Fake news of baby booms 9months after major sporting events distorts the public's understanding of early human development science.

Early Hum Dev

Irish Centre for Fetal and Neonatal Translational Research (INFANT), Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; Gravida: National Centre for Growth & Development, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.

Published: December 2017

Introduction: In France on 27/6/16, Iceland's men's national football team won 2-1, knocking England out of the UEFA European Championship.

Result: Nine months after this momentous Icelandic victory, Ásgeir Pétur Þorvaldsson a medical doctor in Iceland, posted a tweet in jest suggesting that a baby boom had occurred as a result of increased celebratory coital activity following the win. The media covered this widely but statistical analysis shows otherwise and this was confirmed by the original tweet source.

Discussion: Given the increase in fake scientific news, it is especially important for scientists to correct misinformation lest the public loses trust in science or gains a distorted understanding of known facts.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2017.08.007DOI Listing

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