View source for Politicization of science

{{short description|Use of science for political purposes}}
{{distinguish|Political science|Science policy}}
{{For|the process by which ideas, entities and facts become political|Politicization}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Globalize|date=January 2021}}
{{Lead too short|date=January 2022}}
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The '''politicization of science''' for political gain occurs when [[government]], [[business]], or [[advocacy group]]s use legal or economic pressure to influence the findings of scientific research or the way it is disseminated, reported or interpreted. The politicization of science may also negatively affect [[academic freedom|academic]] and [[scientific freedom]], and as a result it is considered [[taboo]] to mix politics with science. Historically, groups have conducted various campaigns to promote their interests, many times in defiance of [[scientific consensus]], and in an effort to manipulate [[public policy]].<ref name=discovery>{{Cite web |url=https://www.discovery.org/a/2445/ |title=Evolution or design debate heats up |date=December 1, 2004 |website=Discovery Institute}}</ref><ref name=AAAS>"Some bills seek to discredit evolution by emphasizing so-called "flaws" in the theory of evolution or "disagreements" within the scientific community. Others insist that teachers have absolute freedom within their classrooms and cannot be disciplined for teaching non-scientific "alternatives" to evolution. A number of bills require that students be taught to "critically analyze" evolution or to understand "the controversy." But there is no significant controversy within the scientific community about the validity of the theory of evolution. The current controversy surrounding the teaching of evolution is not a scientific one."
{{cite web|url=http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2006/pdf/0219boardstatement.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204044657/https://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2006/pdf/0219boardstatement.pdf|archive-date=4 February 2012|title=AAAS Statement on the Teaching of Evolution|publisher=[[American Association for the Advancement of Science]]|date=16 February 2006}}</ref><ref name=nejm>[http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/354/21/2277 Intelligent Judging – Evolution in the Classroom and the Courtroom] George J. Annas, [[New England Journal of Medicine]], Volume 354:2277–2281 May 25, 2006</ref>

== Overview ==
Many factors can act as facets of the politicization of science. These can range, for example, from [[Populism|populist]] [[anti-intellectualism]] and perceived threats to religious belief to [[Postmodernism|postmodernist]] [[subjectivism]], fear for business interests, institutional academic ideological biases or potentially implicit bias amongst scientific researchers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Goldberg |first1=Jeanne |title=The Politicization of Scientific Issues: Looking through Galileo's Lens or through the Imaginary Looking Glass |journal=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |date=2017 |volume=41 |issue=5 |pages=34–39 |url=https://www.csicop.org/si/show/politicization_of_scientific_issues |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816182350/https://www.csicop.org/si/show/politicization_of_scientific_issues |access-date=16 August 2018|archive-date=2018-08-16 }}</ref>

Politicization occurs as scientific information is presented with emphasis on the uncertainty associated with the interpretation of scientific evidence. The emphasis capitalizes on the lack of consensus, which influences the way the studies are perceived.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bolsen|first1=Toby|author2-link=James N. Druckman |last2=Druckman|first2=James N.|title=Counteracting the Politicization of Science|journal=Journal of Communication|date=2015|issue=65|page=746}}</ref> [[Chris Mooney (journalist)|Chris Mooney]] describes how this point is sometimes intentionally ignored as a part an "Orwellian tactic." Organizations and politicians seek to disclaim all discussion on some issues as 'the more probable conclusion is still uncertain' as opposed to 'conclusions are most scientifically likely'<ref>{{cite news|last1=Horgan|first1=John|title=The Republican War on Science|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/18/books/review/political-science.html|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=22 April 2018|date=2005-12-18}}</ref> in order to further discredit scientific studies.

Tactics such as shifting conversation, failing to acknowledge facts, and capitalizing on doubt of scientific consensus have been used to gain more attention for views that have been undermined by scientific evidence. "[[Merchants of Doubt]]," ideology-based interest groups that claim expertise on scientific issues, have run successful "disinformation campaigns" in which they highlight the inherent uncertainty of science to cast doubt on scientific issues such as human-caused climate change, even though the scientific community has reached virtual consensus that humans play a role in climate change.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=van der Linden |first1=Sander |last2=Leiserowitz |first2=Anthony |last3=Rosenthal |first3=Seth |last4=Maibach |first4=Edward |title=Inoculating the Public against Misinformation about Climate Change |journal=Global Challenges |volume=1 |issue=2 |page=1 |doi=10.1002/gch2.201600008 |pmid=31565263 |year=2017 |pmc=6607159 |bibcode=2017GloCh...100008V }}</ref>

William R. Freudenburg and colleagues have written about politicization of science as a rhetorical technique and states that it is an attempt to shift the burden of proof in an argument.<ref name="William F 2008">{{cite journal|last1=Freudenberg|first1=William R.| last2=Gramling |first2=Robert |last3=Davidson|first3=Debra J.|title=Scientific Certainty Argumentation Methods (SCAMs): Science and the Politics of Doubt|journal=Sociological Inquiry|volume=78|issue=1|year=2008|pages=2–38|doi= 10.1111/j.1475-682X.2008.00219.x|doi-access=free}}</ref> He offers the example of [[cigarette lobbyists]] opposing laws that would discourage smoking. The lobbyists trivialize evidence as uncertain, emphasizing lack of conclusion. Freudenberg concludes that politicians and lobby groups are too often able to make "successful efforts to argue for full 'scientific certainty' before a regulation can be said to be 'justified' and maintain that what is needed is a balanced approach that carefully considers the risks of both Type 1 and Type 2 errors in a situation while noting that scientific conclusions are always tentative.<ref name="William F 2008" />

== Politicization by advocacy groups ==
A political tactic, sometimes used to delay the implementation of legislation to control potentially harmful activities, is the "Scientific Certainty Argumentation Method" (SCAM). In many cases, there is a degree of uncertainty in scientific findings and this can be exploited to delay action, perhaps for many years, by demanding more "certainty" before action is taken.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1475-682X.2008.00219.x |title=Scientific Certainty Argumentation Methods (SCAMs): Science and the Politics of Doubt |journal=Sociological Inquiry |volume=78 |pages=2–38 |year=2008 |last1=Freudenburg |first1=William R. |last2=Gramling |first2=Robert |last3=Davidson |first3=Debra J. |doi-access=free}}</ref>

{{anchor|global warming|Global warming}}
=== Climate change ===
{{Main|Global warming controversy}}

{{See also|I'm not a scientist}}
{{multiple image
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| image1            = 202303 Global warming caused by human activities - Gallup survey.svg
| caption1          = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] and [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] have long differed in views of climate change, with the gap widening in the late 2010s,<ref name=PewSurvey_2020>{{cite web |title=As Economic Concerns Recede, Environmental Protection Rises on the Public's Policy Agenda / Partisan gap on dealing with climate change gets even wider |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2020/02/13/as-economic-concerns-recede-environmental-protection-rises-on-the-publics-policy-agenda/ |website=PewResearch.org |publisher=Pew Research Center |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116155958/https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2020/02/13/as-economic-concerns-recede-environmental-protection-rises-on-the-publics-policy-agenda/ |archive-date=16 January 2021 |date=13 February 2020 |url-status=live}} (Discontinuity resulted from survey changing in 2015 from reciting "global warming" to "climate change".)</ref> and Democrats three times more likely to view it as human-caused.<ref name=Gallup_20230420>{{cite web |last1=Saad |first1=Lydia |title=A Steady Six in 10 Say Global Warming's Effects Have Begun |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/474542/steady-six-say-global-warming-effects-begun.aspx |publisher=Gallup, Inc. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420123700/https://news.gallup.com/poll/474542/steady-six-say-global-warming-effects-begun.aspx |archive-date=20 April 2023 |date=20 April 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| image2            = 2021 Survey on existence of global warming and responsibility for climate change - bar chart.svg
| caption2          = The sharp divide over the existence of and responsibility for global warming and climate change falls largely along political lines.<ref name=Guardian_20211026/> Overall, 60% of Americans surveyed said oil and gas companies were "completely or mostly responsible" for climate change.<ref name=Guardian_20211026>{{cite news |last1=McGreal |first1=Chris |title=Revealed: 60% of Americans say oil firms are to blame for the climate crisis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/26/climate-change-poll-oil-gas-companies-environment |work=The Guardian |date=26 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026122356/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/26/climate-change-poll-oil-gas-companies-environment |archive-date=26 October 2021 |url-status=live |quote=Source: Guardian/Vice/CCN/YouGov poll. Note: ±4% margin of error.}}</ref>
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| image3            = 20220301 Opinions by political party - Climate change causation - Action for carbon neutral 2050 - Pew Research.svg
| caption3          = Opinion about human causation of climate change increased substantially with education among Democrats, but not among Republicans.<ref name=Pew_20220301/> Conversely, opinions favoring becoming carbon neutral declined substantially with age among Republicans, but not among Democrats.<ref name=Pew_20220301>{{cite web |last1=Tyson |first1=Alec |last2=Funk |first2=Cary |last3=Kennedy |first3=Brian |title=Americans Largely Favor U.S. Taking Steps To Become Carbon Neutral by 2050 / Appendix (Detailed charts and tables) |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2022/03/01/carbon-neutral-2050-appendix/ |website=Pew Research |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418220503/https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2022/03/01/carbon-neutral-2050-appendix/ |archive-date=18 April 2022 |date=1 March 2022 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| image4            = 20220831 Climate change is a "major threat" to my country - Pew survey.svg
| caption4          = National political divides on the seriousness of climate change consistently correlate with political ideology, with right-wing opinion being more negative.<ref name=Pew_20220831>{{cite web |last1=Poushter |first1=Jacob |last2=Fagan |first2=Moira |last3=Gubbala |first3=Sneha |title=Climate Change Remains Top Global Threat Across 19-Country Survey |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2022/08/31/climate-change-remains-top-global-threat-across-19-country-survey/ |website=pewresearch.org |publisher=Pew Research Center |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831225832/https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2022/08/31/climate-change-remains-top-global-threat-across-19-country-survey/ |archive-date=31 August 2022 |date=31 August 2022 | quote=Only statistically significant differences shown. |url-status=live }}</ref>
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Both mainstream climatologists and their critics have accused each other of politicizing the science behind [[climate change]]. There is a [[scientific opinion on climate change|scientific consensus that global surface temperatures have increased]] in recent decades and that the trend is caused primarily by human-induced [[Greenhouse gas emissions|emissions of greenhouse gases]].<ref name="OreskesBeyondTheIvoryTower">{{Cite journal |last=Oreskes |first=Naomi |author-link=Naomi Oreskes |title=Beyond the Ivory Tower: The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change |journal=Science |volume=306 |page=1686 |date=December 2004 |doi=10.1126/science.1103618 |pmid=15576594 |issue=5702 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="AmericasClimateChoices-2010-SciPanel">{{Cite book |publisher=The National Academies Press |isbn=978-0-309-14588-6 | last = America's Climate Choices: Panel on Advancing the Science of Climate Change; National Research Council |title=Advancing the Science of Climate Change |location=Washington, D.C. |year=2010 |url=http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12782}}</ref><ref name="USNAS-2008-ClimateChoices">{{cite web |title=Understanding and Responding to Climate Change |url=https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1048006.pdf |publisher=[[United States National Academy of Sciences]] |access-date=30 May 2010 |year=2008 |archive-date=11 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711224937/https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1048006.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1991, a US corporate coalition including the [[National Coal Association]], the [[Western Fuels Association]] and [[Edison Electrical Institute]] created a [[public relations]] organization called the "[[Information Council on the Environment]]" (ICE). ICE launched a $500,000 advertising campaign to, in ICE's own words, "reposition global warming as theory (not fact)." Critics of industry groups have charged that the claims about a global warming controversy are part of a deliberate effort to reduce the impact any international treaty, such as the [[Kyoto Protocol]], might have on their business interests.<ref name=earthisland>{{cite web |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+PR+plot+to+overheat+the+earth.-a020556371 |title=The PR Plot to Overheat the Earth |year=2008}}</ref>

In 2006, ''Guardian'' columnist [[George Monbiot]] reported that according to data found in official Exxon documents, 124 organizations have taken money from ExxonMobil or worked closely with those that have, and that "These organizations take a consistent line on climate change: that the science is contradictory, the scientists are split, environmentalists are charlatans, liars or lunatics, and if governments took action to prevent global warming, they would be endangering the global economy for no good reason. The findings these organisations dislike are labelled '[[junk science]]'. The findings they welcome are labelled 'sound science'."<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2006/sep/19/ethicalliving.g2 The Denial Industry] The Guardian, September 19, 2006</ref><ref name=pacinist>{{cite web|url=http://www.pacinst.org/topics/integrity_of_science/case_studies/selective_use_climate_update.pdf|title=The Political and Selective Use of Data: Cherry-Picking Climate Information in the White House|author=Peter H. Gleick |work=Pacific Institute|date=8 March 2007}}</ref> The "selective use of data", [[Cherry picking (fallacy)|cherry picking]], is identified as a notable form of scientific abuse by the [[Pacific Institute]], an organization created to provide independent research and policy analysis on issues at the intersection of development, environment, and security.<ref name=pacinst2>{{Cite web|url=https://pacinst.org/our-priorities/|title=Our Priorities}}</ref>

=== Intelligent design ===
{{Main|Intelligent design|Teach the controversy}}

The [[intelligent design movement]] associated with the [[Discovery Institute]], attempts to "defeat [the] [[Materialism|materialist]] [[world view]]" represented by the theory of [[evolution]] in favor of "a science consonant with [[Christianity|Christian]] and [[Theism|theistic]] convictions".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ncse.com/files/pub/creationism/The_Wedge_Strategy.pdf |title=Wedge Document |year=1999 |publisher=Discovery Institute }} – cited in Handley P. [http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&program=CSC-News&id=2445 Evolution or design debate heats up.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110311170638/http://www.antievolution.org/features/wedge.pdf |date=2011-03-11 }} ''The Times of Oman'', 7 March 2005.</ref> The Discovery Institute portrays evolution as a "theory in crisis" with scientists criticizing evolution and that "fairness" and "equal time" requires educating students about "the controversy."

A cornerstone of modern scientific biological theory is that all forms of life on Earth are related by common descent with modification.<ref name="NAS">{{cite book |author=National Academy of Science Institute of Medicine |title=Science, Evolution, and Creationism |publisher=National Academy Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-309-10586-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780309105866 }}</ref> While many valid criticisms to the theory of evolution have existed throughout time, often certain ideological proponents seek to expand the scope of these disagreements in order to draw doubt onto the entire theory. For example, in the United States, there is a legal precedent of those who sought to discredit the teaching of evolution in classrooms by emphasizing so-called flaws in the theory of evolution or disagreements within the scientific community. Others insist that teachers have absolute freedom within their classrooms and cannot be disciplined for teaching non-scientific "alternatives" to evolution. A number of bills require that students be taught to "critically analyze" evolution or to understand "the controversy." But there is no significant controversy within the mainstream scientific community about the validity of the main pillars of theory of evolution at this time. The current controversy surrounding the teaching of evolution is thus not primarily a scientific one.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2006/pdf/0219boardstatement.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204044657/https://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2006/pdf/0219boardstatement.pdf|archive-date=4 February 2012|title=AAAS Statement on the Teaching of Evolution|publisher=[[American Association for the Advancement of Science]]|date=16 February 2006}}</ref><ref>"That this controversy is one largely manufactured by the proponents of creationism and intelligent design may not matter, and as long as the controversy is taught in classes on current affairs, politics, or religion, and not in science classes, neither scientists nor citizens should be concerned." [http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/354/21/2277 Intelligent Judging – Evolution in the Classroom and the Courtroom] George J. Annas, [[New England Journal of Medicine]], Volume 354:2277–2281 May 25, 2006</ref> The 2005 ruling in the Dover trial, ''[[Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District]]'', where the claims of intelligent design proponents were considered by a [[United States federal courts|United States federal court]] concluded that intelligent design is not science, that it "cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents", and concluded that the school district's promotion of it therefore violated the [[Establishment Clause of the First Amendment|Establishment Clause]] of the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution]].<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District |vol=04 |reporter= cv |opinion= 2688 |date=December 20, 2005 }}, [[s:Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District/6:Curriculum, Conclusion#Page 136 of 139|Conclusion of Ruling]].</ref>

=== Tobacco and cancer ===
[[File:Surgeon General's warning cigarettes.jpg|thumb|right|240px|A cigarette carton warns about the health risks of smoking. Public awareness was delayed by a SCAM (Scientific Certainty Argumentation Method).<ref name=SCAMs>{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1475-682X.2008.00219.x |volume=78 |title=Scientific Certainty Argumentation Methods (SCAMs): Science and the Politics of Doubt |year=2008 |journal=Sociological Inquiry |pages=2–38 |last1=Freudenburg |first1=William R. |doi-access=free }}</ref>]]
By the mid-1950s there was a scientific consensus that smoking promotes lung cancer, but the [[tobacco industry]] fought the findings, both in the public eye and within the scientific community. Tobacco companies funded [[think tank]]s and lobbying groups, started health reassurance campaigns, ran advertisements in medical journals, and researched alternate explanations for lung cancer, such as [[pollution]], [[asbestos]] and even pet birds. Denying the case against tobacco was "closed," they called for more research as a tactic to delay regulation.<ref name=physorg>{{Cite web |url=https://medicalxpress.com/news/2007-02-tobacco-companies-obstructed-science-history.html |title=Tobacco companies obstructed science, history professor says |website=medicalxpress.com}}</ref> John Horgan, notes a rhetoric tactic that has been used by tobacco companies. It is summarized in a line that appeared in a confidential memo from a tobacco company, in 1969, when they sought to cast doubt on evidence that supports smoking causes cancer. It read, "Doubt is our product since it is the best means of competing with the 'body of fact' that exists in the mind of the general public. It is also the means of establishing a controversy."<ref name=HorganReview>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/18/books/review/18horgan.html?pagewanted=all |title=The Republican War on Science – Book Review |work=Sunday Book Review, Political Science |author=John Horgan |date=18 December 2005}}</ref><ref name=DoubtIs>{{Cite web |url=https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=xqkd0134 |title=Original "Doubt is our product..." memo |date=21 August 1969 |publisher=University of California, San Francisco |access-date=3 October 2012}}</ref>

=== Eugenics ===
{{Main|Eugenics}}

[[Nazi Germany]] under [[Adolf Hitler]] was well known for [[eugenics]] programs which attempted to maintain a "pure" German race through a series of programs that ran under the banner of [[racial hygiene]]. The Nazis manipulated scientific research in Germany, by forcing some scholars to emigrate, and by allocating funding for research based on ideological rather than scientific merit.<ref name="DeichmannDunlap1999">{{cite book|author1=Ute Deichmann|author2=Thomas Dunlap|title=Biologists Under Hitler |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gPrtE4K0WC8C|year=1999|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-07405-7}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=January 2012}}

In the early 20th century, Eugenics enjoyed substantial international support, from leading politicians and scientists. The First International Congress of Eugenics in 1912 was supported by many prominent persons, including its president [[Leonard Darwin]], the son of [[Charles Darwin]]; honorary vice-president [[Winston Churchill]], then First Lord of the Admiralty and future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; [[Auguste Forel]], famous Swiss pathologist; [[Alexander Graham Bell]], the inventor of the telephone; among other prominent people.<ref>{{cite book|last=Blom|first=Philipp|author-link=Philipp Blom|title=The Vertigo Years: Change and Culture in the West, 1900–1914|year=2008|publisher=McClelland & Stewart, Ltd.|location=Toronto|isbn=978-0-7710-1630-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/vertigoyearschan0000blom/page/334 334]|url=https://archive.org/details/vertigoyearschan0000blom/page/334}}</ref>

The level of support for eugenics research by the Nazis prompted an American eugenics advocate to seek an expansion of the American program, with the complaint that "the Germans are beating us at our own game".<ref name="Lynn2001">{{cite book |last=Lynn |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Lynn |title=Eugenics: a reassessment |year=2001 |publisher=Praeger |location=New York |isbn=978-0-275-95822-0 |page=18 |quote=By the middle decades of the twentieth century, eugenics had become widely accepted throughout the whole of the economically developed world, with the exception of the Soviet Union.}}</ref>

There was a strong connection between American and [[Nazi eugenics]] research. Nazis based their eugenics program on the United States' programs of forced [[Sterilisation (medicine)|sterilization]], especially on the eugenics laws that had been enacted in [[California]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/11/09/ING9C2QSKB1.DTL |publisher=San Francisco Chronicle|date=November 9, 2003|title=Eugenics and the Nazis – the California connection|last=Black|first= Edwin}}</ref>

=== Social justice ===
Some critics argue that science has been politicized by [[social justice]] advocates.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shermer |first=Michael |date=2016-03-01 |title=Is Social Science Politically Biased? |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-social-science-politically-biased/ |website=Scientific American}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Krylov |first=Anna I. |date=2021-06-10 |title=The Peril of Politicizing Science |journal=The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters |volume=12 |issue=22 |pages=5371–5376|doi=10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c01475 |pmid=34107688 |s2cid=235392946 |issn=1948-7185|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Honeycutt |first1=Nathan |last2=Jussim |first2=Lee |date=2020-01-02|title=A Model of Political Bias in Social Science Research |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2020.1722600 |journal=Psychological Inquiry |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=73–85 |doi=10.1080/1047840X.2020.1722600 |s2cid=216273572 |issn=1047-840X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> David Randall, director of research at the politically conservative advocacy group the [[National Association of Scholars]],<ref name="nyt-sept-2008">{{cite news |last=Cohen |first=Patricia |date=September 21, 2008 |title=Conservatives Try New Tack on Campuses |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/22/education/22conservative.html |access-date=September 22, 2008}}</ref><ref name="DPost">{{cite web |last=Curtin |first=Dave |date=8 April 2001 |title=CU dean resigns, rips state |url=http://extras.denverpost.com/news/news0408i.htm |access-date=12 November 2018 |website=denverpost.com}}</ref> said that the emphasis on pursuing social justice and political activism "threatens the very definition of science as primarily a search for truth".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Politicized Science by David Randall {{!}} NAS |url=https://www.nas.org/academic-questions/32/2/politicized-science |access-date=2021-10-20 |website=www.nas.org |language=en}}</ref> In October 2021, ''The New York Times'' reported a rise in calls for "citational justice" within academic communities, which the article defines as an effort by professors and graduate students "to cite more Black, Latino, Asian and Native American scholars and in some cases refuse to acknowledge in footnotes the research of those who hold distasteful views."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Powell|first=Michael|date=2021-10-20|title=M.I.T.'s Choice of Lecturer Ignited Criticism. So Did Its Decision to Cancel. |language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/20/us/dorian-abbot-mit.html|access-date=2021-10-20 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Some researchers have defended these efforts against the charge of politicization, arguing that science has always been inherently political.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Hansson |first1=Lena |title=Nature of Science for Social Justice: Why, What and How? |date=2020 |work=Nature of Science for Social Justice |pages=1–21 |editor-last=Yacoubian |editor-first=Hagop A. |series=Science: Philosophy, History and Education |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-47260-3_1 |isbn=978-3-030-47260-3 |last2=Yacoubian |first2=Hagop A. |s2cid=226721222 |editor2-last=Hansson |editor2-first=Lena |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ball |first=Philip |date=2021-07-15 |title=Science Is Political, and We Must Deal with It |url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c02017 |journal=The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters |language=en |volume=12 |issue=27 |pages=6336–6340 |doi=10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c02017 |pmid=34261323 |s2cid=235906420 |issn=1948-7185|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-09-01|title='Don't politicize STEM! Stick to the science, not social issues' |url=https://neuro.hms.harvard.edu/community-building/theme-j/responses-common-criticisms-anti-racism-action-stem/dont-politicize-stem |access-date=2021-10-20|website=neuro.hms.harvard.edu|language=en}}</ref>

== Government politicization ==
{{Globalize
|date=November 2022
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=== Poland ===
Poland employs a distinctive system for conferring [[Academic ranks|academic title]]s in which the [[President of the Republic of Poland]] officially awards the title of "profesor zwyczajny" ([[full professor]]) to candidates recommended by independent academic committees. Although this role is formally intended to be ceremonial and devoid of political influence, in practice it has become a locus for politicization. Under Polish law, the president’s decision is not subject to a strict statutory deadline, granting considerable discretionary power that can be—and critics argue is—exploited for political ends.

For instance, the promotion of noted genocide researcher [[Michał Bilewicz]] was reportedly delayed by President Andrzej Duda, a move that critics interpreted as punitive towards scholars whose work challenges nationalist narratives.<ref>{{cite news |last=Markusz |first=Katarzyna |date=October 27, 2019 |title=Polish president withholds signature on paper to name Jewish scholar a professor |work=The Jerusalem Post |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/polish-president-withholds-signature-on-paperwork-to-name-jewish-scholar-606016 |accessdate=2025-02-21}}</ref> In a related development, Prof. Bilewicz later won a court case against President Duda over the delay in his promotion.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://oko.press/na-zywo/na-zywo-relacja/prof-bilewicz-wygral-z-prezydentem-duda-w-sadzie |title=Prof. Bilewicz wygral z prezydentem Duda w sądzie |publisher=OKO.press |accessdate=2025-02-21}}</ref> Other cases have raised similar concerns that the conferral process, rather than being a neutral recognition of scholarly merit, may serve as an indirect instrument of state influence over academia.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.president.pl/president/competences/nominations |title=Nominations – Professor Titles |work=Oficjalna strona Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej |publisher=President of the Republic of Poland |accessdate=2025-02-21}}</ref> Consequently, critics contend that such politicization undermines the autonomy of scientific inquiry and academic freedom in Poland, blurring the boundary between scholarly achievement and political favor.<ref>{{cite news |last=Upton |first=Ben |date=May 24, 2022 |title=Polish president stifles genocide researcher's professorship bid |work=Times Higher Education |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/polish-president-delays-academics-promotion |accessdate=2025-02-21}}</ref>

=== Soviet Union ===
{{Main|Suppressed research in the Soviet Union}}

In the [[Soviet Union]], scientific research was under strict political control. A number of research areas were declared "[[bourgeois pseudoscience]]" and forbidden. This has led to significant setbacks for the Soviet science, notably in [[biology]] due to ban on [[genetics]]<ref>{{cite journal
 | first=Bentley | last=Glass |date=May 1962
 | title=Scientists in Politics | volume=18 | issue=5
 | page=3 | journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
 | doi=10.1080/00963402.1962.11454353 | bibcode=1962BuAtS..18e...2G | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PgkAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3 | url-access=subscription }}</ref> (see "[[Lysenkoism]]") and in [[computer science]], which drastically influenced the Soviet economy and technology.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Krylov|first=Anna I.|date=2021-06-10|title=The Peril of Politicizing Science|journal=The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters|volume=12|issue=22|pages=5371–5376|doi=10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c01475|pmid=34107688|issn=1948-7185|doi-access=free|s2cid=235392946 }}</ref>

=== United States ===
The General Social Survey (GSS) of 1974 recorded that conservatives had the highest rates of trust in science between the three major political demographics: conservatives, liberals, and moderates. This study was repeated annually between 1972 and 1994, and biannually from 1994 until 2010. In 2010, when the same study was repeated, conservatives' trust rates had decreased from 49% to 38%, moderates' trust rates from 45% to 40%, and liberals' trust rates staying relatively stable, rising slightly from 48% to 50%.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gauchat|first1=Gordon|title=Politicization of Science in the Public Sphere: A Study of Public Trust in the United States, 1974 to 2010|journal=American Sociological Review|date=2012|volume=77|issue=2|pages=168–187|doi=10.1177/0003122412438225|s2cid=17725502|url=http://www.asanet.org/sites/default/files/savvy/images/journals/docs/pdf/asr/Apr12ASRFeature.pdf}}</ref>

The study by Gordon Gauchat, which investigates time trends in the public trust of science in the United States, suggests that the increase of distrust of conservatives can be attributed to two cultural shifts. The first was during the post-[[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] era when the [[New Right]] emerged, and the second during the [[George W. Bush|G.W. Bush]] era when the NR intensified and conservatives commenced the "war on science".

Barack Obama and other politicians, since Bush's presidency, have expressed their concerns with the politicization of science in both the public and government sphere. In 2011, during his State of the Union speech, Obama discussed his dissatisfaction of the relationships between organized science, private economic interests, and the government.

A 2024 analysis found that 100 U.S. Representatives and 23 U.S. Senators—23% of the 535 members of Congress—were [[climate change denial|climate change deniers]].<ref name=AmerProgress_20240718/> All were Republicans.<ref name=AmerProgress_20240718>{{cite web |last1=So |first1=Kat |title=Climate Deniers of the 118th Congress |url=https://www.americanprogress.org/article/climate-deniers-of-the-118th-congress/ |publisher=American Progress |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805204056/https://www.americanprogress.org/article/climate-deniers-of-the-118th-congress/ |archive-date=5 August 2024 |date=18 July 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== George W. Bush administration ====
In 2004, The ''[[Denver Post]]'' reported that the [[George W. Bush administration]] "has installed more than 100 top officials who were once lobbyists, attorneys or spokespeople for the industries they oversee." At least 20 of these former industry advocates helped their agencies write, shape or push for policy shifts that benefit their former industries. "They knew which changes to make because they had pushed for them as industry advocates."<ref name=denver_post>{{cite web|url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0523-02.htm|title=When Advocates Become Regulators|author= Anne C. Mulkern|publisher=The Denver Post|date=May 23, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100201080338/https://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0523-02.htm|archive-date=1 February 2010}}</ref>

Also in 2004, the scientific [[advocacy]] group [[Union of Concerned Scientists]] issued a report, ''Scientific Integrity in Policymaking: An Investigation into the Bush Administration's Misuse of Science''<ref name=americanprogress>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanprogress.org/atf/cf/%7BE9245FE4-9A2B-43C7-A521-5D6FF2E06E03%7D/UCSINTEGRITY.PDF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060214221941/https://www.americanprogress.org/atf/cf/%7BE9245FE4-9A2B-43C7-A521-5D6FF2E06E03%7D/UCSINTEGRITY.PDF|archive-date=14 February 2006|title= Scientific Integrity in Policymaking: An 'Investigation into the Bush Administration's Misuse of Science'|publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists}}</ref><ref name=ucsintegrity>[http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/interference/scientists-signon-statement.html "Restoring Scientific Integrity in Policymaking"] Union of Concerned Scientists</ref> which charged the following: <blockquote>A growing number of scientists, policy makers, and technical specialists both inside and outside the government allege that the current Bush administration has suppressed or distorted the scientific analyses of federal agencies to bring these results in line with administration policy. In addition, these experts contend that irregularities in the appointment of scientific advisors and advisory panels are threatening to upset the legally mandated balance of these bodies.</blockquote> A petition, signed on February 18, 2004, by more than 9,000 scientists, including 49 [[Nobel laureates]] and 63 [[National Medal of Science]] recipients,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://go.ucsusa.org/RSI_list/index.php|title= Scientific Integrity Statement Signatories|publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050829130606/http://www.ucsusa.org/RSI_list/index.php|archive-date=29 August 2005}}</ref> followed the report. The petition stated: <blockquote>When scientific knowledge has been found to be in conflict with its political goals, the administration has often manipulated the process through which science enters into its decisions. This has been done by placing people who are professionally unqualified or who have clear conflicts of interest in official posts and on scientific advisory committees; by disbanding existing advisory committees; by censoring and suppressing reports by the government's own scientists; and by simply not seeking independent scientific advice. Other administrations have, on occasion, engaged in such practices, but not so systematically nor on so wide a front. Furthermore, in advocating policies that are not scientifically sound, the administration has sometimes misrepresented scientific knowledge and misled the public about the implications of its policies.</blockquote>

The same year, Francesca Grifo, executive director of the Union of Concerned Scientists' Scientific Integrity Program, stated "We have reports that stay in draft form and don't get out to the public. We have reports that are changed. We have reports that are ignored and overwritten."<ref name=npr>[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5232410 "Bush Science Push Fails to Transform Critics"] Don Gonyea. National Public Radio, Weekend Edition Sunday, February 26, 2006.</ref>

In response to criticisms, President Bush in 2006 unveiled a campaign in his [[State of the Union Address]] to promote scientific research and education to ensure American competitiveness in the world, vowing to "double the federal commitment to the most critical basic research programs in the physical sciences over the next 10 years."<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kf0JNNW_rjYC&pg=PT117 | title=Space Studies Board Annual Report 2006 | publisher=National Academy of Sciences | author=Space Studies Board | year=2007 | pages=110| isbn=978-0-309-11555-1 }}</ref>

===== Surgeon General =====
[[Richard Carmona]], the first [[Surgeon General of the United States|surgeon general]] appointed by President George W. Bush, publicly accused the administration in July 2007 of political interference and muzzling him on key issues like [[embryonic stem cell research]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/washington/11surgeon.html?_r=1 | title=Surgeon General Sees 4-Year Term as Compromised | work=[[New York Times]] | date=July 11, 2007 | access-date=2007-12-03 | first=Gardiner | last=Harris }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1034212120070710 | title=Former Bush surgeon general says he was muzzled | date=July 10, 2007 | access-date=2007-12-03 | first=Will | last=Dunham | newspaper=[[Reuters]] }}</ref>

"Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological or political agenda is often ignored, marginalized or simply buried," Carmona testified.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-08-05-science-politics_N.htm|publisher=USA Today|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623162918/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-08-05-science-politics_N.htm|archive-date=23 June 2015|title=Science vs. politics gets down and dirty|date=7 August 2007}} Note: archive.org backup has much better formatting than live URL</ref>

Although he did not make personal accusations, the ''[[Washington Post]]'' reported on July 29 that the official who blocked at least one of Carmona's reports was [[William R. Steiger]].<ref name=Post29>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/28/AR2007072801420.html?nav=hcmodule Bush Aide Blocked Report], Christopher Lee and Marc Kaufman, The Washington Post, July 29, 2007.</ref>

===== Food and Drug Administration =====
In July 2006 the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) released survey results that demonstrate pervasive political influence of science at the [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA).<ref name="ucsfda">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ucsusa.org/about/news|title=Media Center &#124; Union of Concerned Scientists|website=www.ucsusa.org}}</ref> Of the 997 FDA scientists who responded to the survey, nearly one fifth (18 percent) said that they "have been asked, for non-scientific reasons, to inappropriately exclude or alter technical information or their conclusions in a FDA scientific document." This is the third survey Union of Concerned Scientists has conducted to examine inappropriate interference with science at federal agencies.

The Department of Health and Human Services also conducted a survey addressing the same topic which generated similar findings.<ref name=usatoday>{{cite news| url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-12-16-fda-survey-usat_x.htm | work=USA Today | title=FDA scientists question safety | first1=Julie | last1=Schmit | date=December 17, 2004 | access-date=May 22, 2010}}</ref> According to ''[[USA Today]]'', a survey of Food and Drug Administration scientists by [[Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility]] and the Union of Concerned Scientists found that many scientists have been pressured to approve or reject new drugs despite their scientific findings concerns.<ref name=usatoday /> In July 2006, the Union of Concerned Scientists released survey results that they said "demonstrate pervasive political influence of science" at the Food and Drug Administration.<ref name="ucsfda"/><ref name=ucsfda2>{{cite web|url=http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/scientific_integrity/Scientific-Integrity-at-Risk-FDA.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425224905/http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/scientific_integrity/Scientific-Integrity-at-Risk-FDA.pdf|archive-date=25 April 2016| title=Scientific Integrity at Risk: The Food and Drug Administration|publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists}}</ref>

===== United States Department of the Interior =====
{{Main|Julie A. MacDonald}}

On May 1, 2007, deputy assistant secretary at the [[United States Department of the Interior]] [[Julie A. MacDonald|Julie MacDonald]] resigned after the Interior Department Inspector General, Honorable Earl E. Devaney, reported that MacDonald broke federal rules by giving non-public, internal government documents to oil industry and property rights groups, and manipulated scientific findings to favor Bush policy goals and assist land developers.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-03-29-interior_N.htm?csp=15 | title = Report: Interior official blasted for twisting environmental data | publisher = USA Today | date = March 30, 2007}}</ref> On November 29, 2007, another report by Devaney found that MacDonald could have also benefitted financially from a decision she was involved with to remove the [[Sacramento splittail]] fish from the federal endangered species list.<ref name=ensnov29>{{cite web|url=http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2007/2007-11-29-10.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806081654/http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2007/2007-11-29-10.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 6, 2020|title=U.S. Endangered Species Program Burdened by Political Meddling|date=29 November 2007|author=Pegg, JR}}</ref>

MacDonald's conduct violated the [[Code of Federal Regulations]] (CFR) under [[5 C.F.R.]] §&nbsp;2635.703, Use of nonpublic information, and 5 C.F.R. §&nbsp;2635.101, Basic obligation of public service.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/programs/esa/pdfs/DOI-IG-Report_JM.pdf | title = Report of Investigation: Julie MacDonald, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Fish, Wildlife and Parks | publisher = US Department of the Interior | date = March 23, 2007}}</ref> MacDonald resigned a week before a House congressional oversight committee was to hold a hearing on accusations that she had "violated the Endangered Species Act, censored science and mistreated staff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service."<ref name=AP-20070501>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna18422404|title=Interior Dept. official quits ahead of hearing|publisher=AP|date=1 May 2007}}</ref>

===== Climate change =====
In December 2007, the ''[[Christian Science Monitor]]'' reported that at least since 2003, and especially after [[Hurricane Katrina]], the George W. Bush administration broadly attempted to control which [[List of climate scientists|climate scientists]] could speak with reporters, as well as edited scientists' congressional testimony on [[climate science]] and key legal opinions.<ref name=csm>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1212/p03s03-uspo.html|title=Study finds White House manipulation on climate science|date=December 12, 2007|journal=Christian Science Monitor |issue=12 |article-number=21132 |doi=10.1063/pt.5.021757 |bibcode=2007PhT..2007l1132. }}</ref> Those who have studied organizations that set up to delay action and manufacture uncertainty about the well-established scientific consensus have divided their tactics into three steps: first, deny that there is a problem, second, make the case that there are benefits involved, and, third, insist that there is nothing that can be done.<ref name=goodforyou>[http://www.houstonpress.com/2002-08-15/news/global-warming-is-good-for-you/ Global Warming is Good for You] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319192316/https://www.houstonpress.com/news/global-warming-is-good-for-you-6558634 |date=2021-03-19 }} Dylan Otto Krider, ''Houston Press, 2002''</ref>

In a study, "The legitimacy of environmental scientists in the public sphere" by Gordon Gauchat, Timothy O'Brien, and Oriol Mirosa, the researchers conclude that attitudes about environmental scientists as policy advisers are highly politicized. Their results demonstrate that, to be perceived by the public as a reputable policy advisor, the public's perception of their integrity and understanding weigh more strongly than their agreement with scientific consensus.

===== Waxman report =====
In August 2003, [[United States]], Democratic Congressman [[Henry A. Waxman]] and the staff of the [[United States House Committee on Government Reform|Government Reform Committee]] released a report concluding that the administration of George W. Bush had politicized science and [[sex education]]. The report accuses the administration of modifying performance measures for abstinence-based programs to make them look more effective. The report also found that the Bush administration had appointed Dr. Joseph McIlhaney, a prominent advocate of abstinence-only program, to the Advisory Committee to the director of the [[Centers for Disease Control]]. According to the report, information about comprehensive sex education was removed from the CDC's website.<ref name="waxmanreport" />

Other issues considered for removal included [[agricultural pollution]], the [[Arctic National Wildlife Refuge]] and [[breast cancer]]; the report found that a [[National Cancer Institute]] website has been changed to reflect the administration view that there may be a risk of breast cancer associated with [[abortion]]s.<ref name=waxmanreport>{{cite web|url=http://democrats.reform.house.gov/features/politics_and_science/pdfs/pdf_politics_and_science_rep.pdf|title=Politics and Science in the Bush Administration|publisher=United States House of Representatives|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040924022245/http://democrats.reform.house.gov/features/politics_and_science/pdfs/pdf_politics_and_science_rep.pdf|archive-date=2004-09-24}}</ref><ref name=waxmanpage>{{cite web|url=http://www.house.gov/reform/min/politicsandscience/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061207032614/http://democrats.reform.house.gov/features/politics_and_science/index.htm|archive-date=7 December 2006|title=Politics and Science: Investigating the Bush Administration's Promotion of Ideology Over Science|date=August 2003|url-status=dead}}</ref> The website was updated after protests and now holds that no such risk has been found in recent, well-designed studies.<ref name="waxmanreport" />

===== Abortion–breast cancer hypothesis =====
{{Main|Abortion–breast cancer hypothesis}}

The abortion-breast cancer hypothesis is the belief that induced abortions increase the risk of developing breast cancer.<ref name="RUSSO_505">{{cite journal |author=Russo J, Russo I |title=Susceptibility of the mammary gland to carcinogenesis. II. Pregnancy interruption as a risk factor in tumor incidence |journal=Am J Pathol |volume=100 |issue=2 |pages=505–506 |year=1980 |pmid=6773421 |pmc=1903536}} "In contrast, abortion is associated with increased risk of carcinomas of the breast. The explanation for these epidemiological findings is not known, but the parallelism between the DMBA-induced rat mammary carcinoma model and the human situation is striking. [...] Abortion would interrupt this process, leaving in the gland undifferentiated structures like those observed in the rat mammary gland, which could render the gland again susceptible to carcinogenesis."</ref> This belief is in contrast to the scientific consensus that there is no evidence suggesting that abortions can cause breast cancer.<ref name="WHO">{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs240/en/index.html |title=Induced abortion does not increase breast cancer risk |access-date=2007-12-24 |work=who.int (WHO)|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071214064635/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs240/en/index.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-12-14}}</ref><ref name="rcog_2000">{{cite web |url=http://www.rcog.org.uk/resources/Public/pdf/induced_abortionfull.pdf |title=The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion |page=43 |work=Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists |access-date=2008-06-29 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080627022119/http://www.rcog.org.uk/resources/Public/pdf/induced_abortionfull.pdf <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2008-06-27}}</ref><ref name="oversight">{{cite web |url=http://oversight.house.gov/features/politics_and_science/example_breast_cancer.htm |title=Politics & Science – Investigating the State of Science Under the Bush Administration |access-date=2008-04-14 |work=oversight.house.gov |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080327055020/http://oversight.house.gov/features/politics_and_science/example_breast_cancer.htm |archive-date = 2008-03-27}}</ref> Despite the scientific community rejecting the hypothesis, many [[anti-abortion]] advocates continue to argue that a link between abortions and breast cancer exists, in an effort to influence public policy and opinion to further restrict abortions and discourage women from having abortions.<ref name="JASEN">{{cite journal|author= Jasen, P|title=Breast cancer and the politics of abortion in the United States|journal=Med Hist|volume=49|issue=2|pages=423–444|year=2005 |pmid=16562329|pmc= 1251638|doi= 10.1017/S0025727300009145}}</ref> While historically a controversial hypothesis, the debate now is almost entirely political rather than scientific.<ref name="JASEN" />

The most notable example of the politicization of this topic was the modification of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) fact sheet by the George W. Bush administration from concluding no link to a more ambiguous assessment regarding the abortion-breast cancer hypothesis,<ref name="oversight" /> despite the NCI's scientifically based assessment to the contrary.<ref name="NCI">{{cite web |url=https://www.cancer.gov/types/breast/ere-workshop-statement |title=Summary Report: Early Reproductive Events Workshop |publisher=National Cancer Institute |access-date=2017-06-07 |work=cancer.gov|date=2003-02-26 }}</ref>

===== United States House Science Subcommittee on Oversight =====
In January 2007, the U.S. [[House Committee on Science, Space and Technology]] announced the formation of a new subcommittee, the [[United States House Science Subcommittee on Oversight|Science Subcommittee on Oversight]], which handles investigative and oversight activities on matters covering the committee's entire jurisdiction.<ref>"The Subcommittee handles investigative and oversight activities on matters covering the entire jurisdiction of the Committee on Science and Technology. This Subcommittee is new for the 110th Congress." {{cite web|url=http://science.house.gov/subcommittee/oversight.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080326204543/http://science.house.gov/subcommittee/oversight.aspx|archive-date=26 March 2008|title=Investigations and Oversight Committee – 110th Congress}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://science.house.gov/subcommittees/subcommittee-oversight-115th-congress|title=Subcommittee on Oversight – 115th Congress|access-date=2017-06-07|archive-date=2017-05-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170513033259/https://science.house.gov/subcommittees/subcommittee-oversight-115th-congress|url-status=dead}}</ref> The subcommittee has authority to look into a whole range of important issues, particularly those concerning manipulation of scientific data at Federal agencies.

In an interview, subcommittee chairman Rep. Brad Miller pledged to investigate scientific integrity concerns under the Bush Administration. Miller noted that there were multiple reports in the media of the Bush Administration's manipulation of science to advance his political agenda, corrupt advisory panels, and minimize scientific research with federal funds. Miller, as part of the House Committee of Science and Technology, collected evidence of interference with scientific integrity by Bush's political appointees.

==== First Trump administration ====
{{Main|Political interference with science agencies by the first Trump administration}}

===== Policy =====
The Trump administration marginalized the role of science in policy making, halted numerous research projects, and saw the departure of scientists who said their work was marginalized or suppressed.<ref name=":61">{{Cite news|last1=Plumer|first1=Brad|last2=Davenport|first2=Coral|date=December 28, 2019|title=Science Under Attack: How Trump Is Sidelining Researchers and Their Work|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/28/climate/trump-administration-war-on-science.html|access-date=December 29, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> It was the first administration since 1941 not to name a [[Science Advisor to the President]]. In July 2018, Trump nominated meteorologist [[Kelvin Droegemeier]] for the position, and Droegemeier was confirmed by the Senate on January 2, 2019, the final day of the [[115th United States Congress]]. He was sworn in by Vice President [[Mike Pence]] on February 11, 2019. While preparing for talks with [[Kim Jong-un]], the White House did so without the assistance of a White House science adviser or senior counselor trained in [[nuclear physics]]. The position of chief scientist in the State Department or the Department of Agriculture was not filled. The administration nominated [[Sam Clovis]] to be chief scientist in the [[United States Department of Agriculture]], but he had no scientific background and the White House later withdrew the nomination. The [[United States Department of the Interior]], the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]], and the [[Food and Drug Administration]] disbanded advisory committees.<ref name=":0" />

===== Climate change =====
{{quote box
 |title = Global warming
 |quote = {{nbsp|3}}{{font|font=Times New Roman| size=12pt |The people that gave you global warming are the same people that gave you ObamaCare!}}
 |source = Tweet of Donald Trump<br />Nov. 23, 2013<ref name=Vox_20170601>{{cite news |last1=Matthews |first1=Dylan |title=Donald Trump has tweeted climate change skepticism 115 times. Here's all of it. |url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/6/1/15726472/trump-tweets-global-warming-paris-climate-agreement |work=Vox |date=June 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170601221159/https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/6/1/15726472/trump-tweets-global-warming-paris-climate-agreement |archive-date=June 1, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>
 |align = right |width = 33% |border = 1px |fontsize = 100% |bgcolor = #fafafa |title_bg = #fafafa |title_fnt = #202060 |qalign = left |salign = right
}}
The issue of politicized science surfaced during the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 United States presidential campaign]] by then Republican candidate [[Donald Trump]]. Trump stated his intention to strip [[NASA]]'s Earth Science division of its funding, a move that "would mean the elimination of NASA's world-renowned research into temperature, ice, clouds and other climate phenomena".<ref name="milman-2016">{{cite news
 | last = Milman | first = Oliver
 | date = 23 November 2016
 | title = Trump to scrap NASA climate research in crackdown on 'politicized science'
 | work = The Guardian
 | location = London
 | issn = 0261-3077
 | url = https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/22/nasa-earth-donald-trump-eliminate-climate-change-research
 | access-date = 2017-02-27
}}</ref> Subsequently, the Trump administration successfully nominated [[Jim Bridenstine]], who had no background in science and rejected the [[scientific consensus on climate change]], to lead NASA.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|date=June 9, 2018|title=In the Trump Administration, Science Is Unwelcome. So Is Advice.|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/09/climate/trump-administration-science.html|access-date=June 9, 2018|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Under the Trump administration, the [[United States Department of Energy|Department of Energy]] prohibited the use of the term "[[climate change]]".<ref>{{Cite news|title=Energy Department climate office bans use of phrase 'climate change'|work=Politico|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/energy-department-climate-change-phrases-banned-236655|access-date=December 16, 2017}}</ref> In March 2020 ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that an official at the Interior Department has repeatedly inserted climate change-denying language into the agency's scientific reports, such as those that affect water and mineral rights.<ref>{{cite news|last=Tabuchi|first=Hiroko|author-link=Hiroko Tabuchi |date=March 2, 2020|title=A Trump Insider Embeds Climate Denial in Scientific Research|work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/02/climate/goks-uncertainty-language-interior.html|access-date=March 7, 2020}}</ref>

===== Health =====
During the 2020 [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the Trump administration replaced career public affairs staff at the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|Department of Health and Human Services]] with political appointees, including [[Michael Caputo]], who interfered with weekly [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|Centers for Disease Control]] scientific reports and attempted to silence the government's most senior infectious disease expert, [[Anthony Fauci]], "sowing distrust of the FDA at a time when health leaders desperately need people to accept a vaccine in order to create the immunity necessary to defeat the novel coronavirus."<ref>{{Cite web|title='It just created a public relations nightmare': Inside Michael Caputo's time at HHS|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/16/how-michael-caputo-shook-up-hhs-416632|access-date=2020-09-25|website=Politico|date=16 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref> One day after President Donald Trump noted that he might dismiss an FDA proposal to improve standards for emergency use of a coronavirus vaccine, the Presidents of the [[National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine|National Academies]] of Sciences and Medicine issued a statement expressing alarm at political interference in science during a pandemic, "particularly the overriding of evidence and advice from public health officials and derision of government scientists".<ref>{{Cite web|date=24 September 2020|title=NAS and NAM Presidents Alarmed By Political Interference in Science Amid Pandemic|url=https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2020/09/nas-and-nam-presidents-alarmed-by-political-interference-in-science-amid-pandemic|access-date=2020-09-25|website=National Academies}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Owermohle|first=Sarah|title=Science academies sound alarm on political interference|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/24/national-academy-sciences-coronavirus-political-interference-421118|access-date=2020-09-25|website=Politico|date=24 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

The administration reportedly sent a list to the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|CDC]] on words that the agency was prohibited from using in its official communications, including "[[transgender]]", "[[fetus]]", "[[Evidence-based research|evidence-based]]", "science-based", "[[Vulnerability|vulnerable]]", "[[Entitlement (psychology)|entitlement]]", and "[[Diversity (politics)|diversity]]".<ref name=":49">{{Cite news|last1=Sun|first1=Lena H.|last2=Eilperin|first2=Juliet|date=December 15, 2017|title=CDC gets list of forbidden words: fetus, transgender, diversity|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/cdc-gets-list-of-forbidden-words-fetus-transgender-diversity/2017/12/15/f503837a-e1cf-11e7-89e8-edec16379010_story.html|access-date=December 16, 2017|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> The Director of the CDC denied these reports.<ref name="autogenerated32">{{Cite news|title=CDC director says there are 'no banned words' at the agency|work=PBS|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/cdc-director-says-there-are-no-banned-words-at-the-agency|access-date=June 10, 2018}}</ref>

==== Biden administration ====
As part of an effort to "refresh and reinvigorate our national science and technology strategy," President-elect [[Joe Biden]] announced, before taking office, that he will elevate the role of Director of the [[Office of Science and Technology Policy]] to a [[Cabinet of the United States|cabinet]] level position.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Zimmer |first1=Carl |title=Biden to Elevate Science Adviser to His Cabinet |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/15/science/biden-science-cabinet.html |access-date=16 January 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=15 January 2021|author1-link=Carl Zimmer }}</ref>

Biden's removal of [[Betsy Weatherhead]] from her role as director of the [[National Climate Assessment]] has been criticized as being politically motivated.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/04/18/betsy-weatherhead-removed-white-house/ |title=Betsy Weatherhead, director of National Climate Assessment, removed by White House |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2021-04-18 |accessdate=2021-11-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Tollefson |first1=Jeff |title=Influential US climate report moves ahead – under new leadership |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01969-x |journal=Nature |date=July 16, 2021 |doi=10.1038/d41586-021-01969-x}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/politics-science-climate-climate-change-environment-and-nature-27e8f788b654cfc4c4967add6d136748|title=Republicans ask why White House removed climate scientist|date=May 4, 2021|website=AP News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Choi |first1=Matthew |last2=Adragna |first2=Anthony |title=Biofuels want in on the action |url=https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-energy/2021/05/04/biofuels-want-in-on-the-action-795059 |work=Politico |date=2021-05-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lucas |first1=Fred |title=House GOP seeks answers on Biden White House's ouster of climate official |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-gop-answers-biden-white-house-climate-official-ouster |work=Fox News |date=May 14, 2021}}</ref>

==== Second Trump administration ====
{{See also|Science policy of the second Trump administration|Domestic policy of the second Trump administration#Climate and environment|Domestic policy of the second Trump administration#Health|Robert F. Kennedy Jr.#Secretary of Health and Human Services (2025–present)}}

== Scholarly studies of the politics of science ==
The politicization of science is a subset of a broader topic, the politics of science, which has been studied by scholars in a variety of fields, including most notably [[Science and Technology Studies]]; [[history of science]]; political science; and the sociology of science, knowledge, and technology. Increasingly in recent decades, these fields have examined the process through which science and technology are shaped. Some of the scholarly work in this area is reviewed in ''The Handbook of Science & Technology Studies'' (1995, 2008), a collection of literature reviews published by the [[Society for Social Studies of Science]].<ref>''Handbook of Science & Technology Studies'', Second Edition, Sage Publications (1995)</ref><ref>''Handbook of Science & Technology Studies'', Third Edition, MIT Press (2008)</ref> There is an annual award for books relevant to the politics of science given by the Society for Social Studies of Science called the [[Rachel Carson Prize (academic book prize)|Rachel Carson Prize]].

== See also ==
{{div col}}

* {{annotated link|Academic freedom}}
* {{annotated link|Antiscience}}
* {{annotated link|Denialism}}
* {{annotated link|Framing (social sciences)}}
* {{annotated link|Funding bias}}
* {{annotated link|Science by press conference}}
* {{annotated link|Scientific dissent}}
* {{annotated link|Scientific misconduct}}
{{end div col}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* [[Shawn Lawrence Otto]], ''Fool Me Twice: Fighting The Assault On Science In America'', Rodale Books, 2011, {{ISBN|978-1-60529-217-5}}
* [[Steven Rose]], "Pissing in the Snow" (review of Audra J. Wolfe, ''Freedom's Laboratory: The Cold War Struggle for the Soul of Science'', Johns Hopkins, January 2019, {{ISBN|978-1-4214-2673-0}}, 302 pp.), ''[[London Review of Books]]'', vol. 41, no. 14 (18 July 2019), pp.&nbsp;31–33.

== External links ==
{{refbegin|2}}
* [http://integrityofscience.org/ Integrity of Science] initiative of the [[Pacific Institute]]
* [https://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-08-05-science-politics_N.htm Science vs. politics gets down and dirty] – ''[[USA Today]]''
* [http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/04-10-08.html Politicized Science: Science as Public Relations] [[Skeptic (U.S. magazine)|''Skeptic'']] (2004).
* {{cite book |title=Censoring Science: Inside the Political Attack on Dr. James Hansen and the Truth of Global Warming|last=Bowen |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Bowen (writer)|year=2008 |publisher=Dutton |location=New York |isbn=978-0-525-95014-1|title-link=James Hansen }}
{{refend}}

{{Science and technology studies}}
{{Lysenkoism}}

[[Category:Discovery Institute campaigns]]
[[Category:Politics by issue|Science]]
[[Category:George W. Bush administration controversies]]
[[Category:Politics of science| ]]
[[Category:Scientific controversies]]
[[Category:Religion and science]]
[[Category:Denialism]]