A
fringe theory is an idea or viewpoint held by a small group of supporters. Fringe theories include the models and proposals of
fringe science as well as similar ideas in other areas of scholarship, such as the
humanities. The term is commonly used in a narrower sense as a
pejorative roughly synonymous with
pseudo-scholarship. Precise definitions that distinguish between widely held viewpoints, fringe theories, and pseudo-scholarship are difficult to construct because of the
demarcation problem. Issues of
false equivalence can occur when fringe theories are presented as being equal to widely accepted theories.