The communication of science as an ethical issue: The case of Raffaele Bendandi

In a ever more connected world, whether justified or not, the possibility that scientific information can be used to produce generalized behaviors by populations results in the need to better understand the processes of science communication. Consequently, it raises serious questions about the ethical message of the communication itself, and the way in which scientists can interface with people with no scientific training. This article analyses the case of the supposed prediction of the well-known geophysicist Raffaele Bendandi and the earthquake of Rome predicted for May 2011 that never happened. © 2012 by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia. All rights reserved.