The Quackometer -

Welcome to the Quackometer

WHAT IS THE QUACKOMETER ALL ABOUT?

The Little Black Duck

The quackometer is a project based around the automation of debunking quack medicine on the web. The web is full of pages supporting dubious medical claims and inflated capabilities for cures. The freedom that the web gives us to express our views, entertain and do business also gives quacks a way to make a living by promoting nonsense treatments to unsuspecting people.

Spotting these web sites appears to be easy when you know what to look out for. If it is that easy, can the process be automated? The quackometer project intends to find out.

DO YOU HAVE A WEB SITE YOU WANT TO TEST FOR QUACKERY?
DO YOU WANT TO SEE IF SOMEONE MIGHT BE A QUACK?

Go to the quackometer...

recent quackometer blog entries...

Liverpool NHS PCT Offering Quack Mysticism as Cancer Cure

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 19:39:00 +0000

Liverpool NHS Primary Care Trust funds a Department of Homeopathy, one the last four remaining publicly funded homeopathic hospitals in the UK. It publicises that the clinic in the Old Swan Health Centre can offer homeopathic treatments for everything from arthritis to depression and bowel disorders. There is no good evidence that this is an effective use of public money. Indeed, as was reported

more...

Dispensing with Homeopathy: A Proposal

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:07:00 +0000

Let’s run with an idea and see where it goes. The 10:23 campaign has now had loads of publicity and Boots have failed to address any of the central concerns: mainly, that homeopathy is a daft pseudoscience. Moreover, the pharmacy profession and the drugs regulator have remained silent. In all likelihood, Boots will not withdraw their sugar pills and pharmacists will continue to take your money

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We would be the Sceptics answer to Jedward, if I had any Hair.

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:22:00 +0000

� Thanks to Stephen Law at the Centre of Inquiry for posting this video of myself and Simon Singh, just after our talks at Conway Hall. The day started with a mass overdose of homeopathic pills (see report in the Telegraph; it’s also on the front page of the BBC web site) , followed by talks on the evidence for alternative medicines and his legal battles (from Simon), the reasons why

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10:23. My Personal Homeopathic Overdose

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 10:23:00 +0000

Right now, if the homeopaths are correct, I should have paralysed arms, be in severe pain, have convulsions, delirium, skin itching all over and be unable to stand. That is because I have taken a massive overdose of the homeopathic remedies, Belladonna 30C, Sulphur 30C and Lachesis 5MM. I wrote this post last night and set it to appear at 10:23 today, the moment I will also be taking a whole

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10:23, Homeopathy and the Shame of the Pharmacy Profession

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:30:00 +0000

This Saturday, hundreds of people, in many cities,� will be demonstrating outside Boots the Chemists about their selling of homeopathic remedies. Each volunteer will be taking a homeopathic ‘overdose’ of a Boots homeopathy product to demonstrate that there is nothing in the tablets but sugar. Out of all the volunteer ‘overdosers’ and their supporters in the 10:23 campaign, there may well be

more...

The Meaning of the 10:23 Homeopathy Campaign.

The MHRA and the Labeling of Homeopathic Products

Trick or Treatment: The Event

Storm in a Tea Cup

James Randi, Global Warming and the Nature of Scepticism

To Coffee! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.

Meddling Princes, Medical Regulation and Licenses to Kill

Can We Trust Homeopaths to Accredit Their Own Training?

Bogus Science and Other Christmas Gifts

John Wesley and The Origins of the Natural Health Movement

About Me

The Quackometer has been developed by Andy Lewis. If you wish to get in contact then please read the FAQ and then email me. Details in the About section.