Undermining the Legitimacy of Science

Misinformation has also done plenty to undermine the authority of the government and scientists; one recent study found that 78% of Americans either believe or aren’t sure about at least one of eight false statements related to the pandemic. 

And some have made it their brand to sow doubt surrounding information coming out of the CDC.

On one episode of Fox News’s popular late night show hosted by Tucker Carlson, Carlson expresses outrage at a statement by Joe Biden warning of a “winter of severe illness and death” for unvaccinated individuals. After the clip of Biden, the screen flashes to Carlson with his trademark concerned expression, bottom headline reading: EVERYTHING ABOUT THAT STATEMENT IS A LIE. 

Carlson also rebukes the changes in masking guidance from the CDC, expressing discomfort at the constantly-shifting nature of the fight against a disease that emerged very recently. And he isn’t alone in this—many Americans chafe at the reality of science that changes, that doubles back on itself with new developments, that’s unable to produce black-and-white answers and statistics that can be carved into stone and mounted onto a wall, static and authoritative.

That’s the tricky thing about science: it can’t have everything figured out immediately. Scientific discoveries are rarely stagnant, clearcut packages of information—but as a populace primed with skepticism from late night personalities and runaway misinformation sees this in real time, it becomes less willing to just “trust the science.” 

And that leaves room for doubt among many, especially when science points more and more towards hard truths.