What does science fiction have to do with this?

The real culprit is an established and generously funded PR - "public manipulation" - industry which is dedicated to misleading and misinforming the public in general, and lobbying selected politicians in particular.

Lead in petrol, smoking, toxic weedkillers, unsafe vehicles, and many other money-making aberrations have all been defended by these operations. Anti-masking and climate change denialism are just the latest toxic outputs from this industry.

It's very disappointing to see a scientist complain about scientific illiteracy and then attack the wrong people for it.