An Australian scientist was fired for saying controversial things about the health of the Great Barrier Reef which he'd been studying for decades. There was also a case in psychology where a researcher admitted writing the wrong conclusion to his paper out of fear of negative reaction from his peers. Now imagine all the researchers who are clinging onto their jobs by their fingernails and what kinds of career-ending risks they're prepared to take. It's not going to be an organized conspiracy, but there certainly are pressures pushing scientists into conformity with any politically sensitive topics.