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Home , David Robert Grimes, False balance

A dangerous balancing act

Grimes, D. R. (2019). A dangerous balancing act: On matters of science, a well-meaning desire to present all views equally can be an Trojan horse for damaging falsehoods. EMBO Reports, 20(8), e48706. https://doi.org/10.15252/embr.201948706

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Download date:26. Sep. 2021 Science & Society

A dangerous balancing act On matters of science, a well-meaning desire to present all views equally can be an Trojan horse for damaging falsehoods

David Robert Grimes1,2

n an era of increasingly polarised coverage to both positions. And yet, in realised confounding public understanding discourse, journalistic impartiality is a attempting to maintain impartiality, this is was their strongest defence against the ines- I virtue that media outlets should strive to precisely what many outlets end up doing. capable evidence that their product was achieve in order to provide readers and Even an institution as August as the BBC highly toxic. A now infamous internal memo viewers with unbiased, neutral information. has fallen victim to this error. In 2011, they from 1969 makes for ominous reading: In a hyper-partisan world, dedicated and were harshly criticised by the BBC Trust for “Doubt is our product since it is the best balanced reporting is more vital than ever to “undue attention to marginal opinion” on means of competing with the ‘body of fact’ cleave sound from fury, to help readers to , due to “over-rigid applica- that exists in the mind of the general public. make sense of conflicting narratives. But as tion of editorial guidelines on impartiality”. It is also the means of establishing a contro- laudable an aspiration as this is, overly rigid The net result was climate change deniers versy”. Tobacco executives and the public application can do more harm than good— being afforded far too much air-time. A 2014 relation firms they engaged stoked a manu- and nowhere is this more obvious than on follow-up found that this key conclusion factured controversy, which succeeded for scientific topics. “still resonates today” [2]. decades to lure the general public into a Take, for example, climate change. The ...... perception that the health risks of smoking evidence for anthropogenic global warming were unclear, when the scientific evidence is overwhelming. A wealth of data points to “If one position is supported was unambiguous [3]. the same stark conclusion: our climate is by an abundance of evidence That revealing memo remains a blueprint rapidly changing, driven by human activity. whilst another is entirely bereft for those eager to negate overwhelming scien- This conclusion is not controversial among of it, it is profoundly tific consensus. Parallels with contemporary scientists; in fact, is efforts by the fossil fuel lobby to downplay about as well-supported as the obsolete misguided to afford equal climate change are hard to overstate—they concepts of spontaneous generation or phlo- air-time and coverage to both essentially read from the same script. These giston theory. Yet, denialist positions were positions.” devious tactics rely on exploiting the journal- afforded roughly equal media coverage as ...... istic desire for balance. And to be fair to jour- the scientific consensus. This dichotomy nalists, striving to eliminate is admirable. tremendously skewed public perception. False balance is insidious, giving dubious In matters of opinion and politics, treating While scientists are virtually in agreement positions an illusion of respectability. While opposing views as equally worthy of merit is on the reality and causes of climate change, well-intended, it is all too frequently a Trojan generally a sensible approach. But this policy up until recently approximately almost all horse that allows the most odious of fictions breaks down utterly for scientific issues, articles in prestige American media gave to gain a foothold. False balance creates a where positions and consensus are crafted equal coverage to climate change denialists perception in the public mind that an issue is based on the preponderance of evidence. If as they did to scientific consensus [1]. scientifically contentious, when it is not. This one position is buttressed by an overwhelm- ultimately means that even urgent issues ing weight of evidence while another is bereft Skewing the balance such as climate change can be dismissed as a of empirical support, it is profoundly wrong- mere difference of scientific opinion. This headed to treat them as equal. And yet, this is This is an example of false balance, which confounds not only public perception of precisely what occurs all too often in the occurs when one tries to treat two opposing science, but creates an aura of doubt, which coverage of scientific issues. positions as equally valid when they are canbeabusedtocreateatoxicinertia,beguil- simply not. If one position is supported by ing us to sleep-walk into disaster or placidly The ideological Trojan Horse an abundance of evidence while another is accept situations we should vocally . entirely bereft of it, it is profoundly This has long been exploited by the The tobacco and fossil fuel industries have misguided to afford equal air-time and duplicitous. Decades ago, tobacco companies obvious financial incentives to muddy the

1 , Oxford, UK. E-mails: [email protected] and [email protected] 2 Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, UK DOI 10.15252/embr.201948706 | EMBO Reports (2019) 20: e48706 | Published online 9 July 2019

ª 2019 The Author. Published under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license EMBO reports 20:e48706 | 2019 1 of 4 EMBO reports David Robert Grimes

waters. But false balance is frequently the dedicated anti-vaccine activists frequently controversial was hugely damaging to public unwitting ally of ideological positions bereft backfire, entrenching them further in their ill- confidence, and uptake fell markedly. of evidence, occurring in arenas with no founded views. As the World Health Organisa- ...... obvious financial interests. Evolutionary tion wearily notes, “How one addresses the theory is the bedrock of modern biology. To anti-vaccine movement has been a problem “A study or claim in isolation biblical creationists however, it is seen as since the time of Jenner. The best way in the cannot be fully understood borderline blasphemous as it contradicts long term is to refute wrong allegations at the without the requisite context biblical accounts of the dawn of mankind. In earliest opportunity by providing scientifically 1999, religious conservatives began to valid data. This is easier said than done, and background, and yet too promote “” (ID) as an alter- because the adversary in this game plays often this is completely absent native to by natural selection. It according to rules that are not generally those in coverage.” was nothing more than a rebranding of of science [5]”...... creationism with the pretence of science. Even so, its promoters argued that as evolu- A licence to scaremonger Consequences were devastating: vaccina- tion was merely a theory, then their theory tion rates across Western Europe fell well was equally valid, and should be taught Anti-vaccine activists have proven extraordi- below the 94% immunisation levels required alongside evolution. narily adept at exploiting false balance to to stem the onslaught of measles, a disease ...... evangelise their discredited views. The so virulent each single case tends to produce “ measles–mumps–rubella (MMR) vaccine 12–18 secondary infections. A spate of cases Anti-vaccine activists have controversy is an infamous illustration. In ensued across the UK and Ireland, resulting proven extraordinarily adept at 1998, English gastroenterologist Andrew in the deaths of innocent children. Around exploiting false balance to Wakefield held a press conference about a the same time, investigative journalist Brian evangelise their discredited paper he had published in the Lancet, specu- Deer turned a more sceptical eye to Wake- views.” lating on a link between and the MMR field’s claims than the hagiography of many ...... vaccine. His evidence, however, was extraor- of his peers. His investigations ultimately dinarily weak. Mainstream science and health exposed Wakefield’s autism–MMR link as This conflation was extremely disingenu- writers noted such an explosive charge was fraudulent and unveiled financial and ethical ous, pivoting on the ambiguity of the word poorly justified, and the story initially conflicts of interest. With his work shown to theory. In colloquial context, theory is akin to received scant attention. Anti-vaccine activists be falsified, the paper was retracted, and “idea” or “supposition”. A scientific theory, instead pitched it to non-specialist writers as Wakefield struck off for unethical behaviour. however, is not mere conjecture but something a human interest story, imploring journalists The damage, alas, was sadly done, with long- supported by multiple strands of evidence and without any scientific training to pontificate term consequence. Measles, once on the solid data. Evolution is “just” a theory in the on the ostensible link between autism and the verge of eradication, has again taken a foot- samewaygermtheoryorthetheoryofrela- vaccine, and to report “both sides”. hold around the world with record number of tivity are “just” theories. ID had no such claim This proved a devastatingly effective strat- cases in both Europe and America this year, to the word, yet the basis of their “wedge strat- egy. By the year 2000, a whole 10% of all prompting the WHO to declare vaccine hesi- egy” was to exploit . Despite science stories in the UK were related to tancy a top 10 threat to public health. the “” campaign being MMR, over 80% of them authored by non- slammed by the American Association for the science journalists. In the words of physician Lessons unlearnt Advancement of Science, the Dover Area and writer Ben Goldacre, “Suddenly we were School District taught ID alongside evolution, getting comment and advice on complex Wakefield may have the lion’s share of blood until a legal challenge in 2005 ruled that teach- matters of immunology and epidemiology on his hands for the MMR vaccine debacle, ing ID as equivalent with scientific theory was from people who would more usually have but false balance allowed him to perpetuate wholly unjustified [4]. been telling us about a funny thing that such fatal mendacity. We are still trying to The posturing of the intelligent design happened with the au pair on the way to a reckon with the fall-out of that disaster, while lobby might be laughable, but false balance dinner party”. There was virtually no the next one is already affecting the human can wrack terrible consequences—noticeably evidence that the vaccine was harmful, and papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. The HPVs when human health is involved. an abundance of data showing it to be safe include more than 170 virus strains, some of is such a flashpoint issue, and after clean and effective. While public health bodies and which can cause genital cancers. Virtually, all water, nothing has saved more lives. It has scientists desperately tried to convey this real- cervical cancers are HPV-mediated, and as hugely reduced the burden of infectious ity, editors and writers lacked the requisite the vaccine protects against the most danger- disease, banishing once ubiquitous scourges scientific background to weigh up the strength ous strains, it has the potential to end the like small-pox to the confines of history. And of evidence for these opposing claims. misery of cervical cancer and its odious yet, immunisation has faced militant opposi- Presented with two wildly different narratives, siblings. This is not hyperbole—Australia, an tion right from the beginning. Resistance to they fell back upon the default assumption early adopter, is on track to eliminate cervical public health efforts and scientific progress is that mutually opposed views must have equal cancer by 2028, and precancerous infections largely ideological in nature and resistant to merit, warranting equal coverage. The resul- have fallen the world over in countries with correction. Efforts to change the minds of tant framing of the MMR vaccine as high uptake of the vaccine [6].

2 of 4 EMBO reports 20:e48706 | 2019 ª 2019 The Author David Robert Grimes EMBO reports

But worryingly, public trust in the HPV and what it is not. Quality scientific reporting level of understanding of a field that a vaccine has recently been undermined in requires an understanding of the scientific researcher does and differentiating between several countries, and false balance report- method and an implicit grasp of a subject. A valid science and pseudoscientific nonsense ing has contributed to it. In Japan, media study or claim in isolation cannot be fully can be remarkably difficult. To compound reports of anti-vaccine claims led to mass understood without the requisite context and matters, and dedicated lobby- panic in 2013. Even though subsequent background, and yet too often, this is ing make it exponentially harder for media investigation showed the vaccine to be safe completely absent in coverage. The dark outlets to discern the truth on difficult topics. and effective, reporting of purported dangers irony of false balance is that it is a bias, based on hearsay diminished uptake from which usually arises from a concerted The age of 70 to 1% in 1 year. In 2014, Denmark was attempt to avoid bias. Yet when it comes to hit by similar panic, with anti-vaccine claims issues of science, striving for balance is This vacuum of knowledge is all too easy for given an equal airing in national media, mistaken when accuracy is a much more vested interests to hijack, engineering a plat- leading to uptake falling from 79% to < 17% appropriate aim. To quote Boyce Rensberger, form for unsubstantiated views. Moreover, in a year. By 2015, HPV vaccine panic came “balanced coverage of science does not mean since Mooney’s observations 15 years ago, to Ireland when an anti-vaccine group giving equal weight to both sides of an argu- our new channels have drastically changed. successfully courted media attention. The ment. It means apportioning weight accord- The Internet has become our primary source ensuing attention made the vaccine appear ing to the balance of evidence”. for information, frequently filtered through controversial in the public eye, and vaccine Science of course is not an argument the distorting prism of social media. The uptake fell from highs of 87% to around from authority; the hypotheses of even impact has been stark: the media has 50% within a year. Nobel laureates can be utterly debunked by become far more fragmented, and messages ...... the experiments of the humblest student. which promote outrage or emotional reac- Nor is it a popularity contest; scientific tion tend to be much more widely shared, “When scientists abuse their consensus is derived based on the strength regardless of their veracity [8]. The tradi- position to push anti-scientific of evidence for a given position. Scientists, tional triumvirate of newspapers, television nonsense, it adds hugely to when they are practising science, only speak and radio has been supplanted largely by public confusion. This is with any authority when they are reflecting Internet-based publications. This has posi- best evidence. If they instead advocate a tive aspects and has certainly diversified perhaps something that the position unsupported by the evidence, their sources of information. But recent investiga- scientific community should qualifications are utterly irrelevant. Sadly, tions into Russian disinformation campaigns take a more active role in there are plenty of scientists and physicians have illustrated how this greater ecosystem addressing.” who push discredited views, abusing their of information channels allows one to ...... credentials to bamboozle; Wakefield’s MMR conjure misinformation wholesale, readily manipulations; Linus Pauling’s promotion of disseminating it without the typical machin- This trend has finally begun to reverse in vitamin C as a universal panacea; and Peter ery of the press. Consequently, one can Ireland at least, after sustained efforts by Duesberg’s AIDS denialism. When scientists bypass traditional media channels comple- scientists, physicians, patient advocates and abuse their position to push anti-scientific tely, perpetuating any falsehood desired. public health bodies [7]. But the fact that nonsense, it adds hugely to public confu- ...... long-discredited anti-vaccine claims still cause sion. This is perhaps something that the damage should not surprise us. There is ample scientific community should take a more “The media has become far evidence that anti-vaccine campaigners are active role in addressing. more fragmented, and especially adept at spreading misinformation Writing on false balance for the Columbia messages which promote online, entirely unconcerned with the veracity Journalism Review in 2004, Chris Mooney of what they propagate. This is a small but elucidated how the ideal of impartiality can outrage or emotional reaction vocal minority—most parents who are give odious falsehoods a veneer of legiti- tend to be much more widely vaccine-hesitant are not anti-vaccine zealots, macy they simply do not deserve: “As a shared, regardless of their but simply concerned, unsure of how to parse general rule, journalists should treat fringe veracity.” the cacophony of claims to which they are scientific claims with considerable skepti- ...... subjected. It is completely understandable that cism, and find out what major peer- parents can become apprehensive, particularly reviewed papers or assessments have to say Dubious sources are alarmingly common, when media reporting all too often presents about them. Moreover, they should adhere often outnumbering reputable accounts [9]. the topic as contentious. to the principle that the more outlandish or Nor are we especially adept at identifying dramatic the claim, the more skepticism it questionable sources; one Stanford study The road to hell is paved with warrants”. Of course, it takes expertise to investigating this labelled their findings good intentions gauge the merit of scientific claim, and jour- “bleak” and “a threat to democracy” [10]. nalists are under tremendous pressure to With fringe sources that deliberately blur the So why does this failing occur so persis- produce engaging stories in an era that line between information and , tently? The crux of the problem stems from a values velocity over veracity. It is not realis- false balance is no longer the issue, as these fundamental confusion over what science is tic to expect media outlets to have the same sources eschew any pretence of impartiality.

ª 2019 The Author EMBO reports 20:e48706 | 2019 3 of 4 EMBO reports David Robert Grimes

But the damage done can be further frequently, debate rewards those with the Prize for standing up for science in the face compounded by reputable outlets engaging most devious rhetorical skills and the greatest of adversary. His first book, “The Irrational in false balance; this often occurs when jour- propensity to lie. I have lost count of the Ape - Why Flawed Logic Puts Us All at Risk, nalists deem a claim worthy of coverage due times I have been contacted by an outlet, and How Critical Thinking Can Save the solely to a volume of claims about it, rather wondering if I would debate someone who World” will be published by Simon & Schus- than the quality of those claims. In doing so, denies the reality of climate change, or an ter in September. they can lend legitimacy to positions that do ardent anti-vaccine activist. These days, I not warrant any oxygen, cementing skewed steadfastly refuse to do so, explaining that Conflict of interest perceptions in the public mind. This “feed- this would be textbook false balance, and The author declares that he has no conflict of back loop” form of false balance has would lend a sheen of respectability to odious interest. certainly been at the root of a number of views. For their part, media outlets need to vaccine panics in recent years and has appreciate that in matters of science, an References equally driven fears over genetically modi- adversarial talking heads’ format frequently 1. Boykoff MT, Boykoff JM (2004) Balance fied food and 5G technology. produces much more heat than light, leaving as bias: global warming and the US prestige audiences unsure and divided. Public under- press. Glob Environ Change 14: 125 – 136 The crucial role of informed reporting standing is ultimately much better served by 2. Grimes DR (2016) Impartial journalism is discussion and explanation rather than laudable. But false balance is dangerous. The But despite these failings, media outlets have oratorical theatrics. Guardian a more vital role to play than ever before. Crucially, it is entirely possible for media 3. Michaels D, Jones M (2005) Doubt is their Reputable outlets have a commitment to fact- outlets to cover contentious topics in an product. Sci Am 292: 96 – 101 checking and impartial analysis. Informed informative and responsible manner, with 4. Matzke NJ (2016) The evolution of antievolu- reporting is an invaluable shield against the requisite training. The BBC has admirably tion policies after Kitzmiller versus Dover. onslaught of falsehoods. By maintaining a instituted a policy of training its reporters to Science 351: 28 – 30 standard for fact-checking and quality avoid false balance on complex and conten- 5. Andre FE, Booy R, Bock HL, Clemens J, Datta control, media outlets can be a bulwark tious issues in science, noting that “... SK, John TJ, Lee BW, Lolekha S, Peltola H, Ruff against the undue sway of increasingly parti- science coverage does not simply lie in TA et al (2008) Vaccination greatly reduces san sources. Rather than lament failings, it reflecting a wide range of views but depends disease, disability, death and inequity world- might be more productive for scientists to on the varying degree of prominence (due wide. Bull World Health Organ 86: 140 – 146 engage more with the media so that false weight) such views should be given”. The 6. Drolet M, Benard E, Perez N, Boily MC, balance might be circumvented. A promising problem of false balance is not likely to Hammad A, Baldo V, Brassard P, Brotherton J, way to reduce poor reportage on scientific dissipate anytime soon in our hyper-partisan Callandar D, Checchi M et al (2019) Population- issues is to put scientific experts in direct and polarised media landscape. Effectively level impact and herd effects following the contact with those covering the story. This is addressing this certainly requires a introduction of human papillomavirus vacci- an approach taken by organisations such as concerted change in media behaviour. nation programs: updated systematic review the Science Media Centre and Sense About Informed discussion is far more valuable and meta-analysis. Lancet https://doi.org/10. Science. For journalists, an index of knowl- than mindless exercises in false equivalency. 1016/s0140-6736(19)30298-3 edgeable experts they can approach to gauge Responsibility for improving societal 7. Corcoran B, Clarke A, Barrett T (2018) Rapid a claim and put it in context is invaluable, understanding is not the media’s alone. If we response to HPV vaccination crisis in Ireland. and this is beneficial on a societal level. Aside are to stem the tide of misinformation, it is Lancet 391: 2103 from more informed reporting, I have found imperative that scientists themselves become 8. Brady WJ, Wills JA, Jost JT, Tucker JA, Van that this can kill scaremongering and ficti- more enmeshed in the communication of Bavel JJ (2017) Emotion shapes the diffusion tious claims before they become a story. science. Increased engagement with media of moralized content in social networks. Proc ...... outlets is mutually beneficial, improving both Natl Acad Sci USA 114: 7313 – 7318 understanding and appreciation of science 9. Vosoughi S, Roy D, Aral S (2018) The spread “Increased engagement with and medicine. We cannot forget that we live of true and false news online. Science 359: media outlets is mutually in an era where falsehoods can perpetuate 1146 – 1151 10 beneficial, improving rapidly; once a myth has taken hold, counter- . Wineburg S, McGrew S, Breakstone J, Ortega ing it becomes nigh on impossible. A more T(2016) Evaluating information: the corner- both understanding and proactive stance from the scientific commu- stone of civic online reasoning. Stanford Digi- appreciation of science and nity is vital to stop fabrications taking root in tal Repository 8: 2018 medicine.” the first instance. To shun this responsibly is ...... to leave society more divided and less informed, to our collective detriment. Knowing when to engage, however, is a License: This is an open access article under the more nuanced question. There is still a fixa- David Robert Grimes is a cancer researcher, terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 tion with , and a fallacious physicist and science writer. He contributes License, which permits use, distribution and repro- idea that debate rather than discussion is the to media outlets worldwide and was awarded duction in any medium, provided the original work arbiter of truth. This is abject nonsense—too the 2014 Sense About Science John Maddox is properly cited.

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