The War on Science is the untold story of how a small group of anti-vaccine mothers mushroomed into an anti-science coalition that was embraced by ultra-right forces and enlisted to attack democracy.
How does fear of autism lead to an anti-government insurrection? From Galileo Galilei’s Inquisition trial to the modern Flat Earth movement, The War on Science investigates the worldviews and outright deceptions that created a breeding ground for anti-authority rhetoric.
From anti-vaxx to flat earth to QAnon, all theories rest on the belief that the general public is being lied to on an epic scale by an all-powerful, greedy, elite. So, when the Covid-19 pandemic spawned lockdowns and mask-mandates, those prone to distrust authority saw every safety measure as a nefarious act of government control. Talk of mandatory vaccines and the temporary quarantine measures triggered a movement of Covid-deniers, whose core belief that vaccines are a tool of oppression lured them to Washinton DC on January 6th, 2021. The ultra-right insurgents didn’t march under an anti-science banner, but with their network of anti-vaxx affiliates, they didn’t need to.
Part of this phenomenon can be traced to a 1998 study published in a medical journal that claimed to link autism to the MMR vaccine. Even though the author Dr. Andrew Wakefield was eventually found to have taken bribes from lawyers and falsified his results, it was too late to separate anxious parents from the torrent of misinformation that had flooded the mainstream. Worse than that, well before 1998, the general population had already learned that science was not to be trusted.
In the early 20th century, a new understanding of the psychology of unconscious desire led to a revolution in advertising and the creation of “public relations.” Corporate interests seized on this discovery, most notably the tobacco industry. They knowingly peddled a highly addictive and ultimately deadly product while simultaneously churning out “alternative” science to keep their customers hooked. The same formula was utilized by the oil and gas industry, and the Pharmaceutical company that created the current opioid epidemic.
Consequences of this corruption are three-fold: millions of people have died, the environment is in peril, and the public’s trust in science has been thoroughly compromised.
We tell this story through 3 individual characters
1 A Nebraska born and raised mother who in the 70’s stopped chemotherapy treatment for her 2 years old son who was diagnosed with severe leukemia, and replaced with Latrile a supposed medicine made out of apricot pits rumored to help cancer patients. The child died, and Latrile despite the belief of millions in the Us was never proven to have any therapeutic benefit.
2. An Onatrio mother who refuse to vaccinate her children after her daughter was diagnosed with Autism that she attributes to Vaccine
3. A British Colombia young man , a fervent believer in Flat Earth theory and an activist against all anti Covid measures . Mac died a year ago from a massive heart attack only days after taking Ivermectin, a drug used for horses.
The three stories are supplemented by interviews with medical historians and rich archival material to create a captivating first look into the roots of the anti-authority movement of today.