Survey shows rising trust in scientists, politicization of basic facts
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For the last several years, the Pew Research Center has been tracking the US public's views on scientists and science-related issues. This year's survey finds a continuation of a worrisome trend: the US public has a rising trust in scientists, but it's mostly due to an increased respect among Democrats.
The timing of the survey was such that Pew was able to add a number of questions about the COVID-19 pandemic and the policy response to it. The parties also showed differences in their view of policy responses, as you'd expect. But they also differ in how they view basic, easily confirmable facts.
Some good news, some bad newsPew has been surveying a group of over 10,000 US residents, balanced to reflect the country's demographics, for four years now. The number is high enough to provide a very good representation of public opinion, and the length of time is now sufficient to see consistent trends rise above annual fluctuations. This makes it a fantastic resource for tracking the public's changing views of science and its role in society.
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