The next European Skeptics Congress will be held on 16–18 October 2026 in Liverpool!
The congress will be organised in collaboration with the Merseyside Skeptics and will build on the successful QED format. See escliverpool.org for general information and the latest updates.
News from Europe and beyond
News headlines from Europe about skeptical activism, mythbusting, science related policy decisions, consumer protection, frauds, health scams, alternative medicine, bad scientific practices, pseudoscience. and more!
Dutch newspaper Trouw featured an article critical of alternative cancer therapies today, which highlights that unreliable anecdotal stories are easily found online, and omit the dark side of unproven treatments. It refers to a case in Skepter (magazine of Stichting Skepsis) where a woman, Willeke, died of breastcancer after having visited multiple naturopaths, who all claimed her worsening condition proved the treatments were working.
Frits van Dam at the 2014 VtdK symposium. (Vera de Kok CC-BY-SA 4.0)
Frits van Dam, secretary of the Vereniging tegen de Kwakzalverij (VtdK, Dutch Society against Quackery), points out that many of these treatments (Trouw mentions faith healing, bioresonance, mistletoe, an exotic worm called Fasciolopsis buskii, the Moerman and Houtsmuller diets, herbal supplements etc.) may often just be ineffective and not harmful in themselves. But they do waste cancer patients’ precious time (and money), in which they could have gotten a regular treatment, recovered and survived. Many alternative treatments may however be even more dangerous than the cancer itself, as evidenced by patients who died at the hands of Tullio Simoncini’s salt solutions or Klaus Ross’ glucose injections.
Pepijn van Erp at the 2014 Skepsis Congres. (Vera de Kok CC-BY-SA 4.0).
Once again, American-Italian fringe scientist Ruggero Santilli, notorious for his rejection of the theories of Einstein, the Big Bang, redshift and his antisemitic conspiracy theories about everyone who disagrees with him, has sent empty threats to Dutch skeptical activist Pepijn van Erp, board member of Stichting Skepsis. Recently, Santillo claimed to have detected Invisible Terrestrial Entitites with his ‘antimatter-light‘ telescope (an idea that became quite popular on UFO/paranormal websites), but, to his chagrin, Van Erp challenged his findings.
According to Santilli, his attorney wrote a letter (which, curiously, contains the same kind of grammar and spelling errors Santilli himself regularly makes) to Van Erp telling him to rectify three kinds of statements that supposedly harm his reputation:
Van Erp calls Santilli a “fringe scientist”, “a mad professor” and “a cunning scam artist”;
Van Erp states that “the whole concept of antimatter is bullshit”;
and Van Erp ‘defined’ Magnegas Corporation a “pyramid scheme”.
However, Van Erp corrects him that he said ‘antimatter-light’, not ‘antimatter’, explains that under Dutch law, his accusations against Santilli are not defamatory or libelous and thus not illegal, repeating what these claims are based on, and then goes on to defend his criticism of Magnegas. If this comes to a lawsuit, Santilli will have no leg to stand on.
The anthroposophical movement in Sweden has its stronghold in the town of Järna, south of Stockholm. This is also the location of Vidarkliniken, a hospital founded in 1985 based on anthroposophical values and ideas. Since 1993 Vidarkliniken has a regulatory exception renewed year after year, which means they have permission to use anthroposophical remedies along side conventional, science based treatments.
After years of criticism from EU and the Swedish medical community, the Swedish government finally decided on 30 June 2016 to phase out the exception over a period of five years. Since then Vidarkliniken has lost their contracts with two local county councils and received bad press in Swedish media.
”Saltklypa” is a norwegian podcast that focuses on skeptical themes and consists of a small band of skeptical nerds doing their best to sift through pseudoscience in Norway and the world on a weekly basis.
They started the podcast in October of 2010 and have by August 2016 released over 120 episodes
Physicist and norwegian leading skeptic Andreas Wahl have been given a third season of ”folkeopplysningen” on NRK, Norways leading channel. The show focuses on a different pseudoscience or bogus claim each week and aims too research and test the claims.
Andreas have been active in the skeptic movement in Norway several years, and have also managed to get a firm foothold in the media with his science information.
This urban legend is so old and has so many variations that it’s gotten a Wikipedia page in five languages. Snopes.com traces the earliest and most primitive version back as far as 1931, and just like Wikipedia it mentions the more elaborate 1995 Canadian version as the most common. The basic story is that a marconist warns a ship, redirecting it a few degrees to avoid collision. The captain angrily and arrogantly replies he won’t change course, and the marconist should change his ship’s course. The latter then reveals he’s not on a ship himself, but in a lighthouse, and he’s telling the ship to steer clear from the coast. However, a recent video shows a more sinister story. (more…)
While spending his summer in Poland, someone brought an interesting article to Dutch physicist and skeptic Martin Bier’s attention. It has now been scientifically proven that making the sign of the cross over an amount of water significantly diminishes the amount of bacterial pathogens in that water. Is the making of the sign of the cross a matter of antibacterial hygiene just as much as it is a matter of piety? Bier decided to inquire…
Flat Earth believers in Hungary are planning a “decisive” experiment at lake Balaton at 15-16 August to check their hypothesis. They performed a shorter-range pretest earlier this summer.
Between 10-12 August the Hungarian Skeptic Society organized programs again at the international Sziget Festival in Budapest. Participants from all over the World were invited for discussions, see interesting demonstrations and for checking their knowledge via tests on controversial topics.
A sexual hype from America has crossed the Atlantic and is finding fertile ground in European countries such as the Netherlands. The so-called ‘orgasm injection’ is claimed to increase sexual excitement, deliver better orgasms, give women a tighter vagina and men a larger penis, prevent incontinence and solve erectile dysfunction. The first clinic on Dutch soil, Artz Medical in Rotterdam, is run by physician Olivier Groh, who says it ‘really works’. However, at €1000,- per treatment it’s not exactly cheap, and effects are said to last only temporary. Moreover, these amazing promises are not backed by any scientific evidence, according to many critical physicians and sexologists.
The Vereniging tegen de Kwakzalverij (Dutch Society against Quackery) is skeptical. “It makes no sense at all”, says Cees Renckens, a former gynaecologist and board member of the society. “It takes blood, tinkers a bit with it and then injects it back in. And that is supposed to make your penis longer and your vagina more flexible? It’s quackery, I’m convinced of that.”
Gynaecologist Cees Renckens (Vera de Kok CC-BY-SA 4.0)
He calls it ‘absolutely repulsive’ that the clinic is making boatloads of money off a treatment which hasn’t been demonstrated scientifically to work. “It’s a scandal that this man is still a GP. He should know better than to trick people out of their money with false hope. There is no such thing as a quick fix when it comes to sexual dysfunctions and complaints, those often involve complex problems. This treatment cannot be distinguished from fraud. The Health Care Inspectorate should take measures against the clinic.”
When inquired, the Dutch Health Care Inspectorate responded they are currently conducting an investigation into the practice.
News headlines from Europe about skeptical activism, mythbusting, science related policy decisions, consumer protection, frauds, health scams, alternative medicine, bad scientific practices, pseudoscience. and more!
While spending his summer in Poland, someone brought an interesting article to Dutch physicist and skeptic Martin Bier’s attention. It has now been scientifically proven that making the 
