Despite all conspiracy thinkers, corona provides more confidence in science

With the media attention for types like Willem Engel and other conspiracy theorists, the picture may be that trust in science is on the wane, but the numbers show something completely different.

Dutch people trust the science significantly more than three years ago, according to research by the Rathenau Institute. The average figure rose from 7.1 to 7.4. That’s the highest score since 2012, when the triennial confidence survey was first held.

Influence corona big

The influence of corona seems great. The Dutch who indicate that their confidence has increased (almost a quarter of the total) often refer to the speed with which scientists have been able to develop a vaccine against the virus.

It is striking that the smaller group who say that their confidence has decreased (16%), also refers to the rapid development of the vaccines as an explanation. ‘You see that people observe the same phenomena, but interpret them differently’, says director Melanie Peters of the Rathenau Institute.

–