The Skeptic (@skeptic.org.uk)

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

Expert skeptical analysis of pseudoscience, conspiracy theory and claims of the paranormal, since 1987. Reason with compassion. 🌐 https://www.skeptic.org.uk/

1.3K followers 43 following1.4K posts

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The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

13 Nov 2024

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The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

skeptic.org.ukThe Skeptic Podcast – Episode 087 - The SkepticFeaturing articles from Gabriel Andrade (April 2025), Akshit Mishra (October 2025), Robyn Lowe (April 2022), and Dave Hahn (July 2026).

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

skeptic.org.ukFrom the archives: Write your own pseudoscience – a new angle on the prophecies of Nostradamus - The SkepticFrom the archives in 1993, Bob Basalla tries his hand at writing his own pseudoscientific tome, on chess history, with Nostradamus as a guide

The Skeptic

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skeptic.org.ukBiased about bias: as social creatures, we should try to understand where our biases come from - The SkepticGuarding against bias is a fool's errand - instead of pretending we can ignore them, we should acknowledge biases, and put them into context.

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

Lord Toby Young and the Daily Sceptic win 2026 Rusty Razor award for worst pseudoscience of the year www.skeptic.org.uk/2026/10/lord...

skeptic.org.ukLord Toby Young and the Daily Sceptic win 2026 Rusty Razor award for worst pseudoscience of the year - The SkepticLord Toby Young and the Daily Sceptic, promoters of climate change denial and antivax misinformation, win the 2026 Rusty Razor Award.

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

Consumer protection campaigner Martin Lewis wins 2026 Skeptical Activism Ockham award www.skeptic.org.uk/2026/10/cons...

skeptic.org.ukConsumer protection campaigner Martin Lewis wins 2026 Skeptical Activism Ockham award - The SkepticMartin Lewis, a consumer protection journalist who campaigns against finance scams, wins the 2026 Ockham Award for Skeptical Activism.

skeptic.org.ukThe Skeptic Podcast – Episode 086 - The SkepticFeaturing articles from Carlos Orsi (March 2024), Danny Chambers and Robyn Lowe (March 2022), Edzard Ernst (July 2021), and Rachel Ooi (August 2024).

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

skeptic.org.ukThe Gorbals vampire: the monster with iron teeth, and the evidence with none - The SkepticIn 1954 a Glasgow cemetery filled with children hunting a vampire. Within a week the whole country knew what had made them do it, and nobody had checked.

The Skeptic

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skeptic.org.ukThe Tiffany Problem: the modern things that are counterintuitively much older than we assume - The SkepticIt's natural to map the world around us with heuristics, but sometimes they can lead us astray or even reveal our biases and bigotries.

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

skeptic.org.ukFrom the archives: A Supernatural IQ? Investigating a claim to an extraordinary IQ - The SkepticFrom the archives in 1993, Andrew M Colman questions contemporaneous claims of extraordinarily and implausibly high IQ scores.

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

skeptic.org.ukOur universe is not just a computer simulation, but try telling that to the billionaires of Big Tech - The SkepticThe theory that life is a Matrix-like computer simulation has caught on in Silicon Valley and is taking on increasingly religious tones.

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

skeptic.org.ukThe Skeptic Podcast – Episode 085 - The SkepticFeaturing articles from Elissar Gerges (August 2022), Shaun Sellars (October 2021), Ian Harrison (May 2024), and Brian Davis (July 2023).

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

skeptic.org.ukDenialism as health policy: case study of US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr - The SkepticRFK Jr, the most senior figure in US health, has spent decades undermining vaccines, denying the reality of AIDS, and endangering Americans.

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

skeptic.org.ukAG1 from Athletic Greens are arguably the Lazarus of nutritional supplements - The SkepticAthletic Greens' "AG1" supplement range come with celebrity endorsements, slick marketing... and overblown nutritional claims.

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

skeptic.org.ukFrom the archives: The Big Bang Controversy – A look at pseudoscience in cosmology - The SkepticFrom the archives in 1993, Taner Edis looks at what was known about the Big Bang and the origin of the universe at the time.

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

Samalia Bala’s arrest in Nigeria for witchcraft is a travesty – he must be released immediately | Leo Igwe The Advocacy for Alleged Witches urges the Zamfara state government in Nigeria to release Samalia Bala, who has been falsely imprisoned for witchcraft. www.skeptic.org.uk/2026/10/sama...

skeptic.org.ukSamalia Bala's arrest in Nigeria for witchcraft is a travesty - he must be released immediately - The SkepticThe Advocacy for Alleged Witches urges the Zamfara state government in Nigeria to release Samalia Bala, who has been falsely imprisoned for witchcraft.

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

skeptic.org.ukThe Skeptic Podcast – Episode 084 - The SkepticFeaturing articles from Blake Smith (March 2025), Robyn Lowe (August 2022), Shaun Sellars (May 2021), and Alice Howarth (January 2024).

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

skeptic.org.ukEverything I wish you didn’t need to know about race science and so-called "race realists" - The SkepticRecent events thrust eugenics back into the public eye, but we should remember that the field of "race science" is thoroughly discredited.

The Skeptic reposted

Michael Marshall

@mrmmarsh.bsky.social

It's October, already! I'll be speaking in Liverpool on Thursday 15th, about pseudoscience hiding behind cries of "free speech"... and how even some skeptics fall for it. www.meetup.com/merseyside-s... It's the day before the European Skeptics Congress, if you're attending that, too!

meetup.comMichael Marshall: When pseudoscience hides behind ‘free speech’, Thu, Oct 15, 2026, 7:30 PM | MeetupAs skeptics and critical thinkers, free speech is a value we must strive to uphold, and to defend. Yet, the free speech argument has often been weaponised by opponents of s

The Skeptic reposted

Merseyside Skeptics

@merseyskeptics.org.uk

Michael Marshall: When pseudoscience hides behind ‘free speech’ - Thursday, Oct 15 · 7:30 PM Michael Marshall will show how skeptics have seen our commitment to free speech hijacked and weaponised by the very pseudoscientists we seek to counter. www.meetup.com/merseyside-s...

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

skeptic.org.ukSocialwashing: How fair is 'Fair Trade', and how is the average consumer meant to know? - The SkepticLike its cousin 'greenwashing', 'socialwashing' uses unclear labelling to mislead consumers about the social impacts of a product.

The Skeptic

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skeptic.org.ukFrom the archives: Psychic Diary - The Flixton Woodpecker - The SkepticFrom the archives in 1993, Toby Howard explains how even mysterious sounds that befuddle authorities can have perfectly natural origins.

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

skeptic.org.ukMeeting the burden of evidence: How homeopathy is like plate tectonics... and how it differs - The SkepticIdeas once dismissed as scientifically implausible can turn out to be true - but only if they can meet the evidentiary burden required for proof.

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

skeptic.org.ukThe Skeptic Podcast – Episode 083 - The SkepticFeaturing articles from Mike Hall (February 2025), Edzard Ernst (February 2021), Claire Klingenberg (April 2024), and Sean Slater (July 2024).

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

Subscribe to the weekly newsletter from The Skeptic Every Friday, we send you the latest articles and podcasts from The Skeptic magazine, directly to your inbox theskeptic.eo.page/subscribe

theskeptic.eo.pageSubscribe to The SkepticSubscribe to the weekly newsletter from The Skeptic

The Skeptic

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skeptic.org.ukWhy it is reasonable to label Nathan Cofnas’s race realism as pseudoscientific - The Skeptic"Race realist" Nathan Cofnas claims his "hereditarianist" viewpoint is scientifically accurate - by citing pseudoscientific research and misleading rhetoric.

The Skeptic

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skeptic.org.ukWith the increasing awareness of menopause symptoms comes a rush by supplement companies to cash in - The SkepticMore and more, women on social media are being bombarded by ads and sponsored posts promising solutions to menopause symptoms.

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

22 Sept

skeptic.org.ukFrom the archives: Unravelling the mysteries of creativity - The SkepticFrom the archives in 1993, Margaret Boden looks at the mystery and paradox of human creativity, and where creative ideas come from.

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

21 Sept

skeptic.org.ukPresident Bukele’s head of marketing Lina Seiche uses misleading techniques to sell autocracy online - The SkepticLina Seiche began as a cryptocurrency influencer, but has risen to become a close aid of El Salvadoran autocrat Nayib Bukele.

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

18 Sept

skeptic.org.ukThe Skeptic Podcast – Episode 082 - The SkepticFeaturing articles from Emma McClure (April 2024), Chris French (March 2021), Edzard Ernst (May 2023), and Dave Hahn (August 2026).

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

18 Sept

skeptic.org.ukThe network pushing extremism at the University of Cambridge – and why it should matter to skeptics - The SkepticSkeptics should be wary of the network undermining academic freedom and credibility, at prestigious Cambridge University and across our media

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

16 Sept

skeptic.org.ukThe longevity protocol of dasatinib and quercetin has shown some promise... but so far, only in mice - The SkepticWhile some early mouse studies show promise for a dasatinib and quercetin longevity cocktail, evidence doesn't yet suggest humans can benefit

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

15 Sept

skeptic.org.ukFrom the archives: At the frontiers of science – cataloguing the anomalies and curiosities of nature - The SkepticFrom the archives in 1993, William R Corliss summarises lessons learned from the first 86 issues of Science Frontiers magazine.

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

14 Sept

skeptic.org.ukThe Turing test is no longer fit for purpose – we need a new benchmark for machine intelligence - The SkepticWhen the Turing Test was first proposed, it was never designed to be a definitive test for genuine artificial intelligence.

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

11 Sept

skeptic.org.ukThe Skeptic Podcast – Episode 081 - The SkepticFeaturing articles from Carlos Orsi (June 2023), Elissar Gerges (November 2023), Robyn Lowe (November 2023), and Ted Lefroy (January 2021).

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

11 Sept

skeptic.org.ukThe Power of the Flat Earth Idea: A distinctive historical perspective on a proverbially absurd belief - The SkepticEdward Guimont’s "The Power of the Flat Earth Idea" is a useful, if occasionally flawed, look at the flat earth movement and its proponents.

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

9 Sept

skeptic.org.ukSkeptics should not be so gullible as to believe Nathan Cofnas' academic freedom is being stifled - The SkepticNathan Cofnas is selling the story that his suspension is a retaliation for his whistleblowing - sadly, some skeptics are buying it

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

8 Sept

From the archives: Faces on Mars and Earth – Tales of gargantuan interplanetary human portraiture | Robert McGrath From 1993, Robert McGrath is skeptical about the carving of a face on Mars, decades before higher resolutions debunked the pareidolia. www.skeptic.org.uk/2026/09/from...

skeptic.org.ukFrom the archives: Faces on Mars and Earth - Tales of gargantuan interplanetary human portraiture - The SkepticFrom the archives in 1993, Robert McGrath is skeptical about the carving of a face on Mars, decades before higher resolutions debunked the pareidolia.

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

7 Sept

skeptic.org.ukElon Musk's Hyperloop Hype: Monorail, Monorail, Monorail… - The SkepticElon Musk's multiple failed attempts to build his proposed "Hyperloop" transport system are reminiscent of the conman from The Simpsons.

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

4 Sept

skeptic.org.ukThe Skeptic Podcast - Episode 080 - The SkepticFeaturing articles from Chris French (March 2025), Robyn Lowe (March 2022), Alfie Hoar (February 2022), and Brian Davis (May 2023).

The Skeptic

@skeptic.org.uk

4 Sept

Helena Blavatsky, the psychic founder of Theosophy and Russian mother of the New Age movement | Michael Marshall Helena Blavatsky, founder of theosophy, was once described as one of the most accomplished, ingenious, and interesting impostors in history. www.skeptic.org.uk/2026/09/hele...