"Manufactured doubt" is a term used to describe actions taken by organizations or individuals to obscure the harmful effects of their products or actions by manipulating scientific evidence. Perhaps the most well-known example comes from the tobacco industry, which developed a "play book" of techniques and approaches that could be used to spread disinformation in defense of their products. This topic has received much attention from experts in Occupational Health and Environmental Historians including Dr. David Michaels and Dr. Naomi Oreskes, among others. What we wanted to do was to examine five different industries or organizations that have developed and used strategies to manufacture doubt. We selected tobacco and human health outcomes; the coal industry and black lung; Syngenta and the herbicide atrazine; the sugar industry and heart disease; and the Marshall Institute and other associated individuals with climate change. In our first manuscript, we told the stories of these five industries and summarize the various tactics each one used. In our follow-up manuscript, we used these stories to answer a number of questions: What are the essential features of manufactured doubt? Are there tactics that remain unique to one industry, and why? Who are the intended audiences for these strategies? What is the role of funding in manufactured doubt? And, who can manufacture doubt?
Distract, Dismiss, Delay: How industries and organizations manufacture doubt
"Manufactured doubt" is a term used to describe actions taken by organizations or individuals to obscure the harmful effects of their products or actions by manipulating scientific evidence. Perhaps the most well-known example comes from the tobacco industry, which developed a "play book" of techniques and approaches that could be used to spread disinformation in defense of their products. This topic has received much attention from experts in Occupational Health and Environmental Historians including Dr. David Michaels and Dr. Naomi Oreskes, among others. What we wanted to do was to examine five different industries or organizations that have developed and used strategies to manufacture doubt. We selected tobacco and human health outcomes; the coal industry and black lung; Syngenta and the herbicide atrazine; the sugar industry and heart disease; and the Marshall Institute and other associated individuals with climate change. In our first manuscript, we told the stories of these five industries and summarize the various tactics each one used. In our follow-up manuscript, we used these stories to answer a number of questions: What are the essential features of manufactured doubt? Are there tactics that remain unique to one industry, and why? Who are the intended audiences for these strategies? What is the role of funding in manufactured doubt? And, who can manufacture doubt?
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