Topic: Mermaids good for skepticism?

[miamicane79]

So I'm wondering what my fellow skeptics think about this. Animal Plant recently aired "Mermaids: The Body Found". This was a terrible show that was fictional but was presented in a documentary style. This led to confusion since it aired on a network that is suppose to show actual documentaries. It was not made clear in the broadcast that the show was a work of fiction however the network and producers have said it was.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2012/05/tv-skeptic-mermaids-clouds-the-waters.html

So my question for the skeptics is will this:
1. Create a cryptozoological ferver resulting in more people believing in nonexistent creatures
   -or-
2. As people realize it was fiction they will view future programs with a more critical eye and more skepticism in general

I know it will do both but on average what do you think the impact will be? I'm wondering if this will be like the CG viral marketing videos that I think ultimately lead to people being more skeptical of the online videos they see.

Also, anyone know of any actual data or studies that examine the impact of people seeing a show they think is real and later being told it wasn't, does this make them more or less skeptical in the future?

[Citizen Skeptic]

I think animal planet has jumped the shark and that this is just a cross-promotion for something else that their affiliates are up to.

It's like every show on nat geo had a hatfields and mccoys segment.

[ting-bu-dong]

Also, anyone know of any actual data or studies that examine the impact of people seeing a show they think is real and later being told it wasn't, does this make them more or less skeptical in the future?

There was an early SGU episode where a researcher was interviewed who studied the impact of depictions of the paranormal on levels of belief. The finding was that simply having a scientist talking about a claim increases the belief in that claim, even if the scientist is debunking it in that very show. The speculation is that people make a mental link between 'a scientist talked about UFOs' and 'UFOs are proven by science', thus strengthening the belief. So the problem with a show like that would be that people would only remember that there was a show with evidence for mermaids.

I would speculate that for something like this to have an impact on critical thinking, people need to be negatively impacted in a very immediate way. If you fell for deceptive advertising that cost you time and money, you are more likely to care than if the deception had less immediate results, like being told mermaids were real and later finding out they weren't.

[Shadow Of A Doubt]

I bet that a lot of the people who watched it will not see the clarification, and some of the ones that do see it will forget they've seen a correction when they remember the story in a few months time.

[miamicane79]

So the problem with a show like that would be that people would only remember that there was a show with evidence for mermaids.

Sadly I think you are probably right. I was aware of the research you referred too but I hand't thought of it; and you are right it probably is relevant to this.

[Neon Genesis]

I bet that a lot of the people who watched it will not see the clarification, and some of the ones that do see it will forget they've seen a correction when they remember the story in a few months time.

Or maybe the government forced Animal Planet to make the clarification to cover up the real truth!

[Shadow Of A Doubt]

I bet that a lot of the people who watched it will not see the clarification, and some of the ones that do see it will forget they've seen a correction when they remember the story in a few months time.

Or maybe the government forced Animal Planet to make the clarification to cover up the real truth!

It's all a plot to get more money for Big Panda!

[AngleWyrm]

I was on the fence about the whole Mermaids Are Real controversy until this video cropped up. I'm gonna start spending my Sunday afternoons fishing for Ariel.

NSFW