Editing Scientific skepticism (section)

=== After 1989 ===

[[File:Merseyside Skeptics Society audience.jpg|thumb|alt= Photo of Brian Deer speaking at Skeptics in the Pub meeting in Liverpool|Brian Deer talks to the Merseyside Skeptics Society at a Skeptics in the Pub meeting.]]
After the [[Revolutions of 1989]], Eastern Europe saw a surge in quackery and paranormal beliefs that were no longer restrained by the generally secular Communist regimes or the Iron curtain and its information barriers. The foundation of many new skeptical organizations was as well intending to [[consumer protection|protect consumers]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mahner |first=Martin |date=January–February 2002 |title=10th European Skeptics Congress: Rise and Development of Paranormal Beliefs in Eastern Europe |url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/10th_european_skeptics_congress_rise_and_development_of_paranormal_beliefs_ |journal=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |publisher=[[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry|CSICOP]] |volume=26 |issue=1 |access-date=23 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140528010034/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/10th_european_skeptics_congress_rise_and_development_of_paranormal_beliefs_ |archive-date=28 May 2014 }}</ref> These included the [[Czech Skeptics' Club Sisyfos]] (1995),<ref name="Sisyfos">{{Cite web |url=http://www.sysifos.cz/index.php?id=vypis&sec=1148731628&lang=en |title=Czech Skeptical Club SISYFOS |publisher=Sisyfos website |date=27 May 2006 |access-date=24 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625110707/http://sysifos.cz/index.php?id=vypis&sec=1148731628&lang=en |archive-date=25 June 2014 }}</ref> the [[Hungarian Skeptic Society]] (2006), the [[Polish Sceptics Club]] (2010)<ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite web |url=http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/the_inception_of_the_polish_sceptics_club |title=The Inception of the Polish Sceptics Club |author=Tomasz Witkowski & Maciej Zatonski |publisher=CSI website |date=18 November 2011 |access-date=24 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140528010248/http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/the_inception_of_the_polish_sceptics_club |archive-date=28 May 2014 }}</ref> and the Russian-speaking [[Skeptic Society]] (2013).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://skepticzone.libsyn.com/the-skeptic-zone-333-8mar2015 |title=Episode 338 |author=Richard Saunders | authorlink =Richard Saunders (skeptic)|work=The Skeptic Zone |publisher=Skepticzone.tv |access-date=1 July 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004174846/http://skepticzone.libsyn.com/the-skeptic-zone-333-8mar2015 |archive-date=4 October 2015 }}</ref> The Austrian Skeptical Society in Vienna (founded in 2002) deals with issues such as [[John Grander|Johann Grander's "vitalized water"]] and the use of [[dowsing]] at the Austrian Parliament''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.zeit.de/2012/19/A-Skeptiker|title=Skeptikerbewegung: Die Apokalypse in den Köpfen|last=Müller|first=Stefan|date=2012-05-03|newspaper=Die Zeit|issn=0044-2070|access-date=2016-09-16|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107173701/http://www.zeit.de/2012/19/A-Skeptiker|archive-date=2016-11-07}}</ref>

The European Skeptics Congress (ESC) has been held throughout Europe since 1989, from 1994 onwards co-ordinated by the [[European Council of Skeptical Organizations]].<ref name="EarlierEvents">{{Cite web |url=http://szkeptikustarsasag.hu/14th-european-skeptic-congress/earlier-european-events |title=Earlier European skeptic events |publisher=HSS website |access-date=24 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527214128/http://szkeptikustarsasag.hu/14th-european-skeptic-congress/earlier-european-events |archive-date=27 May 2014 }}</ref> In the United States, [[The Amaz!ng Meeting]] (TAM) hosted by the JREF in [[Las Vegas]] had been the most important skeptical conference since 2003, with two spin-off conferences in [[London]], [[United Kingdom|UK]] (2009 and 2010) and one in [[Sydney]], Australia (2010). Since 2010, the [[Merseyside Skeptics Society]] and Greater Manchester Skeptics jointly organized [[Merseyside Skeptics Society#QED: Question, Explore, Discover|Question, Explore, Discover]] (QED) in [[Manchester]], UK. World Skeptics Congresses have been held so far, namely in [[Buffalo, New York]] (1996), [[Heidelberg]], Germany (1998), Sydney, Australia (2000), [[Burbank, California]] (2002), [[Abano Terme]], Italy (2004) and Berlin, Germany (2012).<ref name="EarlierEvents" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0osZXewi340 |title=World Skeptics Congress 2012: A Brief History of the Skeptical Movement |author=James Alcock |author-link=James Alcock |publisher=YouTube |date=25 May 2012 |access-date=3 June 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150718174851/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0osZXewi340 |archive-date=18 July 2015 }}</ref>

In 1991, the [[Center for Inquiry]], a US think-tank, brought the CSICOP<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csicop.org|title=CSI|last=Smith|first=Cameron M.|publisher=Csicop.org|access-date=2014-03-01|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110223190213/http://www.csicop.org/|archive-date=2011-02-23}}</ref> and the [[Council for Secular Humanism]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.secularhumanism.org|title=Council for Secular Humanism|publisher=Secularhumanism.org|access-date=2014-03-01|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110224080731/http://www.secularhumanism.org|archive-date=2011-02-24}}</ref> (CSH) under one umbrella. In January 2016, the [[Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science]] announced its merger with the Center for Inquiry.<ref name="Merger">{{cite web|url=http://news.wbfo.org/post/merger-creates-largest-atheist-organization#stream/0|title=Merger creates largest atheist organization|date=January 22, 2016|publisher=WBFO|access-date=2016-01-24|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124024027/http://news.wbfo.org/post/merger-creates-largest-atheist-organization#stream/0|archive-date=2016-01-24}}</ref>

In 2010, as a form of skeptical outreach to the general population, [[Susan Gerbic]] launched the [[Susan Gerbic#GSoW|Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia]] (GSoW) project to improve skeptical content on Wikipedia.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gerbic|first1=Susan|author-link=Susan Gerbic | title=Wikapediatrician Susan Gerbic discusses her Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia project|url=http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/wikapediatrician_susan_gerbic_discusses_her_guerrilla_skepticism_on_wikiped|work=[[Skeptical Inquirer]]|publisher=[[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]]|date=March 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150830023844/http://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/wikapediatrician_susan_gerbic_discusses_her_guerrilla_skepticism_on_wikiped|archive-date=August 30, 2015 |url-status=live|access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/story/guerrilla-wikipedia-editors-who-combat-conspiracy-theories/|title=The 'Guerrilla' Wikipedia Editors Who Combat Conspiracy Theories|last=Matsakis|first=Louise|date=July 25, 2018|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|access-date=July 25, 2018 }}</ref>