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New Survey by Stagwell's The Harris Poll Reveals Science is Under Siege
While a majority of Americans say misinformation about science has worsened, 9-in-10 Republicans and Democrats agree US should play leading role in global
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[{"type":"text","content":"While a majority of Americans say misinformation about science has worsened, 9-in-10 Republicans and Democrats agree US should play leading role in global scientific research; only 1-in-5 believe US is leading versus ChinaAmericans primarily point to businesses (23%) and non-profits (19%) to step in, if the government cannot fund scientific research NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 18, 2026 / The Harris Poll, a Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW) agency, announced today the results from a landmark survey, \"Science Under Siege: The Battle Between Viral Misinformation and Shared Belief in the Value of Science,\" sponsored by Bayer. The survey revealed a profound \"misinformation paradox\" at the heart of American life: while 80% of Americans blame social media for false or misleading health and science information in the media and online, these platforms are the public's top source for such news. Underpinning this issue is the emergence of a \"headline-only\" culture, underscored by a staggering 75% of Americans who admit to having shared articles related to health and science with someone they know in the past month based on the headline alone and without reading the full article first. The same poll found that 71% of Americans say that online content creators are very or somewhat to blame for misinformation about science and health.Misinformation around health and science could be affecting trust in credible sources like doctors and scientists, particularly among young adults. The majority of young adults ages 18-34 (51%) rely on social media as their primary source of science and health information and nearly 1-in-5 distrust doctors (16%) and scientists (20%) as sources of information on health and science. Misinformation also carries an emotional toll: 83% of all Americans report feeling angry when encountering false or misleading information about science and health and 82% worry about their own well-being or the well-being of their families.Despite these challenges, the data confirms the need for innovation to improve lives, with the majority of Americans across the political spectrum respecting scientists and agreeing rigorous science is necessary for continued human progress - a rare bipartisan consensus in a divided world.\"This is more than just busy social feeds full of click-bait headlines when half of young adults are ...