Science & Democracy Resources

Chris Borland had a brilliant pro football career in front of him. An All-American in college, he led the 49ers in tackles as a rookie—then suddenly quit the sport for good. What went wrong?

The fossil fuel industry’s problematic dealings with a weak regulatory agency were a factor in the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

The NRA used its influence over a Congressman to codify language preventing the CDC from funding research into gun violence, which kills and injures tens of thousands of people in the US each year.

After an FDA study revealed that chickens treated with Pfizer’s drug, Roxarsone, had dangerously high levels of arsenic in their bodies, the company colluded with the agency to downplay the risks in its communications.

Too often, companies use the Disinformation Playbook to make public policy work for them, instead of for all of us. But the Playbook is not unstoppable—and it's time to push back.

Despite decades of deception on the climate risks of fossil fuel extraction, ExxonMobil for years sponsored the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union, one of the nation’s most prominent scientific associations.

Philip Morris funded university research programs, sometimes with contracts that breach university ethics requirements, as part of a concerted public relations and marketing strategy to improve tobacco’s tarnished image.

The Marcellus Shale Coalition, a fossil fuel trade association, has tried to use the reputation and credibility of universities and its scientists to promote natural gas

The American Chemistry Council worked for decades to downplay formaldehyde risks and to delay and obstruct standards proposed by the EPA.

Trade associations representing indoor tanning salon owners have repeatedly made misleading representations in their advertising and marketing, downplaying evidence of the link between tanning bed exposure and melanoma.

The sugar industry quietly funded public relations firms and front groups to sow disinformation about the health effects of added sugar.

When Dr. John Buse found that a diabetes drug had the side effect of higher risk of heart disease, GlaxoSmithKline officials threatened his integrity and career.