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From Endless Frontier to Enemy of the People: The Assault on Public Science -- Lawfare
https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/from-endless-frontier-to-enemy-of-the-people--the-assault-on-public-scienceWendy Wagner
A review of Michael E. Mann & Peter J. Hotez, "Science Under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces That Threaten Our World" (Public Affairs, 2025)
Nearly 20 years ago, a colleague and I documented the campaign against climate scientist Michael Mann after he developed what became known as the "hockey stick" reconstruction of historical temperature patterns. For the oil and gas sector, already facing mounting public pressure, Mann's findings were deeply unwelcome.
What struck us most at the time, however, was not simply pressure from private actors but the degree to which governmental institutions themselves became vehicles for the attack. In 2004, for example, a congressional committee subpoenaed Mann's scientific records, correspondence, and data stretching back decades. As we documented in our 2012 book "Bending Science," legal and political tools were increasingly deployed to harass, suppress, or reshape research that political figures, often working at the behest of industry backers, sought to discredit in the eyes of the public.
Twenty years ago, Mann's case felt exceptional. Two decades later, it no longer does.
In "Science Under Siege," Mann and Peter Hotez argue that what once appeared aberrational has become routine. Coordinated disinformation efforts, harassment campaigns, strategic lawsuits, and personal assaults now accompany research in politically contentious fields. These attacks jeopardize not only professional standing and funding but, at times, physical safety. Increasingly, they also bear the imprimatur of public authority.
. . .
Diagnosing an Upside-Down World
Although the authors' personal narratives give the book urgency and immediacy, its larger ambition is diagnostic. Mann and Hotez seek to explain how we arrived at a moment in which anti-science disinformation has become, in their words, "orchestrated," and credible scientists are recast as public enemies.
Seventy years ago, federally supported research was often celebrated as creating an "endless frontier"--a driver of economic growth, national strength, and democratic vitality. Today, the incentives often run in the opposite direction. When scientific findings threaten entrenched economic or political interests, science itself becomes the target.
. . .
What struck us most at the time, however, was not simply pressure from private actors but the degree to which governmental institutions themselves became vehicles for the attack. In 2004, for example, a congressional committee subpoenaed Mann's scientific records, correspondence, and data stretching back decades. As we documented in our 2012 book "Bending Science," legal and political tools were increasingly deployed to harass, suppress, or reshape research that political figures, often working at the behest of industry backers, sought to discredit in the eyes of the public.
Twenty years ago, Mann's case felt exceptional. Two decades later, it no longer does.
In "Science Under Siege," Mann and Peter Hotez argue that what once appeared aberrational has become routine. Coordinated disinformation efforts, harassment campaigns, strategic lawsuits, and personal assaults now accompany research in politically contentious fields. These attacks jeopardize not only professional standing and funding but, at times, physical safety. Increasingly, they also bear the imprimatur of public authority.
. . .
Diagnosing an Upside-Down World
Although the authors' personal narratives give the book urgency and immediacy, its larger ambition is diagnostic. Mann and Hotez seek to explain how we arrived at a moment in which anti-science disinformation has become, in their words, "orchestrated," and credible scientists are recast as public enemies.
Seventy years ago, federally supported research was often celebrated as creating an "endless frontier"--a driver of economic growth, national strength, and democratic vitality. Today, the incentives often run in the opposite direction. When scientific findings threaten entrenched economic or political interests, science itself becomes the target.
. . .