The article discusses the challenges faced by misinformation researchers in the wake of political attacks and funding cancellations, particularly by the US government. Over 50 NSF grants for research on misinformation, climate science, and various social issues have been terminated, stifling independent scientific inquiry. The volatility surrounding grant funding undermines researchers' ability to maintain stable projects and threatens the retention of early-career scientists. The author emphasizes the detrimental effects of such cancellations on scientific progress and calls for resilience among researchers facing these pressures.
For more than 20 years, I've studied how people learn false information and how to correct misbeliefs. But over the past five years, the field has become politicized.
The wave of grant cancellations initiated by the current US administration are part of a wider attack on science and universities, targeting research fields for elimination.
If grants can be cancelled at any time for political reasons, it becomes impossible to do good science. Researchers need stability to plan and execute their studies.
Cancelling a three-year longitudinal study in year two wastes hundreds of hours of participant and researcher effort, leaving important research questions unanswered.
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