Can AI take a survey instead of humans? They can, but maybe they shouldn’t. As #AI advances, there is growing interest in using it in place of real respondents in public opinion surveys. We wanted to learn more, so we ran our own synthetic polling experiment.

Do you have a "bullshit blind spot?" bullshitology.substack.com shanelittrell.com

Do you have a "bullshit blind spot?" bullshitology.substack.com shanelittrell.com

With Claude I did a systematic literature review of misinformation prevalence, exposure, and concentration. There is a companion website that allows you to play with the data and signal me if an estimate is wrong or missing: altay-research.github.io/misinfo-prev...

"As the amount of AI-generated slop on the internet grows...we risk allowing our informational landscape to turn into an “ouroboros of bullshit.”" Read the full article here: bullshitology.substack.com/p/behind-the...

‼️ Increasingly, distrust in vaccines about political identity. And it is killing people. Measles vaccine trust falls as US cases hit 35-year high www.usatoday.com/story/news/h... "The declining trust was most pronounced among Republicans..."

Measles vaccine trust falls as US cases hit 35-year high

The country has tallied more than 3,000 confirmed infections this year, the most in 35 years.

usatoday.com

Marking myself "safe" from any potential AI-instigated, extinction-level events. I have successfully negotiated for my own survival. As for the rest of you, I wish you the best of luck. Rest assured that humanity's legacy will be in good hands as I shepherd our species into the undiscovered country.

Ottawa Public Health countering health misinformation vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic... @ottawapublichealth.ca: Misinformation "represent an increasingly significant risk to public understanding of health issues, confidence in public health guidance, & informed health decision making."

Ottawa Public Health looking to counter health disinformation online

Ottawa Public Health is implementing a communications campaign to mitigate the impacts of health misinformation and disinformation online, including sophisticated artificial intelligence content, warn...

vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca

Footnotes from the Margins I love footnotes, so I'll share my favs Going through the sins of pseudoscience communicators @metacognishane.bsky.social makes an astonishing discovery while investigating the degradation of the YouTube channel Veritasium bullshitology.substack.com/p/the-death-...

#Sleepmaxxing: Are Popular Sleep Hacks Evidence-Based? www.medscape.com/viewarticle/... - Mouth taping? Nope ❌ - Nasal strips? Nah ❌ - Good #sleep hygiene? Yep ✅ Reality: Most influencer ideas bunk and some "maxxing" practices "may even worsen sleep quality."

Sleepmaxxing: Are Popular Sleep Hacks Evidence-Based?

Sleepmaxxing practices vary in their evidence, with some routines supported by research, while others lack proven benefits or may worsen sleep problems.

medscape.com

Tired of the AI Slop-ocalypse? Join my support group here: bullshitology.substack.com/p/behind-the...

New article is posted! In this one, I explain what LinkedIn, "cataphoric teasers," and Dolly Parton can teach us about people's growing distaste of AI-generated text. bullshitology.substack.com/p/behind-the...

Behind the Bullshit Machine: How LinkedIn, “Cataphoric Teasers,” and Dolly Parton explain the AI Slop-ocalypse

That’s not X, it’s Why

bullshitology.substack.com

This is a real-world example of the AI-generated "ouroboros of bullshit" that I discuss here: bullshitology.substack.com/p/behind-the...

Timothy Caulfield@caulfieldtim.bsky.social · last mo.

⚠️ Good example of how AI manufactures & legitimizes BS The cycle: 1) AI hallucinates reference 2) Report placed on gov website 3) Report indexed 4) AI now thinks ref real ‘Scary’: how AI misinformation hallucinations are infiltrating www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... 🚨 Needed: ref vigilance!

Tired of the AI Slop-ocalypse? Join my support group here: bullshitology.substack.com/p/behind-the...

"As the amount of AI-generated slop on the internet grows...we risk allowing our informational landscape to turn into an “ouroboros of bullshit.”" Read the full article here: bullshitology.substack.com/p/behind-the...

New article is posted! In this one, I explain what LinkedIn, "cataphoric teasers," and Dolly Parton can teach us about people's growing distaste of AI-generated text. bullshitology.substack.com/p/behind-the...

Behind the Bullshit Machine: How LinkedIn, “Cataphoric Teasers,” and Dolly Parton explain the AI Slop-ocalypse

That’s not X, it’s Why

bullshitology.substack.com

What Cognitive Dissonance, the Dunning-Kruger effect and Gaslighting are NOT. @metacognishane.bsky.social surveys three widely misunderstood psychological concepts, and provides a handy checklist to allow you to tick off your misconceptions: buff.ly/l3FqLsO

Psych Science has retracted Ariely & Wertenbroch (2002). The second author requested the retraction. Both authors agreed to it. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... So grateful to @datacolada.bsky.social for these blog posts and the work behind them: datacolada.org/138 and datacolada.org/139 1/2

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

journals.sagepub.com

Just a quick reminder of just some of what came out last time Ariely was accused of research shenanigans. How was this not a bigger story at the time? Why isn't it now? www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Data Colada@datacolada.bsky.social · last mo.

Colada[139] Artificial Deadlines Part 2 Evidence of fraud in the 25 year old gradesheet behind the key finding in an influential paper on deadlines and procrastination. datacolada.org/139

Solid advice: 10 Practical Tips for Verifying Scientific Claims gijn.org/resource/tip... For example: ✅ Don’t Treat Peer Review as a Guarantee ✅ Read the Study or Paper with an Investigative Journalist’s Perspective ✅ Investigate Funding & COI ✅ Compare the Finding With Earlier Research

10 Practical Tips for Verifying Scientific Claims

A paper published in a scientific journal can be a promising lead for an investigation. But reporters should follow these best practices before turning any academic claim into a news story.

gijn.org

"Don't get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life." - Dolly

The New York Times@nytimes.com · 2mo ago

Breaking News: Dolly Parton, the country singer, songwriter, entertainer and entrepreneur known for her outsize persona and prodigious vision and talent that placed her in a class by herself, has died at 80. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/25/a...

Recommendations for addressing demand artifacts have been discussed in a fragmented way, and some widely used approaches have notable limitations. In this new article, my co-authors and I provide a structured review of leading methods in the field:

Mark Rubin@markrubin.bsky.social · 2mo ago

New review of methods to address demand characteristics by @ocorneille.bsky.social, Chloé Bernard, and @peterlush.bsky.social doi.org/10.3758/s134...

People sometimes wonder if the “donate caffeine" button in my Substack articles actually works. Well, here’s what happens when you don’t press it and I try to do sciencey things without it my sweet brain fuel: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

What can Bill Shanter's hair piece teach us about bullshit detection? For reasons that may seem obvious, I thought it'd be a good time to revisit this article from last year (slightly revised). Enjoy! bullshitology.substack.com/p/oh-look-an...

How BSing Is Like A Bad Toupée (Redux)

The Toupee Fallacy helps explain why some BSers get away with it and others don't

bullshitology.substack.com

What can Bill Shanter's hair piece teach us about bullshit detection? For reasons that may seem obvious, I thought it'd be a good time to revisit this article from last year (slightly revised). Enjoy! bullshitology.substack.com/p/oh-look-an...

How BSing Is Like A Bad Toupée (Redux)

The Toupee Fallacy helps explain why some BSers get away with it and others don't

bullshitology.substack.com

‼️ Not said enough: much of RFK Jr's nutrition push is NOT sensible health advice, it is wellness woo pseudoscience ‼️ As some medical schools embrace RFK Jr's nutrition push, they deftly sidestep MAHA priorities www.statnews.com/2026/07/27/k... via @statnews.com

As some medical schools embrace RFK Jr.'s nutrition push, they deftly sidestep MAHA priorities

Even as some medical schools heed health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s call for more nutrition education, several told STAT that they plan to steer clear of topics that aren’t backed by evidence.

statnews.com

People sometimes wonder if the “donate caffeine" button in my Substack articles actually works. Well, here’s what happens when you don’t press it and I try to do sciencey things without it my sweet brain fuel: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

New article is posted! In this one, I somewhat jokingly complain about how often cognitive dissonance, Dunning Kruger Effect, and gaslighting are misused online and why it irritates me. Is it all BS? Am I “gaslighting” you? Click here to find out: bullshitology.substack.com/p/thats-not-...

That's Not What Cognitive Dissonance Means: Three Psychology Terms People Consistently Misuse

Now why don't you make like a tree and lowkey miss me with that ish, FRFR

bullshitology.substack.com

Cognitive dissonance, the Dunning-Kruger effect, and gaslighting—everyone believes they know what these mean, but is that so? Bullshitologist @metacognishane.bsky.social has his doubts, and puts any misunderstanding right: buff.ly/1kDNnuj

The war against ‘woke’ could end US science as we know it www.theverge.com/science/9576... @standupforscience.net @cdelawalla.bsky.social : "If this rule change goes forward, science in the US 'will stop. It won’t exist anymore.'" Dark Age 2.0.

The war against ‘woke’ could end US science as we know it

‘Everyone will be affected, not just scientists. Every community in the country.’

theverge.com