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Instrumental transcommunication, the claim that spirits can manipulate electronic equipment, carries three contested facts. Read individually they do not restate one debunking; they move across scope, from many cases in general, to one named case in particular, to the field's own formal rule.

Many Cases, Named Only in General

notable-exposure states a pattern across several unnamed cases: "Several publicised ITC cases involving computer or telephone contact in the 1990s and 2000s were later withdrawn or discredited after being shown to have been fabricated or staged by a participant."

One Named Case, With Its Own Mechanism

principal-researcher narrows to the field's own flagship claimant and explains, rather than merely asserts, why it fails: "Klaus Schreiber, a German researcher, claimed from 1985 to receive video images of deceased relatives, including his daughter Karin, using a video-feedback technique, a method with a well-understood conventional electronic explanation," noted, "Video feedback loops produce shifting, face-like patterns as an ordinary artifact of the equipment; no image has been produced under conditions ruling out this explanation."

The Field Widens Back Out to Its Own Rule

replication-status returns to the general scope notable-exposure opened with, but as a formal standard rather than a list of incidents: "No instrumental transcommunication claim has been produced under conditions ruling out pareidolia, ordinary electronic artifact, or deliberate hoaxing." Many cases in general, one case in particular with its mechanism named, and the rule that covers all of them: three facts at three different widths of focus, not one claim asked three times.

Where To Read More

• Instrumental TranscommunicationSurvival ClaimsThree facts at three widths of focus: many cases in general, one named case with its mechanism, and the field's own rule