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junk science

American  

noun

  1. faulty scientific information or research, especially when used to advance special interests.


Etymology

Origin of junk science

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Some of these were based on complete junk science and a selective cherry-picking of statistics,” Ms. Dhillon says.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

I worry because we have seen junk science and bad data infiltrate court doctrine and make its way into opinions that then get cited as though that junk science is real.

From Slate • Dec. 2, 2024

In 2023, Cochrane, an international network promoting evidence-based medicine, issued draft guidelines to help these researchers filter out junk science.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 28, 2024

Among the topics discussed at the hearing was Texas' junk science law, which lets inmates challenge convictions based on later discredited science.

From BBC • Nov. 15, 2024

“Often in cases of junk science, people don’t know what went wrong in their case, and they don’t know how to challenge the case,” Fries said.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 2, 2024