"As two scientists who lived through Australia's black summer bushfires and the Covid-19 crisis in the United States, we have seen firsthand how science in modern societies is under siege from an even more insidious antiscience virus of weaponised disinformation that undermines our ability to confront these crises. There are five primary, interconnected forces behind the assault on science and reason."
"A nefarious web of actors including plutocrats in the US and Australia, along with libertarian tech bros, and petrostates such as Russia and Saudi Arabia fund and amplify deceitful, ideologically motivated antiscience. They collectively employ weaponised social media outlets, podcasts and rightwing cable news broadcasts as their preferred tools. The objective is to inundate the public with fossil fuel-friendly propaganda that undermines climate action or public health measures including vaccinations. Scientists are often portrayed as enemies or villains."
Two scientists experienced Australia's black summer bushfires and the Covid-19 crisis in the United States and observed weaponised disinformation undermining crisis responses. Five interconnected forces—the plutocrats, the petrostates, the pros (paid promoters of anti-science), the propagandists, and the media—drive a coordinated assault on science and reason. Plutocrats, libertarian tech figures, and petrostates fund and amplify ideologically motivated antiscience through weaponised social media, podcasts, and rightwing cable news. The objective is to inundate the public with fossil fuel–friendly propaganda and to undermine climate action and public health measures, including vaccinations. Public opinion is poisoned and scientists are portrayed as enemies.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]