"Scientific Studies" analyzed

 

               The episode “Scientific Studies” is a satire portraying the misleading news stories and articles published by media outlets. John Oliver uses humor to address the issues of incomplete scientific studies broadcasted as news. He also uses strong language and a tone of frustration towards the audience and reporters believing these publications.

               John Oliver uses multiple stories and press releases which sound true but are incredibly misleading. He links the incomplete studies to various instances of humor to bring light on their senselessness, for example, his comment on pregnant women eating chocolate and the news eventually distorting into women eating their babies portrays just how easy it is to warp scientific facts. Oliver mentions that audiences are more susceptible to believing science-related news (without fact-checking) if there is a mention of either of the words, “study” or “scientist” along with it. The statement may be incomplete or the study may be completely unrelated to the headline presented but people will still believe it. He also believes that audiences are more drawn to headlines that seem fun and hilarious; they seem attracted to headlines if they are gimmicky and more suited for their personal likings. To catch their eye and get more reads, magazines, blogs, and newspapers issue headlines based on the study which eventually distorts the scientific facts.  It is also said in the episode that fact-checking or redoing experiments and studies are meagerly funded and there is no reward for such, hence facts are checked infrequently.

               The problems of media reporting on scientific studies are such as those mentioned by John Oliver. To meet with the audiences’ appeal, a lot of publishing houses rely on incomplete or misleading news headlines and articles, which inadvertently lead to the phenomena of fake news or inaccurate terms, misinformation, or disinformation. Incorrect news reporting may lead to a host of misconceptions and lifestyle problems if the practices published are followed by people. The challenges of misinformed reports are also faced by the scientists who carried out the studies, as mentioned in the program. The burden is heavy on the scientists to correct the false information. The lack of fact rechecking is also a challenge as too many studies go unchecked for a long time, hence, providing no guarantee that the study may prove beneficial or not to your lifestyle.

               The program is ridicule on media reporting on science. John Oliver’s hysterical style of reporting makes the show interesting to the audience while at the same time knocks sense into their minds. It is a fun and informative episode to audiences of bigger age groups, as not so much for younger age groups due to the usage of strong language.