Why So Many Science Deniers Hold Power—And Why It’s Dangerous for Us All

Science denial is not just a quirk of fringe conspiracy theorists. It’s an epidemic at the highest levels of government—and it’s killing us. From climate change to public health, from environmental protections to reproductive rights, leaders who reject scientific consensus wield power over life-and-death policies. Their denialism is not only reckless—it’s strategic.

Denial as a Political Weapon

The motives aren’t complicated. Powerful corporations funnel money into campaigns, ensuring their favorite politicians protect profit margins by rejecting inconvenient truths. Oil and gas companies bankroll climate denial. Agribusiness props up politicians who ignore studies on pesticides. Pharmaceutical giants push back against universal healthcare. In each case, science is the casualty of greed.

For authoritarian movements, denialism serves a second purpose: consolidating power. Rejecting science isn’t about facts—it’s about identity. By “standing up” to scientists, academics, and regulators, these politicians tell their base: we won’t be bossed around by elites. Science becomes the enemy, because science demands collective solutions, and collective solutions undermine their cult of individualism.

The Real Costs of Denial

• Environmental Collapse: Science denial fuels climate breakdown. Leaders who shrug off rising seas, intensifying hurricanes, and suffocating heatwaves delay renewable energy, slash protections for public lands, and give polluters a free pass. The global consequences are catastrophic. Locally, poor and marginalized communities pay with poisoned water, toxic air, and homes destroyed by floods and wildfires.

• Public Health Crises: We saw it during COVID-19. Leaders amplified disinformation, downplayed masks and vaccines, and promoted quack cures. The result? Preventable deaths, overwhelmed hospitals, and communities torn apart. The same playbook is now being used against reproductive healthcare, nutrition science, and mental health research.

• Social and Mental Strain: Denial doesn’t just harm bodies—it erodes minds and societies. Watching leaders gaslight the public into believing lies creates despair, disorientation, and hopelessness. Children and young people, who already face mounting climate anxiety, are forced to live under governments that tell them their future doesn’t matter.

Why It Matters in Government

Denial in your neighbor’s Facebook post is frustrating. Denial in the governor’s office is catastrophic. One governor can dismantle decades of environmental protections in their state. One senator can block lifesaving research funding. One federal agency head can rewrite regulations to benefit polluters. When deniers hold power, the very tools we need to survive—data, evidence, innovation—are stripped away.

Choosing Truth Over Chaos

We can’t afford to treat science denial as a joke or a fringe problem. It is a deliberate strategy, weaponized by the powerful against the rest of us. The antidote isn’t more charts or studies—it’s political will. We need leaders who understand that evidence-based policy is survival. We need to rebuild trust by centering communities that have historically been betrayed by government and medicine. We need to pair scientific truth with justice, equity, and accountability.

Science denial thrives because it serves power. But the truth is still on our side—if we choose to organize, resist, and demand it.