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NASA chief scientist weighs in
Americans are "under siege" from disinformation designed to confuse the public about the threat of climate change, Nasa's former chief scientist has said.
Speaking to the Guardian, Ellen Stofan, who left the US space agency in December, said that a constant barrage of half-truths had left many Americans oblivious to the potentially dire consequences of continued carbon emissions, despite the science being unequivocal.
"We are under siege by fake information that's being put forward by people who have a profit motive," she said, citing oil and coal companies as culprits. "Fake news is so harmful because once people take on a concept it's very hard to dislodge it."
During the past six months, the US science community has woken up to this threat, according to Stofan, and responded by ratcheting up efforts to communicate with the public at the grassroots level as well as in the mainstream press.
"The harder part is this active disinformation campaign," she said before her appearance at Cheltenham Science Festival this week. "I'm always wondering if these people honestly believe the nonsense they put forward. When they say 'It could be volcanoes' or 'the climate always changes'... to obfuscate and to confuse people, it frankly makes me angry."
Stofan added that while "fake news" is frequently characterised as a problem in the right-leaning media, she saw evidence of an "erosion of people's ability to scrutinise information" across the political spectrum. "All of us have a responsibility," she said. "There's this attitude of 'I read it on the internet therefore it must be true'."
No editorial comment included.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by looorg on Sunday June 11 2017, @08:20PM (3 children)
For someone that left NASA she doesn't seem like much of a rocket scientist, if she wants to educate the unbelievers she ain't going to find them at the grassroots level or reading the mainstream press or even watching the mainstream web. The people that frequent those places or engage in organization at that level those are people that already believe in more or less what she does, even if they might not understand it. The people that thinks global warming (or whatever) is a hoax and whatnot are beyond her grasp and reach. She doesn't even appear to be trying to get to them, what they engage in is some kind of pandering to the already convinced masses -- but that won't get you anything new.
This is almost the same shock the big city liberals got when they realized people out in the country had opinions and stuff and voted to, and they didn't like the liberal Queen they wanted to elect -- they wanted the other dude and now he is the President.
At least there is acknowledgement that the problem isn't group specific. We are all kinda stupid, it's hard to plan or see things in a long term perspective. Nothing in society these days put a premium on that.
'erosion of people's ability ...' that is one complicated sentence to say we can't spot fakes and lies -- no wonder she isn't getting across to average Joe if she talks like that. But I'm sure it has nothing to do with scientist crying wolf for decades about how the world is going under and reports get released that contradict each other left right and center. When they say the temperature on the planet is increasing a degree or two over a century most people don't think we are all going to die -- they think that sounds nice and cozy. Sure new knowledge is gained, theories tested, things change. But for Average Joe that isn't in the science business and hasn't opened any kind of science book since (s)he was in elementary school this really won't matter. The process is beyond them and the results are confusing as hell. Eventually people stop listening even if you are right. After all [insert new TV show] is on, there is a new flavor of [snackname] and there are bills to pay ... fuck the drowning polar-bear cubs.
(Score: 3, Funny) by VLM on Sunday June 11 2017, @09:37PM (1 child)
Its the government and its the left, so your taxes will go up and you'll suffer more. Thats really all they need to know as voters...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 12 2017, @07:38AM
Its this level of idiocy which will bring our downfall. And here I was taught that neanderthals went extinct after we arrived. Hello there!
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Monday June 12 2017, @07:20AM
NASA has plenty of opportunities for non-science people, unfortunately..