Clairvoyance TV program criticised by participants

[steenkh]

Danish celebrities have publicly criticised a clairvoyance TV program that they have participated in. The links are in Danish, unfortunately:
Celebrities angry about their part in Kanal 4 program "Nærkontakt"
Kanal 4 program is criticised by participants: Deception, Fraud, and Lies
Celebrities rages against TV program: I should never have accepted

The program Nærkontakt ("Close Encounter") boasted that even its skeptic celebrity participants had their worldview shaken when they met the clairvoyant in the program, but in fact three of the participants have explained that the clairvoyant missed most of the time, and all of the misses were cut away.

One of them says that he used the word "manipulation" several times during the filming, but all is gone. They accuse the program of being pure fraud and warn people off spending money on contacting the dead.

A spokesperson for the TV channel is sorry that these celebs feel they have been misused, because the cutting process has been very loyal to the positions of the participants, and the viewers are not in doubt that some of the participants are skeptics.

One can only conclude that it was negligent of the TV channel to forget to add a non-disclosure clause in the contract.

 

[Dave Rogers]

The program Nærkontakt ("Close Encounter") boasted that even its skeptic celebrity participants had their worldview shaken when they met the clairvoyant in the program, but in fact three of the participants have explained that the clairvoyant missed most of the time, and all of the misses were cut away.

They should have seen that coming.

Dave




PS: Sorry. But someone had to.

 

[steenkh]

They should have seen that coming.



Dave









PS: Sorry. But someone had to.

I don't think that any of them are experienced sceptics like we are on this forum. I do not even think that any of them are familiar with the concept of cold reading.

One of them, Sebastian Klein, has said that the technique was so crude that it was just like when you are asked to think of a number between 1 and 9, and then they procede to ask "Was it 1?", "Was it 2?", and so on, and when you eventually say "Yes", they cut out all the other tries.

 

[dann]

Apparently the two participating Danish celebrities were allowed to say that they did not believe in psychics, so when all the wrong readings by the psychics end up on the cutting-room floor, it makes it seem so much more extraordinary - and the skeptic celebrities appear to be so much more closed-minded when they stick to their skepticism in spite of the apparently correct readings!
We all knew that this is the way that the spectacular results are produced in shows like this, but it's great that a couple of celebrities have enough personal integrity to reveal the manipulation that goes on behind the screen.
Let's hope that their example inspires more people to take on the battle against against the many fake documentaries.
http://skeptica.dk/artikler/?p=1332&cpage=1#comment-135693

 

[dann]

I don't think that any of them are experienced sceptics like we are on this forum. I do not even think that any of them are familiar with the concept of cold reading.

It was a joke! Dave is talking about the alleged psychics. You didn't notice what he wrote in white:

PS: Sorry. But someone had to.

 

[Donn]

Bottom-line: don't trust producers. Fiction sells. Fact smells.

 

[BobTheCoward]

This seems to be pretty ballsy claims by the producers. I think american style would be more deflection rather than make any claim that can be refuted in court. Is this style common among Danish producers?

 

[dann]

This seems to be pretty ballsy claims by the producers. I think american style would be more deflection rather than make any claim that can be refuted in court. Is this style common among Danish producers?

I think that as long as they mention the entertainment aspect, include one or two comments from the skeptic participants - and maybe even one of the misses from the psychics - and don't claim that the number of hits (apparently few) and misses (apparently many) shown on the program are representative of what actually happened, they probably cannot be sued.

I mean, look at the claims that the President is able to get away with!

 

[steenkh]

Besides, Denmark is not a particularly litigious society, and I am sure that the participants have signed a contract to the effect that they cannot complain about the contents of the program. But obviously, they can twit about the process, and that must have been a terrible error for the production company.

 

[dann]

They don't have anything new to add, but the TV magazine Se og Hør has now joined the ranks of the media telling their readers about the objections of the three Danish celebrities to the show about psychics: Celebrities furious about 'Nærkontakt': It's a scam!

 

[Spindrift]

I don't think that any of them are experienced sceptics like we are on this forum. I do not even think that any of them are familiar with the concept of cold reading.

One of them, Sebastian Klein, has said that the technique was so crude that it was just like when you are asked to think of a number between 1 and 9, and then they procede to ask "Was it 1?", "Was it 2?", and so on, and when you eventually say "Yes", they cut out all the other tries.

So the clairvoyant did get it right!

 

[dann]

Yes, definitely!
An astrology nut once tried to guess my sign, and after having made wrong guesses seven or eight times, she finally got around to, "Sagittarius!" When I confirmed, she said, "I knew it! I always knew that you were a typical Sagittarius!"

PS Well, how du like that. I actually am a typical Sagittarius: 7. Sagittarius is allergic to b***s***. (I only wish I weren't also allergic to peanuts and shellfish!)

 

[dann]

I stumbled upon this old thread: Clairvoyants solve murders on Danish TV. I hope that the celebrity protest will have put a stop to any plans of reviving that show as well.