Support Scientists Who Stand Up
Researchers should not have to endure death threats or public attacks when they engage publicly and try to combat misinformation.
American Scientist | Michael E. Mann and Peter J. Hotez
We now find ourselves in a uniquely challenging environment to fight the rising tide of the modern-day antiscience movement, politically and ideologically motivated opposition to science from powerful special interests. The good news is that the fundamental obstacles aren’t physical, or biological, or technological. They are political. And political obstacles—even in today’s fraught geopolitical environment—can be overcome….
… [L]egal victories—important as they are—are nonetheless the exception to the rule. Scientists typically depend on the backing of their employers, that is, universities or government science agencies, for legal protections. In some cases, however, this support does not happen, and the scientists must arrange their own legal defense, often at considerable expense. Some of these same scientists are abandoned by their employers after receiving baseless attacks online or, in many cases now, actionable threats of physical harm.
We must consider expanding protections for scientists. A possible model is the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF) that one of us (Mann) played a role in establishing more than a decade ago….