Masturbation-Prostate Link: eFluxMedia Got It Wrong

In my last post, I called eFluxMedia on its erroneous coverage of five-year-old medical research. The publication calls itself "an online newspaper that aims to offer a public service. Its main purpose is to inform its readers correctly, impartially, and continually, according to journalistic principles." It reported today that masturbation reduces men's chance of developing prostate cancer. The story is time-stamped "13:40, April 24th, 2008."

The finding it then goes on to describe was reported by other news organization in July of 2003. In fact, eFluxMedia writer Anna Boyd paraphrased a BBC.co.uk report and a New Scientist story and pulled quotes from both of them (with attribution). Oddly, Boyd did not mention the timing of those reports or of the original medical study, referring to it only as the "latest study in this field." As I just reported, that study is no longer the latest study in the field. A very similar finding essentially confirmed the 2003 study the following year.

E-mails addressed to Anna Boyd and sent to several addresses at eFluxMedia.com were not immediately returned; at least one bounced back. A telephone number could not be found on the publication's website. If I hear back, I'll let you know.

Reader Comments Read all comments (5)

Add Your Thoughts

Comment Name State Select One AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY International Email

Please enter the two words below into the text field underneath the image.

Incorrect please try again

Enter the words above: Enter the numbers you hear:

Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.