Sponsored by: Springfield Museums
Do you trust archaeologists to tell you the truth about the past? The World Economic Forum recently announced that public trust in traditional journalism is at an all-time low. People increasingly rely on other sources for information, particularly new electronic media and partisan cable channels. The same trend is observed in ancient history and archaeology news, and scientific journalism in general. With many sensationalist media sources claiming to “rewrite history” with each new discovery, what tools does the public have to distinguish between the impossible, the improbable, and the truly groundbreaking? Dr. Joseph Wilson will illustrate several key cases and help to illuminate the problem.