The non-partisan organization known as the Statistical Assessment Service (STATS) was established in 1993. It describes itself as a resource on the use and abuse of science and statistics in the media. According to the website, the organization is also documented under the guise of the 'Science Literacy Project'.
The Statistical Assessment Service (STATS) promotes itself as a 'non-profit, non-partisan organization,' however the identities of the people who provide funding for the organization are kept secret. The Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA) and George Mason University are both associated with this 'sister organization,' which functions as an extension of the CMPA.
In the middle of the 1980s, money from conservative foundations was used to establish STAT as part of a larger campaign by the right to depict the American press as being left-leaning and out of touch with the views of most Americans. Contracts had been made between the Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA) and various tobacco corporations.
In 2004, STATS became a part of George Mason University as an affiliated organization. According to the tax records from 2005-2006, the Center for Media and Public Affairs and STATS split the costs associated with employee salaries.
The George Mason University emblem was removed from the header of the Statistical Assessment Service website since the company is no longer linked with George Mason University. Sense About Science USA is a subsidiary of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The Statistical Assessment Service (STAS) is now a part of Sense About Science USA (NIST).
The Statistical Assessment Service, also known as STATS, has been around since 1993, but its financial backers remain a mystery. It is a branch of the Center for Media and Public Affairs, sometimes referred to as a 'sister organisation' (CMPA). Another name for the organisation is the 'Science Literacy Project,' which is also used.
In 1992, the Statistical Assessment Service, also known as STATS, was established. Not a statistician at all, but an anthropologist served as the organization's very first director of STATS. Since 2015, STATS has refrained from mentioning their affiliation with George Mason University and has removed the university's logo from the header of their website.
The Statistical Assessment Service is an organisation that does not seek to make a profit and is non-partisan. It is the mission of this organisation to serve as a resource for journalists and policy makers regarding significant scientific issues and debates.
According to Media Transparency, the organisation was awarded a total of 34 grants worth 2,415,000 dollars between the years 1995 and 2009. The first director of STATS did not come from a statistical academic background; rather, he came from an anthropology academic background.
ExxonMobil, a major producer of benzene, which is one of the ingredients used in the manufacturing process of Bisphenol A (BPA), as well as a manufacturer of plastic packaging film, has provided financial support to the Statistical Analysis and Service. The fact that this organisation has been given conservative funding draws attention to the corruption that is present within it.
Between the years 2004 and 2014, STATS functioned at George Mason University as an affiliated organisation. The STATS department initiated a project known as the Genetic Literacy Project (GLP), which was designed to operate autonomously. With the exception of S. Robert Lichter's biography, CMPA's website no longer contains any information regarding their connection to STATS.
Although there is no longer a link to George Mason University on the website, the university is no longer listed as a partner on the website that belongs to the site. Instead of going to the previous address of STATS, it will take you to SenseaboutscienceUSA.org.
The Statistical Analysis and Service contends that the coverage of climate change in the media continues to focus far more on findings that confirm warming worries than research that casts doubt on the theory.
A report on climate change published in 2008 by the Statistical Assessment Service gained major public coverage. The Statistical Analysis and Service claims that the conclusions reached by the Union of Concerned Scientists have a significant amount of bias due to the fact that respondents who took the time to return the questionnaire were likely to be the ones who feel the most agitated about 'perceived' interference.
According to the findings of a study conducted by the Royal Society for the Protection of Forests (RSPF) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States, there was widespread interference and pressure being put on climate experts to downplay the threat that is posed by global warming in the public (USNOAA).
Ashly Chole - Senior Finance & Technology Editor