title: Exaggerations and Caveats in Press Releases and Health-Related Science News.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Exaggerated or simplistic news is often blamed for adversely influencing public health. However, recent findings suggested many exaggerations were already present in university press releases, which scientists approve. Surprisingly, these exaggerations were not associated with more news coverage. Here we test whether these two controversial results also arise in press releases from prominent science and medical journals. We then investigate the influence of mitigating caveats in press releases, to test assumptions that caveats harm news interest or are ignored.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using quantitative content analysis, we analyzed press releases (N = 534) on biomedical and health-related science issued by leading peer-reviewed journals. We similarly analysed the associated peer-reviewed papers (N = 534) and news stories (N = 582). Main outcome measures were advice to readers and causal statements drawn from correlational research. Exaggerations in press releases predicted exaggerations in news (odds ratios 2.4 and 10.9, 95% CIs 1.3 to 4.5 and 3.9 to 30.1) but were not associated with increased news coverage, consistent with previous findings. Combining datasets from universities and journals (996 press releases, 1250 news), we found that when caveats appeared in press releases there was no reduction in journalistic uptake, but there was a clear increase in caveats in news (odds ratios 9.6 and 9.5 for caveats for advice and causal claims, CIs 4.1 to 24.3 and 6.0 to 15.2). The main study limitation is its retrospective correlational nature.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For health and science news directly inspired by press releases, the main source of both exaggerations and caveats appears to be the press release itself. However we find no evidence that exaggerations increase, or caveats decrease, the likelihood of news coverage. These findings should be encouraging for press officers and scientists who wish to minimise exaggeration and include caveats in their press releases.
authors.affiliation: Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.|School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Petroc
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sumner
authors.affiliation: Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.|School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Solveiga
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5716-6202
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vivian-Griffiths
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jacky
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boivin
authors.affiliation: School of Journalism, Media & Cultural Studies, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9603-4309
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Lewis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bott
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.affiliation: School of Women's and Children's Health, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Kensington, New South Wales, Australia.|Graduate School of Medicine, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia.
authors.forename: Christos A
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9591-7222
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Venetis
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Leanne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Whelan
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Bethan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.affiliation: Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.|School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Christopher D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Chambers
mesh_terms: D008192:Deception; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination / Q000379:methods*; D008402:Mass Media; D066209:Medical Writing; D011634:Public Health; D011643:Publishing