Today, issues about which facts really matter – for example, the safety of genetically modified foods, the hazards of extracting shale oil and gas, and the impact of global warming – are debated without regard for scientific evidence or in ways that use distorted and cherry-picked information to promote a chosen position. Politicians and activists portray these issues as social struggles or morality plays: big businesses against small farmers, oppressors versus liberators, or conspirators seeking to deceive innocent citizens.
要是这一情景真的发生就好了。如今，在什么才是真正重要的事实这一问题上——比如，转基因食品的安全性、提炼页岩油气的风险性以及全球变暖的影响等——争论完全不顾科学证据，或使用扭曲、偏颇的信息论证预先选定的立场。政客和活动家将这些问题包装成社会斗争或道德表演：大公司与小农民之争、镇压者与解放者之争，或者用阴谋论蒙骗天真的公民。