Scientific communication in a post-truth society

@article{Iyengar2018ScientificCI,
  title={Scientific communication in a post-truth society},
  author={Shanto Iyengar and Douglas S. Massey},
  journal={Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},
  year={2018},
  volume={116},
  pages={7656 - 7661}
}
  • S. Iyengar, D. Massey
  • Published 2018
  • Political Science, Medicine
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Within the scientific community, much attention has focused on improving communications between scientists, policy makers, and the public. To date, efforts have centered on improving the content, accessibility, and delivery of scientific communications. Here we argue that in the current political and media environment faulty communication is no longer the core of the problem. Distrust in the scientific enterprise and misperceptions of scientific knowledge increasingly stem less from problems of… Expand
View on NAS
pnas.org
104 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
3
Background Citations
25
Results Citations
1

Topics from this paper

      104 Citations

      Citation Type

      Citation Type

      Rhetorical Citizenship and the Science of Science Communication
      Public policy decisions often require rhetorically-engaged citizens to have some understanding of the science and technology involved. On many current issues (GMO crops, vaccinations, climate change)… Expand
      Fake science and the knowledge crisis: ignorance can be fatal
      TLDR
      In the battle for truth, individual scientists, professional associations, academic institutions and funding bodies must act to put their own house in order by promoting ethics and integrity and de-incentivizing the production and publishing of false data and results. Expand
      Misinformation and disinformation in science: Examining the social diffusion of rumours about GMOs
      Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have caused considerable controversy in China in recent years. Uncertainty about the technology, ineffective channels for releasing official information and a… Expand
      Credibility of climate change denial in social media
      Public perception about the reality of climate change has remained polarized and propagation of fake information on social media can be a potential cause. Homophily in communication, the tendency of… Expand
      Why the backfire effect does not explain the durability of political misperceptions
      • B. Nyhan
      • Political Science, Medicine
      • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
      • 2021
      TLDR
      The research that is reviewed suggests that the accuracy-increasing effects of corrective information like fact checks often do not last or accumulate; instead, they frequently seem to decay or be overwhelmed by cues from elites and the media promoting more congenial but less accurate claims. Expand
      Discrepancy in scientific authority and media visibility of climate change scientists and contrarians
      TLDR
      It is found that CC scientists have much higher citation impact than those for contrarians but lower media visibility, and why climate scientists should increasingly exert their authority in scientific and public discourse. Expand
      Trust and the Media: Perceptions of Climate Change News Sources Among US College Students
      With increasing fake news and polarizing politics, Americans have been exposed to false or misinterpreted scientific information. A disconnect between the scientific community and news outlets has… Expand
      Trust and the Media: Perceptions of Climate Change News Sources Among US College Students
      With increasing fake news and polarizing politics, Americans have been exposed to false or misinterpreted scientific information. A disconnect between the scientific community and news outlets has… Expand
      The vaccination debate in the "post-truth" era: social media as sites of multi-layered reflexivity.
      TLDR
      It is suggested that the interconnection of different layers of reflexivity can either reinforce certainty or deepen the ambiguity and uncertainty of reflexive agents. Expand
      Scientists in the Politicoscientific Community: Beyond the Lorax
      • H. Spafford
      • Biology
      • Annals of the Entomological Society of America
      • 2019
      TLDR
      There is a growing body of resources and perspectives, including those in this special collection of papers, to encourage and assist scientists in the politicoscientific community and help them develop the skills to be effective members of this community. Expand
      ...
      1
      2
      3
      4
      5
      ...

      References

      SHOWING 1-10 OF 73 REFERENCES
      Affect, Not Ideology A Social Identity Perspective on Polarization
      The current debate over the extent of polarization in the American mass public focuses on the extent to which partisans’ policy preferences have moved. Whereas "maximalists" claim that partisans’… Expand
      How Elite Partisan Polarization Affects Public Opinion Formation
      Competition is a defining element of democracy. One of the most noteworthy events over the last quarter-century in U.S. politics is the change in the nature of elite party competition: The parties… Expand
      Social Bots Distort the 2016 US Presidential Election Online Discussion
      TLDR
      The findings suggest that the presence of social media bots can indeed negatively affect democratic political discussion rather than improving it, which in turn can potentially alter public opinion and endanger the integrity of the Presidential election. Expand
      Beyond the Running Tally: Partisan Bias in Political Perceptions
      I examine the impact of long-term partisan loyalties on perceptions of specific political figures and events. In contrast to the notion of partisanship as a simple “running tally” of political… Expand
      Exposure to ideologically diverse news and opinion on Facebook
      TLDR
      Examination of the news that millions of Facebook users' peers shared, what information these users were presented with, and what they ultimately consumed found that friends shared substantially less cross-cutting news from sources aligned with an opposing ideology. Expand
      The science of fake news
      TLDR
      Social and computer science research regarding belief in fake news and the mechanisms by which it spreads is discussed, focusing on unanswered scientific questions raised by the proliferation of its most recent, politically oriented incarnation. Expand
      Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right
      In the late 1980s, Richard Fink, the principal political aide of Charles Koch, laid out a blueprint for a takeover of American politics. The first phase required investments in intellectuals and… Expand
      Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election
      Following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, many have expressed concern about the effects of false stories (“fake news”), circulated largely through social media. We discuss the economics of fake… Expand
      All in the Eye of the Beholder : Asymmetry in Ideological Accountability
      Political elites have increasingly moved to the ideological extremes. But the public at large is still mostly moderate. Thus, rank and le partisans today are ideologically distant not only from the… Expand
      The Rationalizing Voter
      Political behavior is the result of innumerable unnoticed forces and conscious deliberation is often a rationalization of automatically triggered feelings and thoughts. Citizens are very sensitive to… Expand
      ...
      1
      2
      3
      4
      5
      ...