Merchants of Doubt: how to make billions by fabricating science

In the book Merchants of Doubt, Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway examine how a small group of influential scientists used disinformation strategies to delay government action on critical public health and environmental issues. This "Tobacco Strategy" involved manufacturing uncertainty to obscure the consensus on topics ranging from the dangers of smoking and acid rain to the reality of the ozone hole and global warming. Figures like Fred Seitz and Fred Singer leveraged their scientific credentials and political connections to attack mainstream researchers and manipulate media coverage under the guise of "balance." By funding think tanks and shadow institutes, corporate interests successfully framed established facts as matters of ongoing debate to protect free-market interests. Ultimately, the authors argue that this orchestrated marketing of doubt has had long-lasting, damaging effects on public policy and the planet's health.