The Importance of Scientific Consensus

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Groupthink can be a powerful corrupting force, as can prejudice. Vickers argues that showing how scientists agree should help fight disinformation and support evidence-based policymaking. A sociologist at the University of Chicago in Illinois warns that efforts to deliberately find scientific consensus could be counterproductive.

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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