On Deliberate Misreferencing as a Tool of Science Policy

TL;DR

This paper discusses the strategic use of deliberate misreferencing in scientific publications as a means to influence science policy and public perception, highlighting its potential as a tool for scientific communication and manipulation.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of deliberate misreferencing as a novel approach to shaping science policy and examines its implications and ethical considerations.

Findings

Misreferencing can influence science policy decisions.

Deliberate misreferencing affects public perception of scientific findings.

The practice raises ethical questions in scientific communication.

Abstract

In the second half of February the impending Giotto encounter of 13 March concentrated our minds on what the encounter might reveal. As an outcome, we issued a fairly widely circulated preprint with the title "Some Predictions on the Nature of Comet Halley," (1 March, 1996, Cardiff Series 121) whose contents were reported in the issue of the Times for 12 March. This publication in the Times was fortunate for us, because it appeared indisputably ahead of the encounter, whereas a contemporaneous submission to the Royal Astronomical Society has suffered long delays to acceptance on advice to the Society from two persons of unknown identities.