Denialism is a term used to describe the position of governments, business groups, interest groups, or individuals who reject propositions on which a scientific or scholarly consensus exists. Scientific consensus is the collective judgement position and Opinion of the community of Scientists in a particular field of Science at a particular Such groups and individuals are said to be engaging in denialism when they seek to influence policy processes and outcomes by illegitimate means. ^[1] The term has been used to describe 'holocaust denial', 'AIDS denialism',^{[2][3][4][5][6]} and 'climate change denial'^[7][8][9] and the creation-evolution conflict. Holocaust denial is the claim that the Genocide of Jews during World War II —usually referred to as The Holocaust —did not occur in the AIDS denialism refers to the views of a loosely connected group of individuals and organizations who deny that the Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV is the cause of acquired Climate change denial describes efforts to counter all or part of the theory of global climate change when those involved are believed to be acting out of vested interests rather The creation-evolution controversy (also termed the creation vs ^[10]

Brothers Mark and Chris Hoofnagle describe the term as "the employment of rhetorical tactics to give the appearance of argument or legitimate debate, when in actuality there is none. These false arguments are used when one has few or no facts to support one's viewpoint against a scientific consensus or against overwhelming evidence to the contrary. They are effective in distracting from actual useful debate using emotionally appealing, but ultimately empty and illogical assertions. "^[11]

The terms "denialism" and "denialist" are therefore generally used pejoratively, carrying the implication that the person or group so labeled denies established scientific or historical truths by dishonest means. Words and phrases are pejorative if they imply disapproval or contempt

Contents 1 Illegitimate Methodology and Tactics 2 Ideological denialism 3 Corporate denialism 4 Political denialism 5 Conspiracy theories and cranks 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Illegitimate Methodology and Tactics

Denialism is a form of propaganda covering a variety of activities. Propaganda is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people It can be as simple as like-minded individuals signing letters of dissent, or as elaborate as professional grey or black propaganda campaigns by advertising and marketing agencies. Black propaganda is false material where the source is disguised Advertising is a form of Communication that typically attempts to persuade potential Customers to Purchase or to consume more of a particular Brand In popular usage "marketing" is the promotion of products especially Advertising and Branding However in professional usage the term has a wider meaning of

Denialism can arise from personal ideologies, or desire for profit. Industry groups may seek to protect markets from damaging facts and information. Political groups may work to advance their agendas. Combinations of these may work in concert with interest groups on issues of mutual importance. Despite the disparity between these groups and the motives behind them, the tactics used by denialists are largely similar. Common features include:^[12]

• Conspiracism - Suggesting scientists have an ulterior motive for their research, or that they are part of some hidden plan or agenda. A conspiracy theory attributes the ultimate cause of an event or chain of events (usually Political, Social or Historical events or the concealment ^[13]
• Selectivity - Relying upon discredited or flawed work supporting their idea while dismissing more credible work; presenting discredited or superseded papers to make a field look like it is based on weak research. Inflating favorable 'evidence' while discounting the contradictory, often while misrepresenting the significance of each. The selective use of evidence by denialists includes quote mining and cherry picking. Quote mining is the practice of purposely compiling frequently misleading quotes from large volumes of Literature or speech Cherry picking may also refer to the process of Collecting erroneous Coins Cherry picking is the act of pointing at individual cases or
• False experts - Citing paid, partisan scientists or self-appointed 'experts,' whose credentials are often in an unrelated field. ^[14][15][16]
• Impossible expectations - Seeking to prevent the implementation of sound policies or acceptance of a theory by citing the absence of 'complete' or 'absolute' knowledge.
• Misrepresentations and logical fallacies - Denialists sometimes employ logical fallacies: red herring; straw man; appeal to consequences; false analogy. A fallacy is a component of an Argument which being demonstrably flawed in its Logic or form renders the argument invalid in whole Ignoratio elenchi (also known as irrelevant conclusion or irrelevant thesis) is the Informal fallacy of presenting an argument that may in itself be A straw man argument is an Informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position Appeal to consequences, also known as argumentum ad consequentiam ( Latin: argument to the consequences) is an Argument that concludes a False analogy is an Informal fallacy applying to inductive arguments. An example of the misuse of analogy in arguments is the watchmaker analogy. The watchmaker analogy, or watchmaker Argument, is a Teleological argument for the Existence of God. A common misrepresentation used in the intelligent design movement is the intentional use of the term Darwinism when what is being objected to is evolution. See also Intelligent design The intelligent design movement is a Neo-creationist religious campaign that calls for broad social academic and political Darwinism is a term used for various different movements or concepts related to a greater or lesser extent to Charles Darwin 's work on Evolution. An example of an appeal to consequences is the common neo-creationist claim that an acceptance of evolution (Darwinism) leads to social ills such as the atrocities committed by Hitler's Nazi regime. Neo-creationism is a movement whose goal is to restate Creationism in terms more likely to be well received by the public policy makers educators and the Scientific community Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German ^[17] Which is furthermore, an example of cherry-picking, since Hitler also appealed to religion, germ theory, and animal husbandry. Cherry picking may also refer to the process of Collecting erroneous Coins Cherry picking is the act of pointing at individual cases or The germ theory, also called the pathogenic theory of medicine, is a Theory that proposes that Microorganisms are the cause of many Diseases. Animal husbandry, also called Animal science, stockbreeding or simple husbandry, is the agricultural practice of breeding

Additional propaganda techniques that, while sometimes convincing, are not necessarily valid include: flag-waving, glittering generalities, intentional vagueness, oversimplification, rationalization, slogans, stereotyping, testimonial, unstated assumption. Propaganda is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people Glittering generalities (also called "glowing generalities" are emotionally appealing words so closely associated with highly-valued concepts and beliefs that they carry conviction Propaganda is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people The fallacy of the single cause, also known as joint effect or casual oversimplification, is a logical Fallacy of causation that occurs when A slogan is a memorable Motto or Phrase used in a Political, commercial, Religious and other context as a repetitive expression of A stereotype (from Greek: stereo + týpos = "solid impression" is a generalized perception of first impressions behaviors presumed by a group For the use of the term testimonial in sport (especially Football) see Testimonial match. Unstated assumption is a type of Propaganda message which foregoes explicitly communicating the propaganda's purpose and instead states ideas derived from it

Ideological denialism

Ideologies that conflict with commonly accepted scientific theories or facts can drive their holders to engage in personal forms of denial, either to favor their personal beliefs, or to avoid having to reconcile those beliefs with contradictory evidence. ^[18]

Common forms of denialism arising from ideologies are holocaust denial, AIDS denialism, the vaccine controversy, and the creation-evolution controversy. AIDS denialism refers to the views of a loosely connected group of individuals and organizations who deny that the Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV is the cause of acquired A vaccine controversy is a dispute over the morality ethics effectiveness or safety of Vaccination. The creation-evolution controversy (also termed the creation vs ^[19]

Corporate denialism

International corporations such as ExxonMobil have been heavily criticized for contributing to scientists and scientific experimentation disputing the scientific consensus on global climate change. The Exxon Mobil Corporation, or ExxonMobil, is an American oil and gas Corporation and a direct descendant of John D National and international science academies and professional societies have assessed the current scientific opinion on climate change, in particular recent Global warming. Global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the ^[7] ExxonMobil has strenuously denied the accusations, stating that "The recycling of this type of discredited conspiracy theory diverts attention from the real challenge at hand: how to provide the energy needed to improve global living standards while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A conspiracy theory attributes the ultimate cause of an event or chain of events (usually Political, Social or Historical events or the concealment Mitigation of global warming involves taking actions to reduce Greenhouse gas emissions and to enhance sinks aimed at reducing the extent of Global warming Greenhouse gases are gaseous constituents of the atmosphere bothnatural and anthropogenic that absorb and emit radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of thermal infrared "^[20] Newsweek^[21] and Mother Jones^[22] have published articles stating corporations are funding the climate change denial "denial industry". Newsweek is an American weekly Newsmagazine published in New York City. Mary Harris Jones ( May 1, 1830 or August 1, 1837 – November 30, 1930) better known as Mother Jones, born in Climate change denial describes efforts to counter all or part of the theory of global climate change when those involved are believed to be acting out of vested interests rather

Political denialism

The current Bush Administration's replacement of previous science advisers with industry experts or scientists tied to industry, and its refusal to submit the Kyoto Protocol for ratification due to uncertainties they assert are present in the climate change issue, have been cited as examples of politically motivated denialism by the press. The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the international Framework Convention on Climate Change with the objective of reducing Greenhouse gases in an effort ^[23][24][25] The general class of genocide denial, of which holocaust denial is a subset, is another form of political denialism. Genocide denial occurs when an otherwise accepted act of Genocide is met with attempts to deny the occurrence and minimize the scale or death toll Holocaust denial is the claim that the Genocide of Jews during World War II —usually referred to as The Holocaust —did not occur in the ^[26]

Conspiracy theories and cranks

Denialism also takes the form of conspiracy theories, such as the government blew up the World Trade Center, not terrorists, and the Apollo Moon Landing hoax accusations. A conspiracy theory attributes the ultimate cause of an event or chain of events (usually Political, Social or Historical events or the concealment A variety of conspiracy theories question the mainstream account of the September 11 attacks in the United States.

The Hoofnagle brothers say cranks are a common form of denialism. "Crank" is a Pejorative term for a person who either holds some belief which the vast majority of his contemporaries would consider false is eccentric (especially ^[27] Chris, an attorney and consumer protection advocate, is the author of The Denialists' Deck of Cards which defines the common attributes of denialism. ^[28]

See also

• Denial
• Agnotology
• Anti-intellectualism
• Artificial controversy
• Astroturfing
• Creation science
• Disinformation
• False flag
• Fear, uncertainty and doubt
• Galileo Gambit
• Contemporary Heresy
• Non-denial denial
• Obscurantism
• Politicization of science
• Politics of global warming
• Propaganda
• Revisionism
• Tax protester

References

External links

• Smith TC, Novella SP (2007) HIV Denial in the Internet Era. Tara C Smith is an American assistant professor of Epidemiology in the College of Public Health at the University of Iowa, deputy director of the PLoS Med 4(8): e256 doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0040256 - Compares HIV denialism to other major forms of denialism. The Public Library of Science (PLoS is a nonprofit open-access scientific publishing project aimed at creating a library of Open access journals and other Scientific A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document.
• The denial industry, The Guardian, 19 September 2006
• ExxonSecrets.org, Using data found in Exxon official documents, this site lists those organizations that have either taken money from Exxon or that work closely with those that have, and which present unfavorable findings from other organizations as "junk science" while labelling the findings they welcome as "sound science"
• Denialism blog at Scienceblogs
• Denialists Give Up Blog. Events 335 - Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle Constantine I. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Exxon is a brand of fuel sold by ExxonMobil. History Exxon formally replaced the Esso, Enco, Junk science is a term used in US political and legal disputes that brands an advocate's claims about scientific Data, Research, The term "sound science" has been used in public policy discussions usually in contrast to " Junk science " ScienceBlogs is an invitation-only Blog network and Virtual community.
• The Denialists' Deck of Cards explains how corporate lobbyists use denialism tactics to defeat reform legislation.
• Arm Yourself Against DNA Denialsim a graduate student spoof.

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