debunk

A debunker is a person or organization that exposes or discredits claims believed to be false, exaggerated, or pretentious. "to expose or excoriate (a claim, assertion, sentiment, etc.) as being pretentious, false, or exaggerated: to debunk advertising slogans." The term is often associated with skeptical investigation of controversial topics such as UFOs, claimed paranormal phenomena, cryptids, conspiracy theories, alternative medicine, religion, or exploratory or fringe areas of scientific or pseudoscientific research.

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, to "debunk" is defined as: "to expose the sham or falseness of." The ''New Oxford American Dictionary'' defines "debunk" as "expose the falseness or hollowness of (a myth, idea, or belief)".

If debunkers are not careful, their communications may backfire – increasing an audience's long-term belief in myths. Backfire effects can occur if a message spends too much time on the negative case, if it is too complex, or if the message is threatening.

Etymology

The ''American Heritage Dictionary'' traces the passage of the words "bunk" (noun), "debunk" (verb) and "debunker" (noun) into American English in 1923 as a belated outgrowth of " bunkum", of which the first recorded use was in 1828, apparently related to a poorly received "speech for Buncombe County, North Carolina" given by North Carolina representative Felix Walker during the 16th United States Congress (1819–1821).

The term "debunk" originated in a 1923 novel ''Bunk'', by American journalist and popular historian William Woodward (1874–1950), who used it to mean to "take the bunk out of things".

The term "debunkery" is not limited to arguments about scientific validity; it is also used in a more general sense at attempts to discredit any opposing point of view, such as that of a political opponent.

Notable debunkers

Ancient

* Cicero debunked divination in his philosophical treatise '' De Divinatione'' in 44 BCE.
* Sextus Empiricus debunked the claims of astrologers and dogmatic philosophers (c. 160 CE)
* Lucian wrote a book named ''Alexander the False Prophet'' against mystic and oracle Alexander of Abonoteichus (c. 105 – c. 170 CE) who led the Glycon cult then widely popular in the Roman Empire. He described Alexander's alleged miracles as tricks, including the appearance of the god Glycon being an elaborate puppet. Lucian also describes him as using thuggery against critics to silence them, including himself.

Modern

* Stephen Barrett founded Quackwatch and writes on medical quackery.
* Dorothy Dietrich is a professional magician and Houdini expert and historian. Has been put in charge of Houdini's grave site, and is the founder of The Houdini Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
* Brian Dunning produces the podcast ''Skeptoid''.
* Stanton Friedman has debunked both supposed UFO cases and debunking attempts on other UFO cases.
* Martin Gardner was a mathematics and science writer who extensively debunked parapsychology in his magazine articles and books.
* Susan Gerbic is the founder and leader of Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia which has the mission of improving the skeptical content of Wikipedia. She has focused her skeptical activism at debunking celebrity "psychics" such as Sylvia Brown, Chip Coffey, Tyler Henry and Thomas John.
* Harry Houdini debunked spiritualists.Houdini and the spiritualists
'' Summit Daily News'', November 3, 2007, "Houdini himself wouldn’t have believed in his second coming anyway, because he didn’t believe in spirit manifestations. In fact, he spent much of his life and career debunking spiritualists and mediums – an admirable mission that history and forensic specialists now tell us probably led to his untimely death at the age of 52."
* Ray Hyman is a psychologist who is known for debunking some parapsychological studies.
* Philip Klass was a pioneer in the field of skeptical investigation of UFOs."Pseudoscience, Skepticism To Make A Close Encounter"
''Seattle Times'', June 12, 1994
* Alan Melikdjanian (Captain Disillusion) is a debunker of viral videos and hoaxes on the Internet, usually deconstructing them and explaining the post production techniques and software used to create the illusions.
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