FactCheck.org’s SciCheck feature focuses exclusively on false and misleading scientific claims that are made by partisans to influence public policy. It was launched in January 2015 with a grant from the Stanton Foundation. The foundation was founded by the late Frank Stanton, president of CBS for 25 years, from 1946 to 1971.
In our roundup of 2016 claims, we hypothesized that SciCheck would have no dearth of false and misleading claims to cover in 2017. That proved true. Politicians kept us busy. As 2017 comes to a close, we present the most notable claims about science from this year.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions claimed that more car accidents were “caused” by drugs than alcohol for the first time in 2016. But the report his office cited as support didn’t show that.
The head of the House science committee falsely claimed the National Science Foundation funds “more than twice as many graduate students in the social and behavioral sciences as in computer science, mathematics or material science.”
Q: Does the National Institutes of Health fund research on human-animal chimeras, or organisms that are part-human, part-other animal?
A: With some exceptions, the NIH doesn’t fund research on human-animal chimeras. But the agency has proposed a rule to widen the scope of research it funds in this area.
Sen. Rand Paul misrepresented two studies supported by federal grants, while advocating legislation he introduced to change the federal grant funding process.
Q: Did climate change cause the wildfires out West?
A: Scientists say a hot and dry summer — conditions more likely in a warmer world — caused widespread wildfires in Western states. But land use changes also have played a role.
Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt criticized former President Barack Obama for leaving “us with more Superfund sites than when he came in.” This is misleading for multiple reasons.
EPA head Scott Pruitt criticized former President Barack Obama for leaving 40 percent of Americans with air quality that doesn’t meet EPA standards. But a report Pruitt’s office cited as evidence said there had been a “major improvement” in air quality under Obama.
Hurricane Harvey has brought with it both a record amount of rain and questions about how much climate change can be blamed for the storm. Climate change did not cause Harvey, or any other storm, but it makes intense storms like Harvey more likely to occur, scientists say.
Q: Does the herbicide glyphosate cause cancer?
A: There is evidence to suggest it may cause cancer at very high doses, but not at the low doses typically found in foods.