There’s No Denying Denialism

The Washington Post is featuring a special edition, “Truth or Denial.” Read it, here.

Two main points: 1. At different times in history, people have denied uncomfortable truths. 2. We are in a period of surging denialism.

Here is the timeline:

1633: People reject Copernicus’ view that the earth orbits the sun because the Catholic Church insisted that earth was the center of the universe.

1849: A British writer, Samuel Birley Rownbotham, revives the then-long long repudiated idea that the earth is flat. His writing spawned a movement that led to the Flat earth Society (1956).

1925: Evolution theory is made illegal. Tennessee passed a law that criminalized the teaching of evolution. That led to the conviction of John Scopes.

1945: A Japanese soldier who was sent to fend off Americans in the Philippines was captured. He insisted that the war was not over for the next 30 years when his former commanding officer relieved him of his duties.

1989: Auschwitz denial: A pro-Nazi historian, David Irving, started a “successful” lecture tour wherein he argued that the death camp was a hoax. It has led to a contemporary movement of followers.

1994: Nicotine isn’t addictive, according to seven CEOs of tobacco companies who testified before Congress.

1998: A research article concludes that vaccines cause autism. It turns out the research was based on fraud and conflicts of interest, and many studies have debunked this finding. Still, there is a widespread movement that opposes vaccines on these grounds.

2000: Poverty causes AIDS. South African president Thabo Mbeki denied the scientific proof that HIV causes AIDS.

2004: Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. This was the official position of the U.S. government. Contrary to this fiction, Hans Blix, the lead weapons inspector in Iraq, had said for years that Iraq did not have WMD.

2006: Americans caused the 9/11 attack. Kevin Barrett, a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin, is a leading proponent of this crackpot view.

2015: GMO foods are harmful. This is false, according to numerous studies.

2015: Humans do not cause climate change. Sen. James Inhofe (R. Ok.) testifies that the polar vortex of 2014 disproves what the consensus view of virtually all scientists.

....

2016 (my addition): Our denialist reactions to Trump/Clinton assertions in their campaigns. Yes, Hillary engages in pay-to-play politics; and yes, Donald sexually assaults women.

If you want to share a denial—and if I receive enough—I’ll publish these additional denials. Write to me at m-leroy@illinois.edu.