ABSTRACT
In a world where pseudoscience and fake news are presented daily as fact in popular media, mermaids are real, Bigfoot lurks, and aliens built the Pyramids. Outlets such as the History Channel educate audiences in “truth” and empirical fact through prolific series like Ancient Aliens that rely on shaky archeological science to bring the past to life. The producers usurp trusted genres and rely on talking-head “experts” to popularize their version of science. In the broader sociocultural and political context of biblical theme parks, anti-science politicos, and “alternative fact” commentators, the consumption and spread of pseudoscience as “real” is dangerous. Archaeologists and other scholars whose work has been misappropriated and misinterpreted have launched multiple responses to debunk some of the biggest and most dangerous myths of mediated pseudoscience. This chapter examines these “guerrilla” interventions that insert digital scholarship into public discourses by examining i-doc approaches within social media video platforms that seek to reframe stigmatized knowledge with the discourses of sobriety.
