State of Science 2022: Take SWIFT action

Trust in science remains high as we emerge from the pandemic. The 2022 State of Science Index (SOSI) results show that skepticism had a slight uptick but remains lower compared to pre-pandemic levels. With the onset of the pandemic in 2020, skepticism went down and stayed low during 2021 and hope was the defining sentiment around science. Now, in 2022, results indicate that science and scientists still garner trust, but misinformation is a concern that can serve to undermine this trust. The global public recognizes that misinformation can undermine collective action as it relates to the many challenges we face, be it public health, social division or climate change, to name a few. This matters, because the public also recognizes that the role science plays in society, can impact them personally.

3M State of Science Index 2022 results also show that beyond the pandemic, the world wants science to prioritize solving for the effects of climate change, clean water supply and sanitation, air quality and equal access to quality healthcare. Climate change and its effects are showing up in personal ways for people around the world. A strong majority (79%) are concerned they or a loved one may be displaced from where they live in the future due to extreme weather related to climate change. They also overwhelmingly report being more concerned today than they were a year ago about climate change, intensifying natural disasters, and environmental pollution. To address these concerns, people rank investing in innovations to mitigate the effects of climate change among the top actions for corporations to prioritize. People also expect collaboration between sectors to solve for problems like healthcare, sustainability and social justice.

We need science to get us to these solutions – and that means, we also need scientists. Since there is no fast route to solve the world’s most pressing challenges, it is more important than ever to keep the pipeline of future scientists, robust. Across the globe, the 2022 data shows that the public believes barriers to a strong STEM education are increasing. Thirteen of the 17 countries surveyed saw a year-over-year increase in the percentage of people who reported STEM education roadblocks. While 87% of people believe it’s important to increase diversity and inclusion in STEM fields, 71% say underrepresented minorities often do not receive equal access to STEM education. Survey respondents show particular concern for women and girls in STEM.

Misinformation superhighway

2022 is the fifth year of our annual study of the public image of science conducted through surveying the general population of 17 countries. This longitudinal research reveals trend lines over time as to how much people trust, respect and value science and the role it plays in their lives. It also helps to understand the public’s concerns. While 90% of people say they trust science and 86% trust scientists, this year’s results also show that people around the world recognize there is widespread misinformation and disinformation on social media (85%) and traditional media (72%), regardless of subject matter. In fact, data reveals that survey respondents believe there will be consequences if we cannot trust news stories about science, including:

• ??????More public health crises
• ??????Greater division within society
• ?????An increase in the severity of climate change effects

I have previously written about the nascent realities of the infodemic that wreaked havoc during the pandemic. Misinformation and disinformation resulted in mistrust of scientific information and caused many to dismiss the public health guidelines and undermined the ability to manage the spread of Covid19. With myriad online information sources and overwhelming amount of information encountered, individuals often rely on heuristically driven context and social cues to ascertain the credibility of information and formulate opinions.

Too much information

With levels of misinformation rising to crisis proportions, and heightened concern among the science community and the public, research around this field is coalescing. It has been a call to arms for scientists to study misinformation and learn how to stop it. There is a recognition of the need for interdisciplinary research. It is well accepted that simply communicating the facts, data and evidence does not necessarily change people’s views because of several other contextual elements that influence decision making that can cause people to deny science.

There are also demographic aspects to consider as they relate to disinformation campaigns. Our 2022 SOSI results show that science is personal for younger generations - they see a higher importance of science in their everyday lives. Youth maybe tech savvy in their ability to engage in social platforms but there is a need to promote scientific literacy that empowers them with critical skills as the engage as consumers of information and participate in generating information in safe, wise and ethical ways. At the other end of the spectrum, older adults, are relative newcomers to the Internet, a phenomenon termed as the gray digital divide. They have fewer years of experience with click-bait headlines and Internet hoaxes that may leave them at a disadvantage despite critical thinking skills. The relative inexperience with social media can also make it difficult to distinguish between real news and sponsored content and manipulated images given the gaps in their digital literacy.

Nuggets of Information

Meanwhile, techniques such as SIFT, developed by digital literacy expert Michael Caulfield, are great for evaluating sources. SIFT stands for: Stop, Investigate the claim, Find better coverage, and Trace back to the original context. The SIFT strategy can be applied to various kinds of online content to judge credibility and reliability of the information. There are other frameworks that also promote the same line of thinking. For example, in 2020 during the pandemic United Nations launched the #PledgetoPause campaign to create “a new social media norm” to help combat the impact of viral misinformation.?The 5W’s technique was proposed with #takecarebeforeyoushare to stop misinformation. The 5Ws being: Who made it? What is the source of the information? Where did it come from? Why are you sharing this? When was it published? Four of the questions address ways to detect source credibility, similar to that in the SIFT technique. However, the question around why you want to share pulls in reflection, which can potentially curtail the urge to share, or promote motivation to check further for accuracy while SIFTing through information.

In my view, perhaps the integration of the two techniques could work well to help people in a SWIFT manner - defer the decision to instantly share, detect credibility of information, and deter sharing of misinformation.

Stop. ????????????????????????????????????????????????Wait.

Why do you want to share? ????????????Why.

Investigate the source. ????????????????????Who.

Find better coverage. ??????????????????????What.

Trace original context. ????????????????????When and Where.

Given the range of complex issues and social divisions we face today, there is a profound sense of urgency in understanding and implementing solutions to the challenge misinformation poses. It’s an issue that will keep science from reaching its full potential. There are no simple solutions to the complex problem of science misinformation. To directly address the consequences of misinformation, 3M is partnering with the Online News Association (ONA), the world’s largest digital journalism association. 3M and ONA will collaborate on toolkits, training and recognition that will inspire and support journalists as they connect with their audiences about science and misinformation.

We’ve come to an inflection point; the pandemic has positively impacted appreciation and trust in science. 3M SOSI data reveals that understanding and addressing misinformation may be critical to maintaining a positive public perception of science. It is important to our everyday lives to be informed, and it is critical to our future, a future that is more sustainable and equitable.

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