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Whenever you hear about a new bit of science news, these suggestions will help you assess whether it’s more fact or fiction.

The spread of misinformation in many pandemics, including the smallpox and 1918 influenza outbreaks, have undermined efforts to contain infections and prevent deaths.

A global pandemic might be at the forefront of everyone’s minds. But we can’t assume that future threats will get the attention they deserve from people living in an information-saturated world.

When state health departments, federal health agencies and medical societies diverge, how is an ordinary person supposed to know whom to trust?

Attacks on scientific expertise have been increasing, especially in politics. Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is among the more prominent people who have done that.

Many people who participate in disinformation campaigns are unwitting accomplices and much of the information they spread is accurate, which makes it all the harder to identify the campaigns.

These people share conspiracy theories to promote conflict, cause chaos, recruit and radicalize potential followers, make money, harass, or even just to get attention.

A partisan media landscape has made it almost impossible for journalists to avoid charges of bias when calling out a candidate’s dishonesty.

New Age beliefs, alternative wellness practices and political conspiracies all fall under the umbrella of stigmatized knowledge, which can be attractive to anyone, no matter their political leanings.

A scholar of social participation finds shared themes across protests in many states, not all of which fit common popular or media narratives about the events.