Trust Struggles: Science in Era of Conspiracy Theories and Disinformation

During the pandemic period, around a third of the residents of Great Britain reported increasing their confidence in science, while 7% announced a decrease. Such a variety of reactions raises the question: why do some people refuse to trust science?^[1]

It was previously believed that the main reason for this position is a simple lack of knowledge and fear of the unknown. However, recent studies show that the problem lies not only in the lack of knowledge but also in the absence of trust in both the information itself and its sources. This is confirmed by the fact that the provision of scientific information in experiments does not change the installation of people, and in the case of genetically modified technologies in the UK, even led to the opposite effect.

People who reject science often believe that they are well versed in matters of science, but their knowledge is usually limited. They tend to ignore information contrary to their beliefs and often adhere to conspiracy theories. Theories such as microchips in vaccines or the COVID-19 connection with 5G radiation are very popular, and their unscientific nature is ignored.

Given these factors, it is important to select the right “messengers” of scientific information. For example, politicians have a low level of trust as communicators of science, while university professors are more trusted.^[1]

One of the possible approaches to a change in attitude to science is to inform about consensus in the scientific community. Studies show that an indication of a generally accepted position can change ideas about scientific facts and help distinguish reliable information from unconfirmed ideas.