Anti-science extremism in America: escalating and globalizing
Open accessAbstract
The last five years has seen a sharp rise in anti-science rhetoric in the United States, especially from the political far right, mostly focused on vaccines and, of late, anti-COVID-19 prevention approaches. Vaccine coverage has declined in more than 100 US counties leading to measles outbreaks in 2019, while in 2020 the US became the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the anti-science movement in America has begun to globalize, with new and unexpected associations with extremist groups and the potential for tragic consequences in terms of global public health. A new anti-science triumvirate has emerged, comprised of far right groups in the US and Germany, and amplified by Russian media.
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The anti-science movement has globalised with tragic consequences.
“This anti-science movement has globalised with tragic consequences.”
From The Lancet Commission on lessons for the future from the COVID-19 pandemic (2022) · cites this paper as [246]
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Wakefield, A., Murch, S., Anthony, A., Linnell, J., Casson, D., Malik, M., Berelowitz, M., Dhillon, A., Thomson, M., Harvey, P., et al. (1998) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(97)11096-0 · Cited by 3,006 · see citing works
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The Lancet Commission on lessons for the future from the COVID-19 pandemic
Sachs, J. D., Karim, S. S. A., Aknin, L., Allen, J., Brosbøl, K., Colombo, F., Barron, G. C., Espinosa, M. F., Gaspar, V., Gaviria, A., et al. (2022) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(22)01585-9 · Cited by 842 · see citing works
Self-citationAnti-science kills: from Soviet embrace of pseudoscience to accelerated attacks on US biomedicine.
Hotez, P. J. (2021) · PLOS Biology · doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3001068 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Self-citationReusswig, F., Bock, S., Schleer, C., & Lass, W. (2021) · Frontiers in Sustainability · doi:10.3389/frsus.2021.648433 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“Based on the data, one can identify a large confidence shock in the government confinement policies ranges from economic needs to misinformation, anti-science and anti-vaccination attitudes, distrust in government or open extremist right-wing coup fantasies (Hotez, 2020).”
Background
- Authors
- Hotez, P. J.
- Affiliations
- Baylor University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hotez, Peter J.
- ORCID
- Hotez, Peter J.
- Venue
- Microbes and Infection
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-11
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 505-507
- ISSN
- 1286-4579 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3087437038
- Cited by
- 74
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 3
- FWCI
- 18.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Microbes and Infection (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Misinformation and Its Impacts
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Science and Science Education
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Populism, Right-Wing Movements
- Keywords
- anti-vaccine movement, far right, COVID-19 pandemic, measles outbreak, extremist groups, Russian media, global public health
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, Germany, Humans, Measles, Russia, United States, Vaccination, Vaccines, World Health Organization, Coronavirus Infections, Pandemics
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