Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming

Freedom of the press is important so that citizens have access to information and can make informed decisions. However, “some ‘sides’ represent deliberate disinformation spread by well-organized and well-funded vested interests, or ideologically driven denial of the facts” (240).

The Internet has allowed the purveyance and the immortality of disinformation: “The result is plain to see…Nearly a quarter still think that there’s no solid evidence that smoking kills. And as recently as 2007, 40 percent of American believed that scientific experts were still arguing about the reality of global warming” (241). Many of these skeptical claims are based on ignoring evidence, and the media failed to report that these skeptics also had ties to the industries they were defending. Although some of this can be forgiven in terms of ignorance, there is also proof that some media sources worked directly with these industries to promote disruptive claims, especially regarding the tobacco issues. In most of these cases, “‘balance’ became a form of bias, whereby the media coverage was biased in favor of minority—in some cases extreme minority—views” (243).

Disinformation continues to happen, including with the War on Terror, during which retired generals spoke as so-called independent experts on the success of the war; recently, it has come to light that many were hired by military contractors with stakes in keeping the war going.