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Popular science online

May 10, 2016

Web users often find science content presented in entertaining ways. The term “science porn” describes the most extreme manifestations. But it often has less to do with science than with collecting page views.

https://p.dw.com/p/1Ikuz
DW Shift Science Porn
Image: Dustin Skye

Photos, quotes and news from the world of science swiftly goes viral on the Internet – especially if it's presented attractively and comprehensibly, perhaps with colorful graphics or YouTube videos. The term “science porn” has been coined to describe this phenomenon. Many sites are specialized in it – for example iflscience.com, which boasts some 200 million hits per month with its news and features from the natural sciences. And the Twitter account “History in Pics“ has around three million followers. But the creators are not necessarily scientists, and the content is not always factual.