Has anyone noticed how some of the most nonsensical stuff in movies and TV uses the "Based on a true story" to make it seem legit? You see this in a lot of stuff regarding UFOs, hauntings, etc. The movie "The Mothman Prophecies" used the "true story" tagline a lot. However, these "true stories" seem to me like nothing more than anecdotal evidence--claims that aren't supported by any kind of evidence or independent confirmation and are explicable in more prosaic terms (hallucinations, wishful thinking, mass hysteria/delusions, etc.).

This complaint isn't really addressing science errors per se, but it does address the fact that suspension of disbelief, uncritical thinking, and promotion of pseudoscience and superstition are a huge market in the entertainment industry.

Discuss.

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"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind pitiless indifference." - Richard Dawkins