Neologism { equivalation

equivalation

To consider competing or opposite positions on an issue to be equivalent, despite a lack of evidence to support one of the sides.

as Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy put it:

Treating a dubious position as arguably equivalent to a legitimate one.

Dignifying questionable claims and disreputable agendas provides sensational fodder for an increasingly entertainment-focused news media. It also brings those claims and agendas within striking distance of acceptability.

This concept is quite popular on television and radio noise factories. For great examples, see Global Climate Change deniers and Intelligent Design/Creationism proponents as they are shown in mass media. Essentially everyone who is informed, educated, and qualified on the subjects is in large agreement, yet you'd think theories of Global Warming and Evolution/Natural Selection were in crisis.

Science is not cultural relativism. The mass media is giving credibility to nonsense to keep the verbal diarrhœa flowing so they can sell toothpaste ads. Many calls to 'teach the controversy' are people who cannot emotionally accept the conclusions we make given the evidence, and so they push for a false equivalence of their unsupported hypotheses as if any criticism warrants parity. Most often this is an appeal to popularity, where the uninformed believe their gut to be on equal ground with evidence.