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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 14h

An Afghan refugee in Pakistan told Secular Rescue that police had reportedly given nearby households three days to leave. They feared a return to Afghanistan as human rights defenders. On International Blasphemy Rights Day, help us reach more people: ow.ly/CnZP50ZThSj

Black graphic with white text quoting an Afghan refugee writing to Secular Rescue: “Although the police have not yet come to our house, we live with the constant fear that they may arrive at any moment.”

Black graphic with white text: “Police had reportedly visited other Afghan refugee households nearby and given them three days to leave Pakistan. The writer feared being sent back to Afghanistan, where their human rights work put them at risk. They were also struggling to meet basic daily needs.”

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Trump says his administration plans to split some childhood immunizations into five 20% doses, six months apart. CSI Fellow Paul Offit says that would make them ineffective, not safer. The immune system doesn't care how clean the math looks. From CNN: ow.ly/uBRO50ZPUpb

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Before freethought had social media, it had stamps and prison records. Two journals shared ideas across the Atlantic, and both founders served time under blasphemy or obscenity laws. Free Inquiry's Daniel James Sharp asks what that history means now: ow.ly/lsN750ZOwco

Square graphic with bold dark blue text on a white background: “Before freethought had social media, it had stamps and prison records.”

Square graphic with dark blue text on a white background: “And two editors on each side of the Atlantic. D. M. Bennett published The Truth Seeker in the States, while G. W. Foote founded The Freethinker in Britain.”

Square graphic with dark blue text on a white background: “Bennett had recently left prison when they met in London in 1881. Foote would be imprisoned two years later. Their offenses? Publishing material the law deemed obscene or blasphemous.”

Square graphic with dark blue text on a white background: “Their journals kept trading ideas. For years, The Truth Seeker and The Freethinker republished each other’s articles, forming an international freethought network before global networking was easy.”

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Psychic mediums, flat earth, sun-gazing, a fake Tunguska crater, and a suspiciously ancient-looking Ten Commandments stone in New Mexico. Just another SkeptiCamp 💙 Susan Gerbic reports from Albuquerque on skepticism at the local level: ow.ly/iFKL50ZJEoA

A man stands beside the Los Lunas Decalogue, a large rock in New Mexico covered with carved Hebrew-style inscriptions, while another attendee photographs the stone.

A speaker presents at New Mexico SkeptiCamp in a classroom-style conference room while attendees watch from tables. A smartphone on a stand records the presentation, and the projected slide reads, “Emotional triggers bypass critical thinking.”

A group of SkeptiCamp attendees gather around a long outdoor restaurant table, smiling for a casual group selfie after the event.

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Tomorrow, Janyce Boynton joins Leighann Lord for Skeptical Inquirer Presents to discuss facilitated communication + how the popular podcast The Telepathy Tapes has revived the practice. Free live · 7 PM ET: ow.ly/Vig850ZFTF4

Promotional graphic featuring a close-up photo of Janyce Boynton. Text explains that controlled testing found messages attributed to a nonspeaking student reflected the facilitator’s views, not the student’s, and notes that the case is now being presented as evidence of telepathy. Live August 27 at 7 p.m. ET.

Skeptical Inquirer Presents promotional graphic featuring Janyce Boynton. Text reads: “Facilitated Communication, Authorship Testing, & the Telepathy Tapes.” Live August 27 at 7 p.m. ET.

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Five years into a post-Tom Flynn world, there’s still a lot to miss. To mark the anniversary of his death, The Truth Seeker’s Roderick Bradford put together a video tribute: vimeo.com/1219089909

White graphic with two thin black horizontal lines near the top. Large black text reads, “Even in the Golden Age of Freethought it wasn’t very safe to come out as a freethinker.” Smaller text continues, “You could lose your job. You could be shunned by your family. You could be frozen out of society.” At the bottom: “Tom Flynn · 1949–2021.”

Black-and-white historical photograph of a group of men and women gathered outdoors. Below, text reads, “These people were taking big risks in support of their ideals, in defense of the truth as they saw it. These were people who were putting themselves, their lives, their fortunes, their sacred honor—they were putting everything on the line.” At the bottom: “Tom Flynn · 1949–2021.”

Photograph of freethought writer and historian Tom Flynn, an older man with gray hair, glasses, and a white beard, seated in front of bookshelves. Below, text reads, “And to look back at the Golden Age of Freethought is to look back at a time that unleashed a tsunami of courage.” The quote is attributed to Tom Flynn. At the bottom: “Tom Flynn · 1949–2021.”

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Western New York gave us the Fox sisters, spiritualism, utopian communes, failed apocalypse predictions, the Cardiff Giant, and, eventually, CSI. Quite a regional résumé. Stuart Vyse tours the burned-over district at CSICon 2026: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ5yypgqz64

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

A remarkably useful habit for an internet full of websites insisting they can be trusted. More Bellringers for Better Thinking: generationskeptics.org/2024/04/18/b… Courtesy of Thinking Is Power and Generation Skeptics.

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

✔️ Vaccine policy ✔️ Discredited autism communication methods ✔️ AI-generated doctors selling supplements ✔️ Science shaped for clicks and sales Health information is everywhere. Reliable health information is another matter. This week in Quackwatch: quackwatch.org/ncahf/digest26/26-33

Quackwatch Consumer Health Digest graphic featuring a woman reclining on a couch while looking at her phone. Text reads, “It’s getting harder to know who to trust about your health. This week: childhood vaccines, AI health influencers, autism pseudoscience, science for sale.”

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

“There's no evidence that vaccines cause autism.” Correct, Sen. Cassidy. “This is just a stupid thing to do.” Also correct. Absolutely the right message. Absolutely the wrong messenger: abcnews.com/Politics/gop-sen-bill-c…

Graphic featuring Sen. Bill Cassidy with the quote, “This is just a stupid thing to do.” Text identifies the quote as Cassidy’s response to Trump’s vaccine order. Photo credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

The Telepathy Tapes claims to reveal telepathic abilities in nonspeaking autistic people. But underneath the extraordinary claim is facilitated communication, a technique discredited by decades of evidence. The latest Skeptical Inquirer digs in...

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Cancer patients searching for help online are being targeted by alternative clinics offering unproven treatments that can cost tens of thousands. False hope as a business model? Quackwatch looks at Hope4Cancer and more: quackwatch.org/ncahf/digest26/26-32

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Someone keeps leaving Kenny Biddle notes in crayon. Obviously, his rag doll Isabel is haunted. Well, she's exactly as haunted as Annabelle, to be fair. Kenny wants someone to bring Annabelle to CFI. Let's test them side by side.

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

. Mary Roach writes books for people who think they don't like science. She's had readers tell her they picked up Stiff and ended up in med school. She joined Richard Wiseman at CSICon 2026 to talk science, ghosts, hiccups and much stranger things: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkrfUPoIxtc

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Reposted by Center for Inquiry

Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

So honored to share this award with my good friend and #ScienceUnderSiege co-author @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social. Thanks @center4inquiry.bsky.social --means so much from you folks! centerforinquiry.org/press_releas...

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Arizona has a measles outbreak. 97% of cases are in unvaccinated people. Now lawmakers are pushing a measure to make vaccines optional across the board. If you live in AZ, you can weigh in before the vote. It takes under a minute: centerforinquiry.org/alerts/arizo...

Black-and-white split graphic.
Top half (white background) reads: “97% of measles cases are in unvaccinated people.” with “unvaccinated people” in bold.
Bottom half (black background) reads: “Arizona lawmakers want to make vaccines optional.” with “Arizona lawmakers” in bold.

Minimal black-and-white graphic. Centered text reads: “If you live in Arizona, you can contact your state senator in under a minute.” Below it: “Tell them to vote NO on HCR 2056.” At the bottom, a simple call to action reads: “Take action → link in bio.”

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

New Hampshire is considering dropping Hepatitis B from required childhood vaccines. Infections fell 99% after the vaccine became standard. This is what rolling back looks like... We submitted testimony opposing HB 1719: ow.ly/fvjt50Yzhup

Blurred image of a child receiving a vaccine from a healthcare worker. Overlaid text reads: “From 16,000 → fewer than 20. Annual Hepatitis B infections in U.S. children after routine vaccination.”

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

A federal judge just blocked efforts to rewrite U.S. vaccine policy outside the usual scientific process. That process exists for a reason. CFI called the decision “welcome and important": centerforinquiry.org/news/a-welco... #Vaccines #PublicHealth

Text-based graphic on a light, textured paper background. At the top, the words “The court:” appear. Below is a quote from a federal ruling: “[T]here is a method to how these decisions historically have been made—a method scientific in nature and codified into law through procedural requirements.” The phrase “scientific in nature” is bolded. At the bottom, smaller gray text reads: “Federal court ruling, March 2026.”

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

It’s strange how quickly prevention becomes invisible. @debunk-the-funk.bsky.social asks what happens when we stop remembering why vaccines mattered. Worth sitting with: skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/wh...

Black background with white text that reads: “What if we didn’t have vaccines? Most of us don’t remember why that question matters.”

Black-and-white archival photograph of a hospital ward with multiple patients in beds while nurses provide care, typical of polio treatment wards in the mid-20th century.

Black-and-white archival photograph showing patients lying inside iron lung respirators in a hospital room, a common treatment for severe polio before vaccines.

Black-and-white photograph of a historic newspaper article with the headline “Measles Make Many Mothers Mourn,” describing deaths caused by measles in the early 1900s.

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

The American Revolution hinged on the idea that power comes from the consent of the governed. At 250 years in, we’re walking away from it? In Free Inquiry Ronald A. Lindsay lays out how America First has slid into something power justifying itself: ow.ly/pmu450XXuZV

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

The CDC quietly changed the childhood vaccine schedule. Over 200 health organizations are objecting. This week's Consumer Health Digest lays out what was removed and why medical groups are alarmed: quackwatch.org/ncahf/digest26/26-02

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Texas S.B. 10 would require the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom. CFI filed an amicus brief. That’s clear state intrusion on parents’ rights, especially nonreligious families. Press release: centerforinquiry.org/news/cfi-amicu…

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

On this day in 1776, Common Sense was published. Paine didn’t ask people to agree with him. Rather, to think for themselves. The full pamphlet is public domain. Read it here: oll.libertyfund.org/pages/1776-pain…

Quote from Thomas Paine’s 1776 pamphlet Common Sense reading: “A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.” White text on a dark background.

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Bill London responding to the NYT on RFK Jr. and vaccines: “We should keep in mind that during a House Appropriations Committee meeting in May, Kennedy said: ‘My opinions about vaccines are irrelevant… I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me.’"

Quote from Bill London, editor of Quackwatch: “The scandal is that Kennedy continues to spread his flaky opinions about vaccines by dressing them up as CDC’s scientific conclusions.” Attribution appears beneath the quote.

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Humans crave meaning. Narratives give it to us fast. Democracy asks us to work for it. Stuart Vyse explores how heroic stories can overpower reason and reshape what we’re willing to accept as truth. From Skeptical Inquirer. Worth the time: ow.ly/TGmJ50XSfty

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Will Narrative Defeat Reason? | Skeptical Inquirer

A few years ago, I noticed something new in American politics. Throughout all of my adult life, at election time people would put out yard signs for their c ...

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

The paleo diet says it’s ancient. Anthropology says prove it. What early humans actually ate, based on real evidence. Dr. Briana Pobiner | Jan 14 | 6pm ET Save your spot: ow.ly/MgE050XQM0Q

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

If the death penalty requires secrecy, “experimental” methods, and people holding their breath to avoid suffocating… maybe the problem isn’t the protocol. Maybe.. it's the whole idea. From Free Inquiry: ow.ly/iObg50XQM0p

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

One of the most underrated skills going into a new year: being able to say "I was wrong," without spiraling. From Generation Skeptics: generationskeptics.org/2025/10/30/w…

Text slide asking: “True or false? Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis.”

Text slide asking: “True or false? You swallow eight spiders in your sleep.”

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Another year of arguing for evidence in a world that prefers auras. Another year of pushing back when church and state get a little too cozy. Another year of science, skepticism, and asking uncomfortable questions. Thanks for sticking with us. We’ll keep doing the work.

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

The Ten Commandments push isn’t over.. In Louisiana, CFI urges the Fifth Circuit to block a classroom mandate already ruled unconstitutional. In Ohio, lawmakers try to smuggle the Commandments into schools via a “founding documents” bill. Public schools ≠ religious billboards.

When courts block Ten Commandments mandates, lawmakers try new paths. When legislation stalls, states double down in court.

Louisiana. Ohio. Same idea.

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

Skeptical Inquirer turns 50 this year. The new issue opens that anniversary by reflecting honestly on the movement’s past and its unfinished work. Hear from the voices that helped shape skepticism and are still thinking critically about its future: ow.ly/eOyZ50XO51e

Collage of Skeptical Inquirer magazine covers arranged in a grid, showing one cover from each of the magazine’s previous 49 years. To the right, text reads: “Did You Notice? The cover of this issue of Skeptical Inquirer includes one cover taken from each of the previous 49 years,” with a red arrow pointing toward the collage.

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 25/12/2025

The late and great Tom Flynn looks at where Christmas came from, how the myths formed, and why the so-called War on Christmas doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Featuring a snowball duel with Santa. Old Point of Inquiry. Still relevant: ow.ly/ih1a50XO4zH

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

Public schools aren’t churches. Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law is unconstitutional, and courts have already said so. CFI is urging the Fifth Circuit to strike it down: ow.ly/bOl850XO4if

Text explaining that federal courts have already ruled Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law unconstitutional and that the state is asking the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider.

Text stating that forcing religious doctrine into public schools violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Text stating that public schools are government institutions and should remain religiously neutral for all students, including believers and nonbelievers.

Text stating that religious freedom does not mean state-mandated religion and that Louisiana’s law crosses that constitutional line.

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

Psychics made 2,099 predictions for 2025. Most were wrong. Many were untestable. The big events were missed entirely. King Kong was predicted again, though. gwup | die skeptiker ran the numbers. Reality won: ow.ly/IymW50XO3xW

Text-only graphic stating that out of 2,099 psychic predictions for 2025, none accurately predicted the year’s major events, according to the GWUP Forecast Check.

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

A brutal reminder from this week’s Quackwatch Digest that medical misinformation kills. Freebirth propaganda. Extremist diets. Toxic “natural” products. All thriving in an ecosystem that rewards confidence over evidence. Worth your time: ow.ly/nlEU50XNsXv

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

We hit the original match. Now, it's been extended. That's $25,000 more to defend science, secular government, and evidence over ideology. Your gift is doubled through Dec 31: ow.ly/6GtE50XMFco

Match met.
Match extended.

More resources for reason.
CenterForInquiry.org/Match25

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

You don’t need religion to enjoy December 25. Ronald A. Lindsay on why secular people can take what they want from Christmas and ignore the rest: secularhumanism.org/exclusive/ch... History included. Piety not so much.

secularhumanism.org

Christmas A La Carte | Free Inquiry

It’s that time of year when some committed secularists spend time pondering whether or how to observe the upcoming holiday season, especially December 25. F ...

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Spinosaurus: famous, weird, still misunderstood. Tonight, paleontologist Dr Dave Hone walks through what the fossils really tell us and what they don’t. Live Skeptical Inquirer Presents at 7pm ET: ow.ly/aNxe50XLCcH

Spinosaurus has been hyped for a century. The reality is messier and more interesting.

Tonight, paleontologist David Hone breaks down what we actually know about this bizarre, sail-backed predator.

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Retribution or revenge in a suit? In Free Inquiry, Christo Roberts makes the case that accountability, not sentimentality, is what keeps justice from collapsing into either cruelty or chaos. A sober, uncomfortable read: ow.ly/jrqm50XLAcM

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

The CDC didn’t update its autism–vaccines page because the science changed, but because the politics did. What happens when public health messaging starts hedging against evidence? Skeptical Inquirer lays it out: ow.ly/cRIp50XLauf

Social media graphic featuring the statement: “Political pressure reshaped the CDC’s autism and vaccines page,” referencing a Skeptical Inquirer article.

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Ten years of study led to a familiar outcome: no women deacons, no real reform, lots of theological gymnastics. Free Inquiry dissects the Catholic Church’s latest decision + why institutions built on immutable truth struggle to change without cracking: ow.ly/Kqqc50XKACf

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Center for Inquiry @center4inquiry.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

An Arizona lawmaker wants evolution taught with Intelligent Design (read: creationism). He says the separation of church and state is a “fallacy.” Public schools shouldn’t be drafted into anyone’s theology. Full story: ow.ly/X47p50XKz5Z

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Arizona lawmaker wants schools to teach form of creationism

Lawmaker wants to force public schools that teach evolution to also teach "intelligent design,'' another word for "creationism," he says.

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