and entertainment. All these hotels will offer kids’ clubs, safe play areas and supervised pools as well as cultural and adventure-led outings to waterparks, interactive museums and attractions. Suites, adjoining rooms and additional sofa beds are offered, while services that include babysitting, toy, cot and pushchair hire make life easier for parents. Child-friendly menus are offered and special treats often stashed away in minbars. Here are the best family hotels in Majorca. Source link

Singapore government briefings for international banks not ‘unusual’ as asserted in FT article: Indranee

Singapore government briefings for international banks not ‘unusual’ as asserted in FT article: Indranee

Published by Sam

SINGAPORE: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah on Tuesday (May 7) refuted a Financial Times (FT) report that had characterised government meetings with top international banks as “unusual”. The Apr 20 article, titled “Singapore gives top-level briefings to reassure foreign banks on stability”, said the government had given international banks an “unusual series of top-level briefings on geopolitics”. The purpose of this, the article said, was to reassure the banks that Singapore “can remain stable and neutral at a time of rising tension between China and the West”. In a written parliamentary reply to Member of Parliament Louis Chua (WP-Sengkang), who had asked Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong about the objectives and key messages of such briefings, Ms Indranee took issue with the way these meetings were framed by FT. “It is surprising that such a poorly sourced story, vainly searching for a point, could appear in a major paper like FT, especially after we had repeatedly clarified matters with the reporter, including telling her the briefings were not unusual,” said Ms Indranee …

Woman in Wake Up Singapore KKH miscarriage article to be charged with defamation

Woman in Wake Up Singapore KKH miscarriage article to be charged with defamation

Published by skeptic

SINGAPORE: A woman who was cited in a Wake Up Singapore (WUSG) report about a purported miscarriage that occurred at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) will be charged in court on Monday (May 6) with defamation, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said on Sunday. The woman, now 27, will be the second person charged with defamation in relation to this case after WUSG’s founder and administrator Ariffin Iskandar Sha Ali Akbar was charged with the same offence on Apr 24. The article, titled “The baby is probably dead – Woman shares a harrowing account of her miscarriage at KKH A&E”, was published by the alternative news source in March 2022. It alleged that mismanagement on the part of KKH resulted in the woman suffering a miscarriage during a four-hour wait at the hospital on Feb 28, 2022, in which she was left unattended. Following the woman’s claim, KKH stated that there were no records of such an incident occurring at the hospital and subsequently filed a police report. The woman then admitted to WUSG that her claims …