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Some 20,000 researchers will receive an email asking them if COVID-19 is caused by a virus. The emails are a test for a project by Peter Vickers to assess scientific consensus. He wants to set up a tool that widely probes degrees of scientific agreement on issues in public health and climate change. Observers say the projects might merely further politicise public debate.

Shocked by the impact of online misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, several researchers are launching efforts to survey scientists’ thinking on issues from vaccine safety to climate change. They hope that their projects will make scientific debate, and degrees of consensus, more visible and transparent, benefiting public conversation and policymaking. However, others suggest that these attempts might merely further politicize public debate.

This is an audio version of our Feature: Can giant surveys of scientists fight misinformation on COVID, climate change and more?

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