Month: September 2022

DIRTY TACTICS are the characteristics of some memorable American corporation fights with their own public. These include tobacco, asbestos, lead, fluoride, chlorine, and various pharmaceuticals. In all instances, moneyed interests sought to subvert an honest debate by hijacking truth, manufacturing doubt, and playing a well funded PR game. View in LinkedIn

SUBVERTING DEBATE is not limited to moneyed interests, but includes extreme religious and political positions (belief, power and money are usually intolerant drivers). Creationism, global warming, fracking, environmental issues, have all become fair game for legions of folk happy to create smoke-screens of doubt about opposing views. View in LinkedIn

DAVID MICHAELS "who was the head of occupational safety and health in President Clinton’s ... examples showing how industries stack the deck against regulation of their products. From the tobacco, lead and asbestos industry cover ups to the Vioxx debacle and global warming, from chromium to beryllium and popcorn lung, industry follows a familiar pattern." http://forum.thefreedictionary.com/postst59380_-Doubt-is-Their-Product----Is-Your-Country-Attacking-Science-.aspx View in LinkedIn

DOUBT IS THEIR PRODUCT. "Doubt is our product," a cigarette executive once observed, "since it is the best means of competing with the 'body of fact' that exists in the minds of the general public. It is also the means of establishing a controversy." http://lnkd.in/d3RYjh7 View in LinkedIn

TOXIC MIX: LAWYERS, 'EXPERTS', AND RISK. "Product defense consultants ... have increasingly skewed the scientific literature, manufactured and magnified scientific uncertainty, and influenced policy decisions to the advantage of polluters and the manufacturers of dangerous products." http://lnkd.in/d3RYjh7 View in LinkedIn

SKEPTICISM. "The true meaning of the word skepticism has nothing to do with doubt, disbelief, or negativity. Skepticism is the process of applying reason and critical thinking to determine validity. It's the process of finding a supported conclusion, not the justification of a preconceived conclusion." http://skeptoid.com/skeptic.php View in LinkedIn

RESPONSIBLE SKEPTICISM. "The scientific method is central to skepticism. The scientific method requires evidence, preferably derived from validated testing. Anecdotal evidence and personal testimonies generally don't meet the qualifications for scientific evidence, and thus won't often be accepted by a responsible skeptic." http://skeptoid.com/skeptic.php View in LinkedIn

EXCESSIVE SKEPTICISM. "Skepticism is good, but dogmatic skepticism may not be. Skepticism helps us discover the truth; excessive skepticism may obscure the truth." Understatement can be so refreshing. http://lnkd.in/drM44hZ View in LinkedIn

MANUFACTURED UNCERTAINTY. "Uncertainty is an inherent problem of science, but manufactured uncertainty is another matter entirely. Over the past three decades, industry groups have frequently become involved in the investigative process when their interests are threatened." http://lnkd.in/dNgQcXG View in LinkedIn

FUNDING DOUBT. "Conservative billionaires used a secretive funding route to channel nearly $120m (£77m) to more than 100 groups casting doubt about the science behind climate change. They are attempting to create doubt in order to protect oil company revenues." One example out of many. http://lnkd.in/ds33c8g View in LinkedIn