Press Release: ‘Spin’ in media reports of scientific articles Quote: Press releases and news stories reporting the results of randomized controlled trials often contain “spin”—specific reporting strategies (intentional or unintentional) emphasizing the beneficial effect of the experimental treatment—but such “spin” frequently comes from the abstract (summary) of the actual study published in a scientific journal, rather than being related to misinterpretation by the media, according to French researchers writing in this week’s PLOS Medicine. “Spinning” the reporting of clinical trials could give physicians and patients unrealistic expectations about new treatments. It is important to know the source of “spin” and so French researchers, led by Isabelle Boutron from the Université Paris Descartes, looked for the presence of “spin” in a sample of 70 press releases, and 41 associated news stories, of randomized controlled trials and investigated the source of the “spin”
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‘Spin’ in media reports of scientific articles
