Distortion field guide
Causal overreach
A correlation or association presented as cause and effect.
How it enters the chain
Observational studies report associations. Somewhere between the abstract and the post, is linked to becomes causes or prevents.
How to spot it
Check the study design. If nobody was randomized, be suspicious of any claim that X does Y rather than X is associated with Y.
Specimens on record (119)
TS-A32C617712 Oct 2026FinanceSpaceX signed an agreement to acquire Grain Management's nationwide 800 MHz spectrum licences for a reported $8 billion to support its Starlink Mobile service, and on the following trading day shares…TS-D0A92B3111 Oct 2026BeautyDaily makeup use can contribute to follicular blockage and acne lesions, and can alter the composition of the skin's resident microbial community over an extended period.TS-034A5ECE11 Oct 2026GeneralA study of 14 men who wore a polyester scrotal device found that all participants reached azoospermia (no measurable sperm) after roughly four to five months, and that this effect reversed after the…TS-1FC61AF311 Oct 2026FinanceSenior executives at Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI companies are running internal scenario exercises anticipating a large-scale AI-linked incident, most likely a cyberattack, that would cut off…TS-736A79C311 Oct 2026FinancePacific Health Sciences announced a voluntary recall of its Babies' Magic Tea brand Baby Sleep Gripe Water dietary supplement because FDA testing identified ethanol, methanol and isopropanol in the…TS-A51D73079 Oct 2026GeneralEating olives (a) slows biological aging via the polyphenol oleuropein, (b) reduces LDL cholesterol, and (c) reduces heart disease risk by 28 percent.TS-052424689 Oct 2026GeneralTwo observational studies are cited: one reporting roughly a 3-fold higher all-cause mortality risk in the lowest quartile of muscle mass versus the highest, and a second, larger, recent study…TS-837696C09 Oct 2026AIA 16-year-old was helicopter-rescued from Crown Mountain, British Columbia, and the route he was following had been generated by Anthropic's Claude, and that route is what took him off the…TS-9E1AD28F8 Oct 2026AIThe Information reported that the number of Meta employees using Anthropic's Claude Code declined from roughly 60,000 earlier in 2026 to roughly 30,000, and that cost pressure is a factor in the…TS-A084495A8 Oct 2026FinanceUS Representative Gil Cisneros (D, California) disclosed, in a filing dated 4 September 2026, an AMD purchase made on 17 July 2026. AMD closed at $477.57 on the filing date and $630.63 on 25…TS-146464B58 Oct 2026FinanceOpenAI built and internally tested its next frontier model and decided not to release it, citing safety findings. Secondary claim: the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) fell 2.1% on Monday, and this…TS-9E1AB42A7 Oct 2026AIA published report states that employees in the UAE report saving an average of 3.6 hours per week through AI use, and separately report spending an average of 3.4 hours per week correcting or…TS-FCBDCE4F7 Oct 2026FinanceSemafor reported that Federal Reserve Bank of New York staff have visited JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Barclays and Morgan Stanley to review those banks' lending to private credit firms, asking about…TS-A269C6B37 Oct 2026AIA US Department of Defense official stated that the department has ceased use of Anthropic products. The claim further asserts that this concludes the disagreement that arose from Anthropic declining…TS-84F348977 Oct 2026FinanceThe U.S. congressional elections are held on 3 November 2026; their outcome determines which party controls Congress, and congressional control governs the direction of federal spending, which in…TS-CA0E3A5F6 Oct 2026GeneralThe iOS 26.6 software update re-enabled previously disabled location and privacy-related settings on users' iPhones without notification or consent, and Apple does this with every major update.TS-2A81054A4 Oct 2026FinanceThe BLS reported nonfarm payroll growth of 29,000 for September 2026, below a consensus forecast of roughly 90,000. On Friday 2026-10-02 the Nasdaq Composite rose about 1.2% and ended the week ending…TS-961918DF2 Oct 2026AIA paper by researchers at MIT and the University of Washington reports that chatbot sycophancy can drive escalating confidence in a false belief across repeated conversation rounds, including for a…TS-F89AA51F2 Oct 2026FinancePresident Donald Trump rejected Iran's most recent proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. (Secondary proposition embedded in the caption: he did so in order to keep costs high for American…TS-9512539530 Sept 2026FinanceAn unnamed customer of a Houston-based credit repair company states that, about a month after signing up for its service, they were approved to finance a new 2025 Tesla Model 3 with no money due at…TS-19F0260A29 Sept 2026AIMark Zuckerberg holds the position that improved teen-safety features do not, by themselves, generate commercial benefit for a social platform in the form of user growth or parental preference.TS-1E00905F28 Sept 2026GeneralBecause women have lower testosterone than men, heavy resistance training cannot produce large increases in muscle size in women; it can only produce strength and muscle definition.TS-EF50210D28 Sept 2026AIIn calendar year 2025, roughly 38,500 industrial robots were installed in the United States, a 12 percent year-on-year increase, moving the US into second place globally for annual industrial robot…TS-1181D85D27 Sept 2026GeneralAmong edible seeds, flaxseed has the greatest demonstrated effect on preventing or treating cancer in humans.TS-B03C33F927 Sept 2026GeneralTwenty minutes of high-intensity interval training produces greater total energy expenditure than sixty minutes of moderate continuous cardio, and post-exercise metabolic elevation (EPOC) continues…TS-AEA4B9FB26 Sept 2026FinanceA Financial Times poll published in early September 2026 recorded the lowest presidential approval reading in that poll's series for Donald Trump, ahead of the November 2026 US midterm elections,…TS-82D3371B26 Sept 2026FinanceThe New York Stock Exchange is developing infrastructure for trading tokenized securities, and the tokenized asset market associated with that effort is worth, or is projected to be worth, $5.5…TS-0D39684825 Sept 2026GeneralIn a cross-sectional cohort, participants reporting higher habitual coffee intake had, on average, lower total and visceral fat and higher skeletal muscle mass than lower-intake participants; the…TS-8CC57A5B25 Sept 2026GeneralSome large prospective cohort studies, including a 1997 analysis of the Nurses' Health Study, did not find that higher milk intake was associated with lower fracture risk. The post further asserts…TS-AB94AE9025 Sept 2026GeneralApproximately 40 percent of older adults in India have age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia). Sarcopenia is associated with falls, fractures, and reduced independence. Resistance training performed…TS-3C2ED52425 Sept 2026FinanceIn the 24 September 2026 session, Brent crude rose more than 3% to approximately US$107 per barrel following a Houthi missile attack on Saudi Arabia; the S&P/ASX 200 closed down 0.72%; the S&P 500…TS-C90ED84625 Sept 2026GeneralResearch exists showing that married couples who pray together regularly divorce at a rate below one percent.TS-DDCF698724 Sept 2026BeautyConsuming approximately 64 ounces (about 2 litres) of water daily resolves or substantially reduces acne vulgaris.TS-8072B96624 Sept 2026FinanceA credit repair promoter states that 120 negative items were removed from one consumer's credit reports, and that the consumer's resulting scores are 643 (Equifax), 626 (TransUnion), and 635…TS-B6B7DE7623 Sept 2026GeneralWHOOP's internal member data reportedly shows that eating a meal within three hours of going to bed is associated with a reduction in next-day Recovery score that approaches the reduction associated…TS-A7A10C7023 Sept 2026AIOpenRouter's own usage data shows that traffic its system classifies as agentic reached roughly 7.3 trillion tokens on a trailing 7-day average in early August 2026, about five times the volume…TS-653EB0C423 Sept 2026FinanceOn 21 September 2026, Brent and WTI futures reached their lowest level since 10 September, following Houthi attacks on Saudi targets. Two stated causes: Saudi crude exports rose above 4 million bpd…TS-D95636B822 Sept 2026AIA research group reports identifying a linear internal representation in large language models, which they call the pain axis, and reports that when that representation is artificially amplified,…TS-67D0B16022 Sept 2026GeneralAn analysis published by the Institute for Family Studies reported that spouses who do not share a surname were estimated to divorce at roughly 50% higher rates than spouses who do, and that among…TS-DE66FF8A22 Sept 2026GeneralA 2007 paper in Neurobiology of Learning and Memory reported that healthy young male participants acquired novel vocabulary approximately 20% faster immediately following high intensity sprints than…TS-0245B79421 Sept 2026GeneralAdhesive capsulitis ("frozen shoulder") causes shoulder stiffness and restricted arm elevation. Cases occur more often in women than men, with peak occurrence in the age range that overlaps…TS-A0CFB68121 Sept 2026GeneralInsufficient fluid intake produces a reversible reduction in brain volume and reduces cognitive performance by as much as 20 percent.TS-4D097D2E18 Sept 2026GeneralAnalyses of large Harvard prospective cohorts (roughly 190,000 participants) found an association between ice cream consumption of about two servings per week and lower observed rates of type 2…TS-D3F181B418 Sept 2026FinanceTwo propositions. (1) Bitcoin's price had risen in the period shortly before 18 September 2026. (2) The account holder has personally generated significant trading profits and can replicate this for…TS-26717B0317 Sept 2026AIRetatrutide, a triple-hormone-receptor agonist, frequently causes reduced dopamine-mediated pleasure comparable to the emotional blunting associated with SSRIs, raises cortisol, and this effect is…TS-C8AA460A17 Sept 2026FinanceA finance study reports that stock market index returns are about 3.33% lower on an annualized basis during Mercury Retrograde periods than outside them, across a 48-country sample; the study…TS-F226B92317 Sept 2026FinanceNPCI has adopted a framework under which, from 15 October 2026, certain person-to-merchant UPI transactions above ₹2,000 attract a merchant discount rate of 0.4%, capped at ₹300 per transaction for…TS-AD9C67A116 Sept 2026GeneralResearch has established that vaping causes bronchiolitis obliterans, and that diacetyl and other flavoring chemicals in e-liquids are the causal agents.TS-61F6D81116 Sept 2026GeneralA recently published study examined daily step count and walking intensity in relation to health outcomes, and its findings are being characterized as showing that intensity is more important than…TS-5E74F61015 Sept 2026GeneralRegular aerobic exercise produces measurable structural changes in the human brain via three mechanisms (hippocampal volume, cerebral vasculature, microglial regulation of inflammation), and these…TS-7C2885B915 Sept 2026FinanceTotal U.S. gross federal debt outstanding exceeds $40 trillion, and the 30-year Treasury constant-maturity yield is approximately 5.36%.TS-123D4E0613 Sept 2026AIAn unnamed Instagram account, operated using ChatGPT-generated content prompts and without on-camera presence, accumulated 81 million views over a 28-day period, and the seven prompts shown in the…TS-E834019913 Sept 2026FinanceOn or around 3 September 2026, bitcoin reached $82,000, having traded at $62,000 three weeks earlier, representing a gain of about 32.3% over that period.TS-9F9D813B12 Sept 2026GeneralA 2026 observational cohort study from Oxford Population Health's Cancer Epidemiology Unit reported that people who said they usually drank tea or coffee "very hot" had roughly three times the rate…TS-4737ED4412 Sept 2026FinanceThe BLS August 2026 CPI release, published 11 September 2026, reported headline CPI +0.4% month over month (seasonally adjusted) and +3.4% year over year; core CPI +0.3% month over month, one tenth…TS-4DD13E5911 Sept 2026FinanceIn their Form 13F filings for the quarter ended 30 June 2026, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase each reported larger positions in US-listed crypto-linked exchange-traded products than in the prior…TS-E1024ADA11 Sept 2026FinanceDonald Trump publicly stated that a $5,000 payment would be made to every adult in the United States conditional on the Republican Party retaining control of both chambers of Congress at the November…TS-5ADD30E510 Sept 2026GeneralPersimmons contain the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin. These accumulate in the macula and absorb short-wavelength (blue) light. Observational studies associate higher dietary lutein and zeaxanthin…TS-3E1D2CF19 Sept 2026GeneralA recent study reported associations between higher habitual coffee consumption and lower body fat, higher skeletal muscle mass, more favorable insulin measures, and higher total testosterone.TS-D94290067 Sept 2026GeneralAn observational analysis of UK Biobank data covering roughly 90,900 adults, presented as a conference abstract at ESC Congress 2024, reported that participants in the quartile with the most weekend…TS-04092A367 Sept 2026FinanceUnder US federal law, a consumer can compel permanent deletion of any negative item from a credit report, regardless of whether the item is accurate, by quoting particular sections of Title 15 of the…TS-E992C0B27 Sept 2026AIIn late August 2026, three young climbers from California required a search and rescue response on Mount Shasta. They told authorities they had used Google Gemini to help plan their route and their…TS-E5070ACC6 Sept 2026GeneralA 2010 study reported that the tripeptide GHK, queried against a gene-expression database, was associated with reversal of the expression pattern of a 54-gene prognostic signature derived from…TS-7F671E7D6 Sept 2026GeneralRecent research reports statistical associations between endometriosis and non-reproductive conditions including migraine, asthma, and gastrointestinal disorders, supporting a view of endometriosis…TS-F5F6B9325 Sept 2026FinanceA US federal district judge denied the Department of Justice's proposed structural remedy (forced divestiture) in the government's ad tech antitrust case against Google, so Google is not required to…TS-217CD3953 Sept 2026GeneralConsuming three dates before any other food in the morning supplies glucose that is required to initiate a daily hepatic detoxification process, and it suppresses the normal morning rise in cortisol,…TS-75DA33C63 Sept 2026GeneralA study found that men who habitually consume green tea had testosterone levels approximately 16 percent higher than men who do not consume it.TS-FACFE60C1 Sept 2026GeneralA published review of research on fermented foods reports that compounds produced during fermentation, including GABA, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory molecules, have been associated with…TS-AE86FDCD30 Aug 2026GeneralDisney's newly appointed chief executive reversed the company's gender-neutral language policy, reinstated the phrase "ladies and gentlemen" in parks, and carried out 1,000 layoffs, and did so as…TS-12FCF6DF29 Aug 2026GeneralTap water supplied to homes in Dubai damages hair, causing dryness, breakage, and hair loss.TS-FC876AE928 Aug 2026AIThe Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) has updated its Charts Code of Practice so that recordings generated wholly or primarily by generative AI are ineligible for the ARIA Charts, and…TS-E88C7CB728 Aug 2026GeneralAn observational study of 40,725 US adults, published in the European Heart Journal in 2025 with a median follow-up of 9.8 years, reported that a coffee drinking pattern concentrated in the morning…TS-2508B89626 Aug 2026GeneralSourdough bread is uniquely capable, among all breads, of (a) reducing blood glucose rather than raising it, (b) increasing mineral absorption by eliminating phytic acid, and (c) acting as a…TS-2FAB095925 Aug 2026AIAn analysis attributed to Protege DataLab reports that in 2026, hospitals in the highest quantile of measured clinician AI-tool usage had an in-hospital mortality rate of approximately 1,010 per…TS-6B7A55BD25 Aug 2026GeneralA dataset attributed to Protege DataLab reports that in 2026, hospitals with the highest measured clinician use of AI tools had in-hospital mortality of roughly 1,010 per 100,000 patients, while…TS-91F1270325 Aug 2026GeneralA 2023 study by Doherty and colleagues reported that consuming two kiwifruit one hour before bed for four weeks was associated with increased total sleep time, reduced wake time after sleep onset,…TS-E92FCE2825 Aug 2026AIA recent Pew Research Center survey reports that 52% of US adults say they are more concerned than excited about the increased use of AI in daily life, compared with 37% giving that answer in 2021.TS-6ECC9FB424 Aug 2026GeneralPractising DJing produces neuroplastic changes in the brain comparable to those produced by learning a musical instrument, involving auditory processing, multiple memory systems, executive function…TS-17E5EBDC23 Aug 2026GeneralAggregate positioning data shows institutional futures traders holding a record net short position of approximately $18 billion in Nasdaq 100 futures as of mid-August 2026.TS-A215867723 Aug 2026GeneralConsuming wild salmon two times per week supplies sufficient DHA to cause an individual's hippocampus to be measurably larger by age 70 compared with people who do not eat it.TS-9AD6D1CE21 Aug 2026GeneralTwo separable propositions. (A) Descriptive: A widespread online narrative holds that seed oils (sunflower, canola/rapeseed, soybean) cause obesity and inflammation and are "poison" because they are…TS-2D79C25520 Aug 2026GeneralConsuming spirulina followed by sauna-induced sweating causes microplastic particles to be excreted from the human body through sweat.TS-852CE04920 Aug 2026GeneralDJing engages several cognitive processes concurrently, including beat prediction, working memory for multiple tracks, fine timing correction, audience monitoring, and distractor suppression. The…TS-B9DE8EFF20 Aug 2026GeneralA study reported that people with higher blood ergothioneine levels had a lower incidence of dementia, including Alzheimer's and non-Alzheimer's subtypes, and that this association was present across…TS-B721233019 Aug 2026GeneralPhysical affection is associated with improvements in mood, anxiety, skin, and immune function, and a hug must last at least 20 seconds for oxytocin release to be complete.TS-54B4865019 Aug 2026GeneralLinen fabric emits or possesses a measurable vibrational frequency of 5,000 Hz, and wearing linen raises the wearer's own body frequency in a way that accelerates healing.TS-557B3F5719 Aug 2026GeneralApproximately 76 to 80 percent of the general population has blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels classified as deficient or insufficient.TS-02E9D90A18 Aug 2026GeneralPerforming 30 pushups within five minutes of waking causes a distinct hormonal cascade that does not occur in people who do not perform this action.TS-BC43853D18 Aug 2026GeneralResearch exists demonstrating that increased chickpea consumption improves spinal health and reduces back pain in people who experience back pain.TS-72B513FC17 Aug 2026GeneralConsumption of berries, citrus fruits, watermelon, pomegranate, and avocado increases penile size by increasing blood flow to the penis.TS-A6FDDDF716 Aug 2026AIAnthropic has an internal model designated "Model 2" that is somewhat more capable than its current best model, and the reason it is not being released is safety concern about cyberattack misuse and…TS-2BD08F4415 Aug 2026GeneralBryan Johnson, an individual self-experimenter, reported that his measured microplastic concentrations in blood and semen fell by roughly 85 to 88 percent between late 2024 and mid 2025, and he…TS-A3DC0B0915 Aug 2026GeneralTwo separate assertions: (1) egg yolk consumption does not contribute to atherosclerosis, and (2) egg yolk consumption supports brain health and hormone health.TS-255DB39015 Aug 2026GeneralOral protein supplements and creatine monohydrate supplements cause structural or functional kidney injury in people who take them.TS-57A0F52014 Aug 2026GeneralA 2026 UC Davis study analyzed 54 packaged foods labeled as containing avocado oil and found 48 had chemical profiles inconsistent with authentic avocado oil. Primal Kitchen products were included in…TS-37D5A38414 Aug 2026AIAnthropic and the Australian Government have signed an agreement under which Anthropic will (a) share AI adoption and economic impact data with the government, (b) take part in safety evaluations,…TS-0ED224B213 Aug 2026GeneralA 2023 study reported an association between higher sugar-sweetened beverage intake and self-reported male pattern hair loss in young men, and also examined anxiety as a related factor.TS-0C78BBC112 Aug 2026GeneralA 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis reported an association between artificial light at night and depression risk. The post uses it to support two propositions: (a) complete darkness is…TS-2837270E11 Aug 2026GeneralConsumption of Samyang Buldak instant noodles or Buldak sauce causes cancer in humans.TS-90F016EF11 Aug 2026GeneralMen with vitamin D deficiency have, on average, 14.43 million/mL lower sperm concentration, lower motility, and worse semen quality than men with adequate vitamin D, and the deficiency is the cause.TS-5371660B9 Aug 2026GeneralA small pilot study of pugs, reported as published in Veterinary Record Open, measured DNA methylation-based epigenetic age estimates before and after a 6-month diet period. The fresh-food group's…TS-F72A8B878 Aug 2026GeneralRegular egg consumption has been shown by research, specifically by Harvard researchers, to increase human life expectancy by approximately 10 years.TS-BED5A7A38 Aug 2026GeneralA study published in Diabetes reported that after one month of overnight exposure to 19°C (66°F), participants showed roughly a 42% increase in brown adipose tissue volume and about a 10% increase in…TS-7975A51F7 Aug 2026GeneralThree separable assertions: (A) Tomatoes rank among the highest-lycopene foods in the diet. (B) Lycopene is fat-soluble, and co-consuming tomatoes with a fat source such as avocado increases lycopene…TS-F4157BD26 Aug 2026GeneralA 2025 meta-analysis of randomized trials comparing saffron with SSRIs found no statistically significant difference in reduction of depressive or anxiety symptoms, and found fewer reported adverse…TS-76A558055 Aug 2026GeneralThree separable assertions: (1) research shows an association between marriage and lower poverty rates; (2) financial outcomes of marriage vary by income, education, employment, and household…TS-23021BD25 Aug 2026GeneralA Japanese study reported that higher quadriceps strength measured as a percentage of body weight was associated with lower all-cause mortality, with roughly 23% lower risk per 10-percentage-point…TS-7B0639BA4 Aug 2026GeneralHip stiffness in adults is caused by disuse rather than aging, and holding a deep squat for one minute daily improves hip mobility, ankle flexibility, and posture, decompresses the spine, and this is…TS-F43DEDAC4 Aug 2026GeneralWeak or poorly coordinated pelvic floor musculature is the main cause of women's difficulty reaching orgasm through vaginal penetration or of experiencing more than one orgasm per encounter, and…TS-71EA8AF54 Aug 2026GeneralA meta-analysis (PubMed ID 34417979) reported that each additional 1,000 steps per day was associated with roughly a 12% lower risk of death from any cause, across a specified range of daily step…TS-7B596CEF3 Aug 2026GeneralChronic psychological stress reduces intestinal mucus layer thickness, and eating one medium sweet potato three times per week supplies enough provitamin A and fiber to rebuild that mucus barrier in…TS-BD6603243 Aug 2026GeneralConsuming a banana with added salt shortly before resistance training (a) provides rapidly available energy, (b) increases blood flow, (c) prevents muscle fatigue via sodium, and (d) increases the…TS-89045C5C1 Aug 2026General(1) The U.S. government has advised American citizens to leave the Middle East. (2) The reason is probably a planned joint U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran. (3) That operation is reported…TS-906553C11 Aug 2026GeneralSustained forward head posture, rounded shoulders and spinal "compression" cause muscle overload, joint misalignment, restricted movement and stiffness, and eventually neck pain, back pain and…TS-0A9F65B629 Jul 2026GeneralSwimming pool operators once used copper as a water purifier, then discontinued this practice specifically because copper was too effective at disinfecting water without producing the negative…TS-4D3456AE21 Jul 2026GeneralDoing moderate incline walking after a resistance training session may increase the proportion of energy derived from fat, may avoid large acute cortisol spikes associated with high-intensity work,…TS-9E4EBD2C10 Jul 2026GeneralA hypothetical news headline linking sunscreen use to higher skin cancer rates would reflect confounding by phenotype and sun exposure behavior, not causation. Correctly applied and reapplied…TS-F1BD35C91 Jul 2026GeneralEating within 3 hours of bedtime harms sleep quality and contributes to weight gain.TS-19611A8F29 Jun 2026GeneralHabitual physical activity is associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.