scare

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

The Newest Halloween Scare – Rainbow Fentanyl

Every year around the middle of October, reporters start contacting me wanting to talk about rumors of contaminated Halloween treats. That’s because I track media coverage of reported incidents of trick-or-treaters receiving razor blades in apples or pins and poison in candy bars. My data goes back to 1958, and my principal finding is simple: I can’t find any evidence that any child has ever been killed or seriously injured by a contaminated treat picked up in the course of trick-or-treating. This often surprises people who assume that Halloween sadism is both very real and very common. Stories about contaminated treats are best understood as contemporary legends. They’re tales we’ve all heard, that we’ve been assured are true. They warn that we live in a dangerous world filled with vil...

The IRL Presents One Good Scare

During the month of October The IRL presents "One Good Scare". Starting Friday October 1st. and every Friday thereafter we will present an audio or video horror story from around the web. So check back and don't miss our post.

Lawyers are trying to scare you with Facebook ads

Some ads can be more than misleading – they can put your health at risk. Last year, ads paid for by law firms and legal referral companies started cropping up on Facebook. Typically, they linked Truvada and other HIV-prevention drugs with severe bone and kidney damage. But like a lawsuit, these assertions do not always reflect the consensus of the medical community. They also do not take into account the benefit of the drug or how often the side effects occur. On Dec. 30, Facebook said it disabled some of the ads after more than 50 LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS groups signed an open letter to Facebook condemning them for “scaring away at-risk HIV negative people from the leading drug that blocks HIV infections.” Based on our research involving televised drug injury ads, advocacy groups are right ...