Sensational headlines are a cause for concern because of their potential to erode the public’s trust in journalism and science. A large-scale study from the University of Michigan School of Information found that journalists tend to temper, not exaggerate, scientific claims. Co-authors Jiaxin Pei and David Jurgens explored how scientific uncertainty is communicated in news articles and tested whether scientific claims are exaggerated. Pei and Jurgens explain the implications for both journalists and readers and discuss the tool they created to calculate the uncertainty in research and reporting.
