Solar panels NOT draining sun, MIT Science Blog duped by satire story

iMediaEthics publishes international media ethics news stories and investigations into journalism ethics lapses.

Menu

Home » Hoax»

(Credit: Wikipedia)

Satire site National Report hoaxed an Massachusetts Institute of Technology blog with its fake story claiming that solar panels were draining the sun’s energy.

National Report published a story in May claiming that scientists from the Wyoming Institute of Technology “found conclusive evidence that solar panels…are also draining the sun of its own energy.”

At the very bottom of National Report’s website is the following disclaimer:

“*DISCLAIMER: The views expressed by writers on this site are theirs alone and are not reflective of the fine journalistic and editorial integrity of National Report. Advice given is NOT to be construed as professional. If you are in need of professional help, please consult a professional. National Report is not intended for children under the age of 18.”

The Knight Science Journalism at MIT’s Tracker blog posted a May 30 article reporting on National Report’s claims as if they were real.

The Tracker blog identifies itself as a “service for science journalists, created and funded by the Knight Science Journalism Fellowship Program at MIT.”

In an update atop the article, the writer, Paul Raeburn, acknowledged that he “took the darn thing seriously.”

Raeburn wrote:

“Editor’s note: O.K., this is embarrassing to have to admit, but faithful Tracker readers responded almost immediately to let me know that the National Report is a parody site. It’s a measure of my cynicism, I suppose, that I took the darn thing seriously. And just to show I’m too big a person to try to bury my shame, I’m going to leave this post up. I hope you enjoy it.”

Fact checking website Politifact also took up the claims, writing that “several readers” saw the claims about solar panels on social media and chain emails.  Naturally, Politifact debunked the claims and gave the story a “Pants on Fire.”

iMediaEthics has written to Raeburn at the MIT blog for further comment.

National Report has duped other outlets as iMediaEthics has written.

Last year, Fox News was hoaxed by a National Report satire article saying President Obama was personally funding a Muslim museum while the government shutdown was going on. Fox News later admitted it “made a bad mistake” by reporting on the story.

UPDATE: 6/29/2014 9:25 PM EST Raeburn told iMediaEthics he thinks he first saw the satire article on social media. He explained why he left his original post intact:

“Well, I got taken by that one, and I thought I should be transparent about my mistake. In most cases, I think it’s a bad practice to try to remove things from the web. It’s much better to correct them and leave them, so that any future visitors can see and understand what happened.”

Submit a tip / Report a problem

Solar panels NOT draining sun, MIT Science Blog duped by satire story

Share this article:

คาสิโน
สล็อต
sa gaming
tkb365
https://tkb399.com/login
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
ทำความรู้จักกับ
PG
สล็อต
tkb138
sa gaming
https://www.hotelplayagolf.com/es/instalaciones/piscinas
tkb365
บาคาร่า
สล็อตเว็บตรง
บาคาร่า
ทดลองเล่นสล็อตฟรี
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต pg
สล็อตเว็บตรง
สล็อตเว็บตรง
tkb138
ซุปเปอร์สล็อต
tkb138
tkb365
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
changbet789
สูตรสล็อต pg ทดลองเล่นฟรี
สล็อต ดาวน์โหลด รับเครดิตฟรี
สล็อต
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
tkb138
https://www.hotelalbora.com/
https://tkb108.co/register
tkb696
สล็อตเว็บตรง
changbet789
สล็อตทดลอง
pg
betflix
pg slot
สล็อต
pg slot
สล็อตเว็บจริง100%
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
sbobet
บาคาร่า
tkb138
https://titanium-hotel.com/
สล็อต
tkb138
taokaebet
tkb777
อันดับแรก
คาสิโน
changbet789
แจกเครดิตฟรี 100%
ทดลองเล่นสล็อตทุกค่ายฟรี
สล็อต
changbet789
tkb365
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
changbet789
finfinbet
คาสิโน
changbet789
tkb108
tkbneko
สล็อตเว็บตรง
สล็อต
สล็อต
สล็อต
https://www.gday96.com/
สล็อต888
สล็อต
PG
บาคาร่าเว็บตรง
changbet789
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต pg
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
ทดลองเล่นสล็อตฟรี
tkb365
tkb365
tkb365
tkb555
tkb555
tkb555
tkb555
tkb555
tkb555
tkb555
tkbking
tkbking
tkbking
tkbking
tkbking
tkbking
thb889
thb889
thb889
thb889
thb889
thb889
thb889
tkb4
tkb4
tkb4
tkb4
tkb4
tkb4
tkb4
tkb9
tkb9
tkb9
tkb9
tkb9
tkb9
tkb9
tkb33
tkb33
tkb33
tkb33
tkb33
tkb33
tkb33
finfinbet
finfinbet
finfinbet
finfinbet
finfinbet
finfinbet
finfinbet
TKB96
tkb96
tkb96
tkb96
tkb96
tkb96
tkb96
tkbfun
tkbfun
tkbfun
tkbfun
tkbfun
tkbfun
tkbfun
tkbpg
tkbpg
tkbpg
tkbpg
tkbpg
tkbpg
tkbpg
tkbpussy
tkbpussy
tkbpussy
tkbpussy
tkbpussy
tkbpussy
tkbpussy
tkbrich
tkbrich
tkbrich
tkbrich
tkbrich
tkbrich
tkbrich
tkbsexy
tkbsexy
tkbsexy
tkbsexy
tkbsexy
tkbsexy
tkb777
tkb777
tkb777
tkb777
tkb777
tkb777
tkb777
taokaebet
taokaebet
taokaebet
taokaebet
taokaebet
taokaebet
taokaebet
tkbsexy
tkbrich
tkbpussy
tkbpg
tkbfun
tkb96
tkb33
tkb9
tkb4
thb889
tkbking
tkb555
tkb365
changbet789
บาคาร่า
คาสิโนออนไลน์
sa gaming
คาสิโนออนไลน์สด
สล็อต
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต pg ซื้อฟรีสปิน
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
บาคาร่า
สล็อต เว็บตรงไม่ผ่านเอเย่นต์ไม่มีขั้นต่ำ
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
สล็อต
สล็อต
บาคาร่า
สล็อต
สล็อต
สล็อต
คาสิโน