As a former newspaper reporter and editor I try not to bash the media too much, but…
The last paragraph of a just-released UPI item about research on the origin of blondes reads:
A study by the World Health Organization found that natural blondes are likely to be extinct within 200 years because there are too few people carrying the blond gene, the newspaper said.
“The newspaper” is the Sunday Times of London. Here’s the last paragraph of its original story:
A study by the World Health Organisation found that natural blonds are likely to be extinct within 200 years because there are too few people carrying the blond gene. According to the WHO study, the last natural blond is likely to be born in Finland during 2202.
I’m going to write my science column on hair today, so I naturally thought I’d check on the WHO study. A quick Google, and two minutes after I read the above I’m reading, at the WHO site:
Clarification of erroneous news reports indicating WHO genetic research on hair colour
1 October 2002 — In response to recent media reports citing an alleged World Health Organization (WHO) study predicting the extinction of the naturally blonde hair gene, WHO wishes to clarify that it has never conducted research on this subject. Nor, to the best of its knowledge, has WHO issued a report predicting that natural blondes are likely to be extinct by 2202. WHO has no knowledge of how these news reports originated but would like to stress that we have no opinion on the future existence of blondes.
The misinformation about a WHO study concerning blondes was corrected 3 1/2 years ago. It can be readily checked in no time flat. But there it is, in an internationally distributed newswire story that orginated with one of the great newspapers of the world.
So how much other false information, not so easily caught, gets disseminated?
