Environmental Working Group and the Dirty Dozen

Once a year, news outlets worldwide report the "Dirty Dozen", purportedly a list of the twelve types of conventionally-grown produce most contaminated with pesticides. It's accompanied by a recommendation that consumers wishing to not be poisoned should instead buy organic versions of these. The list is published each year by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), and its press release is duly published by virtually every major news outlet — print, TV, radio, and online — with headlines suggesting a catastrophic risk level. EWG has published their Dirty Dozen list every year for over 20 years, to the point that today, every news outlet waits for the annual press release with bated breath, excited to drop what they believe is an awesome health bomb on their audience.