Since 2020, scientists have stepped more often into the spotlight. This emerges from a study by Economist Impact and publisher Elsevier that was published on Tuesday, based on survey data provided by more than 3,100 scientists in 111 countries, including 253 in the Netherlands.

False information

Across the world, physicians (12 percentage points more) and social scientists (9 percentage points more) are the main groups that are publicly taking up the battle against false information. They therefore also have to face online bullying more frequently. The data show that one third of European scientists and almost half of North American scientists have been bullied online and sometimes even threatened, or have seen that happening to a close colleague.

In February of last year, TU/e Professor Bert Blocken told Cursor that his presence on radio and television also took its toll on him. When he publicly commented on playing sports outside, gyms and ventilation systems, he was attacked by English tabloids and their readers on social media, by email and with anonymous phone calls.

Such bullying and threats raise impediments. For a quarter of all respondents, this strengthens their resolve to continue, but 23 percent say that they will make fewer pronouncements on climate, social and economic problems as a result.

Small survey

The analysts put the outcome of the survey itself into perspective. At 0.8 percent, the response was unusually low, so the analysts say that the sample is too small to be able to draw any accurate conclusions about individual countries.