It's true. Such debates are usually not *just* or even *primarily* about science. The same is true of the antivaccine movement. Antivaccine and anti-GMO pseudoscience and conspiracy theories are a manifestation of distrust of corporations (and they undoubtedly are). 1/https://twitter.com/ksenapathy/status/1144243616971481089 …
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That being said, however, distrust of big pharma or big agriculture is far from the only factor, and, if there's one thing I've noticed, it's that even when big corporations behave ethically, it rarely detectably eases the mistrust of the antis. Sometimes quite the opposite! 2/
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Also, advocating for science against anti-GMO and antivaccine pseudoscience will ALWAYS get one tarred as being on the payroll of the corporations hated. In the case of pharma, I dubbed this the "pharma shill gambit" many years ago. Motivated reasoning! 3/ http://oracknows.blogspot.com/2005/08/pharma-shill-gambit.html …
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Still, it's important not to make it easy for the antis to label us as "shills" by being too close to corporations. It's all too easy to slide into becoming an industry shill like
@ACSHorg, and to equate "pro-science" with "pro-corporation," as Kavin described Monsanto doing.4/1 reply 1 retweet 8 likesShow this thread -
We must maintain our distance, because the pull of corporate attention can be strong and it's easy not to realize you're being seduced. Just as a lot of physicians delude themselves that pharma gifts & attention don't influence them, so too do many skeptics delude themselves. 5/
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It's an important warning that many skeptics ignore at their peril: Don't think that you're too savvy to be influenced. You're human, and the same sorts of things that influence other humans influence you too. You have to learn to inoculate yourself against them. 6/6
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Replying to @gorskon
Large parts of the anti SJW "skeptic" movement/IDW clowns would do well to realize they're not too savy have biases as well, and I don't know that everyone can fully inoculate themselves against it. It seems to be a hallmark of bad skepticism, thinking you're above psychology.
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There's always been a large libertarian component to the skeptic movement. Indeed, prominent skeptics have embarrassed themselves with climate change denial.
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