Merchants of Doubt - How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming
Naomi Oreskes, Erik M. Conway
Summary
Key Facts and Insights from Merchants of Doubt
- The book argues that a few influential scientists, with deep connections to politics and industry, intentionally spread doubt and confusion about scientific consensus on critical issues.
- The authors explore how this doubt-merchant strategy was initially employed by the tobacco industry in the mid-20th century to cast uncertainty over the harmful effects of smoking.
- The same strategy was later used to undermine scientific consensus on other environmental and health issues, including acid rain, the ozone hole, secondhand smoke, and global warming.
- These doubt merchants were not necessarily experts in the fields they...
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