Scientists Train Pigeons to Detect Fake News; Pigeons Resign After Reading Comments
The birds mastered visual verification but refused continued exposure to people writing “do your research.”
Researchers trained pigeons to distinguish reliable visual information from misleading examples. The birds performed well until the experiment expanded to social media, where they encountered screenshots without dates and charts with the axes removed.
SausageGoat served as labor representative. He demanded seed breaks, rooftop access and a strict limit on conspiracy threads. Negotiations failed when researchers asked the birds to evaluate a forty-seven-post argument about weather machines.
A Promising Study Takes Flight
The pigeons resigned collectively and returned to judging people in public squares. Scientists called the decision disappointing but psychologically understandable.
Dr. Cynthia Source offered to replace them, then discovered the assignment included checking citations and also requested rooftop access.