Message from the President

Why has trust in scientists declined, and what can be done about it?

Numerous polls from 1990–2020 showed that scientists were trusted by a strong and stable majority of Americans. Since 2020, though, there has been a precipitous drop in public trust of scientists in the USA and around the world. The causative factor underlying this drop was undeniably the worldwide pandemic of 2020–2021.

If someone had told you in 2019 that there was going to be a pandemic, and that groups of collaborating scientists were going to identify the virus and develop multiple effective vaccines in world-record time (less than a year, with the previous record for vaccine speed being 4 years), you might have predicted that the pandemic would INCREASE public trust and confidence in scientists. However, the poll numbers show that you would have been dead wrong.

Why did the pandemic lead to decreased trust in scientists? There are a variety of reasons, including shifting advice from public health experts in the early days of the pandemic, which of course was based on emerging data but nonetheless created the impression for some members of the public that scientists didn’t know what they were talking about. More importantly, there was a deluge of misinformation that arose during the pandemic from individuals with their own agendas, and this misinformation often cast scientists in a negative light.

Does this loss of public trust in scientists matter? I would argue that it does. This past year saw budget cuts to a number of American government agencies that fund research. Normally, there would be a massive bipartisan outcry against such cuts. However, when a large segment of the American public has lost trust in scientists, it is easier for politicians to cut research funding.

What can be done to help restore public trust in science and boost the public’s enthusiasm for research? Effective communication by scientists is essential, now more than ever. All scientists have opportunities to engage the public, and it starts with simply talking to friends and neighbors at dinner parties and casual gatherings. It can also involve participating in science fairs at local schools and other community events.

Social media, of course, is a tremendous way for scientists to broaden public outreach. You don’t need to have the production values of Chloe Kirk, PhD, a.k.a. “Chloe the Scientist” (the subject of this month’s cover story), to make a difference on social media. Even simple posts from a scientist’s daily life can help demystify science and make a small but important impact on enhancing the public’s view of scientists.

The pandemic was a seismic event that had a bigger impact on the public’s perception of science than most scientists realize. To reverse the lingering repercussions from the pandemic, all scientists need to raise their game in terms of communicating to friends, neighbors and the general public their passion for science and the extraordinary value of scientific research.

Sincerely,