Science & technology | Science and the law

Eyewitness evidence is more reliable than has been thought

But only the first time you ask

Feb 26th 2022

THE “SATANIC PANIC” that swept through America in the 1980s and 1990s held that thousands of ordinary people up and down the country were secretly members of devil-worshipping cults which were abusing, raping and murdering children on an industrial scale. Alleged victims made detailed allegations, often after therapy designed to “recover” memories that had supposedly been buried in the aftermath of trauma. Many people went to prison. None of it was true.

This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “First impressions”