The Science of Spin: Big Pharma Propaganda Techniques

IMO, industry uses psychology to get people to change their behavior far more effectively and scientifically than psychotherapists. In an article in Environmental Health, (2021; 20: 33. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7996119/. Goldberg and Vandenberg describe 28 unique tactics used by industries to manufacture doubt or confusion about science when it serves their interests. These messages are then frequently amplified by perpetuators of doubt – journalists, bloggers, citizen scientists, and lay-people – who, on their own without direct funding, unwittingly disseminate and spread pro-industry spin. The Pharma industry tactics used to manufacture doubt are:

1	Attack Study Design	Emphasize study design flaws in negative studies that have only minimal effects on outcomes. Flaws include issues related to bias, confounding, or sample size
2	Gain Support from Reputable Individuals	Recruit experts or influential people in certain fields (politicians, industry, journals, doctors, scientists, health officials) to defend their biases in order to gain broader support
3	Misrepresent Data	Cherry-pick data, design studies to fail, or conduct meta-analyses to dilute the work of critics
4	Suppress Incriminating Information	Hide information that runs counter to their interests
5	Contribute Misleading Literature	Use literature published in journals or the media to deliberately misinform, or use peripheral topics as a distraction
6	Host Conferences or Seminars	Organize conferences for scientists or relevant stakeholders to provide a space for dissemination of only information in line with their economic interests.
7	Avoid/Abuse Peer-Review	Avoid the peer-review process to publish poor literature, publish without revealing funding sources, use the journal name to add weight to claims, or minimize need for peer-review among lay audiences
8	Employ Hyperbolic or Absolutist Language	Discuss scientific findings in absolutist terms or with hyperbole, using buzzwords to differentiate between “strong” and “poor” science (i.e. sound science, junk science, etc.),
9	Blame Other Causes	Find related, alternative causes for any negative effects that are reported or observed
10	Invoke Liberties/Censorship/ Overregulation	Invoke laws to emphasize equality and rights for expression of their preferred data or interpretations thereof, despite differences in evidence quality
11	Define How to Measure Outcome/Exposure	Attempt to set guidelines for ‘proper’ measurement of exposures or outcomes, while undermining guidelines not in line with what they want.
12	Take Advantage of Scientific Illiteracy (media/individuals)	Emphasize scientific obscurity to confuse lay audiences, or deliberately disseminate unscientific or false but easily digestible information
13	Pose as a Defender of Health or Truth	Represent their goals as health-conscious or dedicated to truth
14	Obscure involvement	Ghostwrite, create shell companies, use attorney client privilege to hide the true source of their data
15	Develop a PR Strategy	Devise methods for specifically reaching public audiences to spread their messages
16	Appeal to Mass Media	Appealing to journalistic balance, developing relationships with media personnel, preparing information for media personnel, invoking the Fairness Doctrine
17	Take Advantage of Victim’s Lack of Money/Influence	Silence or abuse critical individuals by out-spending or exploiting a power imbalance
18	Normalize Negative Outcomes	Normalize the presence of negative effects of their products to reduce their apparent importance and make them seem inevitable
19	Impede Government Regulation	Overwhelm governmental regulatory agencies to slow or stop their function
20	Alter Product to Seem Healthier	Make modifications to harmful product to reduce public appreciation of their negative effects
21	Influence Government/Laws	Gain inappropriate proximity to regulatory bodies and encourage pro-company policies
22	Attack Opponents (scientifically/personally)	Conduct targeted attacks on opponents by undermining their professional or personal reputations
23	Appeal to Emotion	Manipulate an audiences’ emotions to draw support for their claims in the absence of facts
24	Inappropriately Question Causality	Argue that correlation does not equal causation despite the presence of strong evidence
25	Make Straw Man Arguments	Publicly refute an argument that was not even made by the opposition
26	Abuse Credentials	Use qualifications in one discipline to assume authority in another discipline
27	Abuse Data Access Requests	Requesting access to data in order to misrepresent and attack, employing Shelby Amendment, Freedom of Information Act, etc..
28	Claim Slippery Slope	Illogically or falsely claiming that there will be disastrous consequences if their ideology is not supported