Much has been made in recent months of the costly battle that UK science writer Simon Singh has been waging against a libel suit brought by the nation’s chiropractic organization. It seems he thinks much of what they claim to be able to do is hokum. And he said so in print. This site has had posts on him too (use Singh in the search box).

Should any of the clan be able to be in London Oct 15, all should consider attending a debate that the Association of British Science Writers and City University London are staging. The issue, with advocates of both sides, is whether the existing libel law that puts all the onus on defendants, not plaintiffs, is fine as is or ought be amended to permit honest and well-founded opinions to be shared about even if somebody feels wronged.

For more, an Opinion piece in the NYTimes by evolutionary biologist Olivia Judson last month provides some insight on the Singh situation. It also links to the British Chiropractic Association’s view of reality, and legalities.

- Charlie Petit

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 8th, 2009 at 12:55 pm and is filed under About Journalism, Science Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.