(Dis)trust of/in science and scientists

[Laird]

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01977-9
01 July 2026
Helen Pearson
Nature

But is trust in science really that weak? Researchers studying this have reached some surprising conclusions. From a global perspective, public trust in science and scientists is high, they say. One of the largest studies3, which surveyed nearly 72,000 people across 68 countries in 2022–23, reported a “moderately high” average trust score of 3.6 out of 5. “The idea that there’s a generalized, pervasive lack of trust in science and experts is just completely unfounded in my mind,” says David Bersoff, head of research at the Edelman Trust Institute, a think tank in New York City.

The glass half-empty view, however, has data to support it, too. In a survey of people living in Britain, published in April5, 84% of respondents said they had at least some trust in science. But the proportion who trusted science “a lot” dropped from 63% in 2020 to 34% — one of the “emerging fractures” in trust that the study identified.