Determining the Credibility of Science Communication
This work addresses the problem of misinformation and trustworthiness in scientific dissemination for researchers, journalists, and the public, but it is incremental as it only presents first steps.
The paper tackles the problem of ensuring credibility in science communication by addressing two core challenges: verifying that scientific publications provide adequate evidence for claims and preventing misrepresentation in public reporting, presenting initial steps and outlining remaining issues.
Most work on scholarly document processing assumes that the information processed is trustworthy and factually correct. However, this is not always the case. There are two core challenges, which should be addressed: 1) ensuring that scientific publications are credible -- e.g. that claims are not made without supporting evidence, and that all relevant supporting evidence is provided; and 2) that scientific findings are not misrepresented, distorted or outright misreported when communicated by journalists or the general public. I will present some first steps towards addressing these problems and outline remaining challenges.