September 14th, 2008
I don’t think I’ve ever had the occasion to congratulate a newspaper – usually exactly the opposite. But for this I think the Guardian (and Ben Goldacre) deserve serious congratulations both for courage under fire and responsible journalism:
Matthias Rath drops his million pound legal case against me and the Guardian.
The Guardian article is also well worth reading for more on Matthias Rath, the vitamin campaigner: Fall of the doctor who said his vitamins would cure Aids.
Wikipedia article on Matthias Rath.
Speaking of bad science, I was upset to hear the name Danie Krugel mentioned in a news report on the search for missing local girl Kerry Winter (Kerry recently went missing in Dubai in seriously dodgy circumstances, and has not yet been found). Danie Krugel is a charlatan of note and a South African embarrassment, famous for his “Matter Oriented System” or MOS which he claims can locate anything from missing people to diamonds and bacteria using “quantum physics, GPS Technology and DNA samples”. Despite being proved a fake time and time again, he keeps making it into the media. It wouldn’t be so upsetting if he didn’t give desperate people false hope.
Update: Subtle Shift in Emphasis has a great write-up on Danie Krugel, his voodoo science claims and his growing list of public failures. Also a growing list (and surrounding discussion) on the South African skeptics forum.
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Well put. I wish the local media would learn a bit from Ben Goldacre and responsible journalism, instead of just acting as a mouthpiece for any crackpot that says something sensational. Why do most bloggers know more about DK’s false claims than professional mainstream journalists?
Well, the bloggers have united and created a site to actively fight Krugel’s continued promotion. See http://www.stopdaniekrugel.com