Fraud is the reason for most research paper retractions. Nobelist is trying to clean up social science methodology. Fraudulent peer review and peer reviewers. Is this the End of Science? Politicians misrepresent the facts, too. Lies, damn lies, and statistics about health care and environmental issues clogged the presidential debate between Obama and Romney, but climate change was ignored. Al Gore says Obama's lame performance was due to Denver's altitude.
Poynter's Beth Winegarner lists a half-dozen ways for freelancers to build their businesses. Many of them boil down to finding a network and making the most of it: "Thanks to Facebook and Twitter, connecting with fellow freelancers has never been easier. Knowing who’s writing, and who they’re writing for, gives you a good sense of which publications are open to taking freelance work," Winegarner writes. Also, do your homework, and "pitch more than you can write."