Your friends, your family, your co-workers. Your next-door neighbour of 10 years, a random passerby on the street. Throughout the pandemic we’ve lived with the reality that anyone could spread COVID to us, even if they aren’t showing symptoms. To protect ourselves from infection, we’ve also needed to rely on the expertise of strangers in their capacity as scientists. It can be hard to tell whom to trust these days, and the steady release of misinformation makes this even more difficult. But how much of an effect has this had on Canadians’ trust? Has pandemic fatigue caused the public to lose their faith in science?
Earlier this year Canadian communications agency Proof Strategies conducted and released their yearly CanTrust Index, a measure of Canadians’ trust in various groups over time. When around 1,500 Canadians were asked about which categories of people they considered to be sources of reliable information, the most trusted groups overall were medical doctors, scientists and friends & family. Celebrities, influencers and politicians were among the least trusted groups in 2023. However, the public’s trust in these groups has changed significantly over the past three years.Trust in doctors fell each year (81% of respondents trusted doctors in 2021; 78% in 2022; 73% in 2023) as well as trust in scientists (77% in 2021, 75% in 2022; 69% in 2023), whereas trust in friends & family actually increased (64% in 2021, 65% in 2022, 68% in 2023). The report also suggests that Canadians trust major public health figures like Canada’s Chief Medical Officer of Health and the WHO less than individual doctors and scientists for COVID-19 information.
This report tells us that public trust in science remains strong in Canada but is eroding each year, a trend that began before the pandemic. It’s a concern that is being felt in several countries around the world as well. A study conducted in Germany found signs of wavering trust in science among Germans and that respondents had three key reasons for trusting or distrusting scientists. Those who trusted scientists cited their expertise (i.e. scientists are highly skilled and knowledgeable in their field), integrity (i.e. scientists hold high standards and are generally moral people), and benevolence (i.e. scientists conduct research for the good of humankind). Alternatively, those who did not trust scientists cited their expertise (i.e. scientists make mistakes and often disagree with each other), integrity (i.e. scientists change their results as they see fit), and benevolence (i.e. scientists are only after money and fame).
One explanation for this lack of trust is the recent paradigm shift in how we receive and judge information. The number of possible sources of news and information has dramatically increased for the average person as social media usage becomes more commonplace, and it’s becoming harder to tell legitimate information from fake news. The political climate in many countries is also becoming increasingly polarized in recent years, leading many people to distrust sources of information if they suspect it involves an unwelcome political agenda. Even reputable news outlets have been called out for releasing misinformation due to the financial incentivization of releasing sensational articles, often at the expense of journalistic standards.
The cost of growing mistrust has already caused incredible harm to individuals and communities, which will likely only worsen if mistrust continues to increase over time. The Council of Canadian Academies estimates that misinformation contributed to vaccine hesitancy in 2.35 million Canadians in 2021, costing the healthcare system $300 million in hospital stays and leading to 3,000 preventable deaths. Some vaccine-preventable diseases like measles have re-emerged in Canada and the US largely due to misinformation campaigns on social media. Other areas of science also suffer from the consequences of public mistrust. Climate change skepticism is so widespread that it has contributed to stalled climate action in many countries and at the international level. The adoption of genetically-modified foods, wind energy, and nuclear energy has been opposed by public and political groups with misleading claims about these technologies.
Misinformation is not the only cause of mistrust in science, however, as the history and contemporary culture of the scientific establishment have also contributed to public mistrust. The past exploitation of women, racially disenfranchised groups, and LGBTQ+ people (to name a few groups) in research has damaged many populations’ relationship with institutional science. The equity issues that still exist in STEM today keep these communities on outside or the periphery of the system. So while misinformation plays a significant role in growing public mistrust, fundamental changes need to be made from within the system to fully address the problem.
Scientists have traditionally used an information deficit model to combat public mistrust in science, which assumes that people distrust science because they don’t understand it, therefore the solution is to make them understand. Unsurprisingly, throwing facts at people is not the best way to get them to agree with you, and this model has likely contributed to the patronizing view of scientists that many members of the public hold. While it’s important for the public to understand the technical aspects of science, it’s arguably even more important for scientists to understand the emotional perspectives of people who have turned away from the system. Compassionate scientific communication will become essential for navigating out of this ongoing credibility crisis. By engaging with skeptics on a human level and addressing the root causes of mistrust, the scientific community may be able to stop or reverse the public’s crumbling confidence in science.
Citations:
Bromme, R., Mede, N. G., Thomm, E., Kremer, B. & Ziegler, R. An anchor in troubled times: Trust in science before and within the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS One 17, (2022).
Proof Strategies. CanTrust Index – 2022 Report. Retrieved from https://getproof.com/trust/cantrust/
Sturgis, P., Brunton-Smith, I. & Jackson, J. Trust in science, social consensus and vaccine confidence. Nature Human Behaviour 5, (2021).
Why do some people doubt scientific findings? It’s a question a group of University of Waterloo academics want to answer. The Morning Edition – K-W. Radio. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2160891459779.
James Pollock
Latest posts by James Pollock (see all)
- The Slow Decay of our Reliance in Science - June 5, 2023
- Waste management around the world: Local solutions to a global sustainability crisis - January 30, 2023
- Improving Food with Fermentation – Superfood or superfad? - September 16, 2022
