Post-truth, anti-truth, and can’t-handle-the-truth

Abstract

People generally report positive attitudes to science and scientists (Gauchat, 2012). It is valued for the contribution that it makes to social, cultural, and economic progress. For many people, indeed, faith in science is akin to religious faith and may serve some of the same psychological functions (Rutjens, van Harreveld, & van der Pligt, 2013). Science is supported by investments of large sums of money; according to World Bank statistics, fully 2% of global gross domestic product (GDP) is spent on research and development, and the richer the country, the higher this proportion grows (The World Bank, 2018). But, paradoxically, science is also frequently opposed: scientific findings and conclusions are censored and suppressed, whereas scientists are silenced, harassed, surveilled, sanctioned, and even persecuted.