DebunkThis
Debunking pseudoscience, myths, and spurious hogwash since 2010.
We are an evidence-based Reddit/Lemmy community dedicated to taking an objective look at questionable theories, dodgy news sources, bold-faced claims, and suspicious studies.
Community Rules:
Posting
Title formatting on all posts should be "Debunk This: [main claim]"
Example: "Debunk This: Chemicals in the water are turning the frogs gay."
All posts must include at least one source and one to three specific claims to be debunked, so commenters know exactly what to investigate.
Example: "According to this YouTube video, dihydrogen monoxide turns amphibians homosexual. Is this true? Also, did Albert Einstein really claim this?"
NSFW/NSFL content is not allowed.
Commenting
Always try to back up your comments with linked sources. Just saying "this is untrue" isn't all that helpful without facts to support it.
Standard community rules apply regarding spam, self-promotion, personal attacks and hate speech, etc.
Links
Suggested Fediverse Communities
• RFK Jr. Watch @lemm.ee - Discuss misinformation being spread by antivaxxer politician, Robert F Kennedy Jr.
• Skeptic @lemmy.world - Discuss pseudoscience, quackery, and bald-faced BS
• Skeptic @kbin.social - The above, just on Kbin
• Science Communication @mander.xyz - Discuss science literacy and media reporting
Useful Resources
• Common examples of misleading graphs - How to spot dodgy infographics
• Metabunk.org - a message board dedicated to debunking popular conspiracies
• Media Bias / Fact Check - Great resource for current news fact checking + checking a source's political bias
• Science Based Medicine - A scientific look at current issues and controversies
• Deplatform Disease - A medical blog that specifically counters anti-COVID-vaccine claims
• Respectful Insolence - David Gorsky's blog on antivax shenanigans, politics, and pseudoscience
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The big thing that killed passenger rail in America was the US Postal Service ending it's contracts with railroads for mail services. Before that they paid a significant sum to railroads to run an RPO (railroad post office) on the trains to sort and deliver mail along the line. Simply running an RPO would be net enough income to keep woefully underutilized passenger services profitable. RPO service ended in 1978 but was in decline before then due to shifting the sorting and transport to sorting facilities and trucks respectively