Scientists Need Better Tools to Combat Misinformation, Study Warns
Researchers say the scientific community has been outmatched by organized anti-science campaigns—particularly during COVID-19—and must adopt new communication and behavior-change strategies to regain public trust. The findings suggest policymakers and health officials need updated playbooks to counter false information before it spreads.
Originaltitel: Recognizing and Responding to Anti-Science in Environmental and Public Health Research and Practice.
This perspectives article considers the challenges posed by anti-science and how we can use research to respond more effectively. In public health, the challenges were more visible and the impact more serious during the COVID-19 pandemic. In part, this was due to a more organized anti-science and effective use of narrative methods. Regarding climate change, the role of anti-science represents a critical issue, but perhaps more recognized in environmental research and practice. The article draws on a narrative review to show some of the research into the nature of anti-science and the challenges it poses. It proposes that, as researchers, practitioners, and educationalists, we can be more effective if we make more use of recent research in the sciences of communications, behavior, and implementation, and shows some of the resources we can use to help our work be more relevant in the new era in which we are living.