Did researchers reveal that people who are messy are actually productive geniuses? No, that's not true: An article making the claim cites no such research that concludes messiness is a sign of genius or productivity. This is a click-bait claim unsupported by any studies. There is also no research showing that unintelligent people cannot be messy and unproductive.
The false claim originated from an article (archived here) published by DailyHealthPost.com on July 25, 2019 under the title "Researchers Reveal That People Who Are Messy Are Actually Productive Geniuses". It opened:
Being messy has nothing to do with being unproductive or laziness. These are just assumptions and nothing more. In fact, historical figures such as Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, and Mark Twain were famously known for being messy.
The truth is that being messy can actually be a sign of intelligence. (1) Here are six reasons why messy people are actually productive geniuses.
This is what social media users saw:
Working at a clean and prim desk may promote healthy eating, generosity, and conventionality, according to new research. But, the research also shows that a messy desk may confer its own benefits, promoting creative thinking and stimulating new ideas.
The contents to the article do not supported the main claim that researchers have revealed that if you are messy, you are a productive genius.
NewsGuard, a company that uses trained journalist to rank the reliability of websites, describes dailyhealthpost.com as:
A website that promotes false and misleading claims about "natural" health remedies, including unproven cures for cancer.
According to NewsGuard the site does not maintain basic standards of accuracy and accountability. Read their full assessment here.
We wrote about dailyhealthpost.com before, here are our most recent articles that mention the site:
