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Thursday 18 March 2021

Should we laugh or cry?




In response to my formal complaint about the UCL press release / writeup on the "Lost Circle" affair, itemising the many falsehoods which it contained, I have received this from Jane Bolger, who either wrote it or approved it for publication:

"I'm happy that our news story is a suitable and accurate summary for a general audience and works well to interest them in the topic.
We also offer the audience the opportunity to explore further and access more detailed information by linking to the paper in the journal."

Suitable?  Accurate?  It appears that neither UCL press office nor the Institute of Archaeology is particularly bothered whether something published by a staff member is truthful or not -- and the line seems to be that all the press office has to do is "summarise" what is in the paper and leave the author to fend for himself in the event that what is contained there is shown by others to be a load of nonsense.........

The reputation of the Institute, and the need for honest science, seem to be  matters of no concern.  And this wasn't simply a press office reporting on a news story.  The press office was actively and enthusiastically involved in fashioning a high profile campaign and in PROMOTING the story for all it was worth  -- clearly without bothering to do any checking at all on whether it was reliable.

Should we laugh or cry?

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