Yahoo! lays smackdown on woo

[Drudgewire]

In Yahoo's featured section today are two stories about psychics, neither of which will probably thrill the woo crowd.

The first has less to do with outing or debunking anything, but gives pretty good insight into the business of fortune-telling... at least in California where the field is dominated by gypsies. All kinds of drama, including death threats and claims that beatings were self-inflicted as part of a frame up:

Gypsy clans feud over fortunetelling biz

As an aside, they also include this story about psychic detectives. It not only accuses the psychics of being phonies who impede legitimate police investigations, but also on the media who continues to trumpet them as anything other than frauds.

Bad Journalism Encourages Psychic Detectives

Between these and Google closing ref's 9/11 page for "hateful content," looks like I'm going to start using a new search en... oh who am I kidding, yahoo sucks for searches.

 

[waltdakind]

This is good to see. Yahoo! for yahoo!

The thing that worries me most about psychic detectives is the potential for violations of civil liberties that someone who is "identified" as a suspect might face. I wonder how I would have felt if I were a "Hispanic man with dreadlocks" following Sylvia Browne's (very false) prediction in the Shawn Hornbeck case.

 

[Kiosk]

Should be the default tone for all media reporting of psychics, of course, and a shame that we have to cheer when one article like this slips through. Nice to see though, obviously.

Google closing ref's 9/11 page for "hateful content"

What was this all about?

EDIT: Never mind, just found the thread.

 

[RSLancastr]

Great article, but right in the middle of it is a link to another Yahoo! story, "Top Ten Unexplained Phenomena."

Number 2? "Psychic Powers and ESP".

 

[Drudgewire]

Great article, but right in the middle of it is a link to another Yahoo! story, "Top Ten Unexplained Phenomena."

Number 2? "Psychic Powers and ESP".

Oh geez and it only gets worse as you go down the list.

I guess "made up nonsense" doesn't count as an explanation.

 

[Jimcalagon]

Great article, but right in the middle of it is a link to another Yahoo! story, "Top Ten Unexplained Phenomena."

Number 2? "Psychic Powers and ESP".

Maybe it's on the list because no-one who believes in it can explain why Randi still has his million dollars?