Chapter 2. Manipulation in exceptional times

Abstract

This chapter offers a cognitively-grounded account of manipulative strategies speakers may use to challenge and discredit scientific discourse in times of crisis, in which the perceived reliability of scientific communication is vulnerable. Specifically, we explore how such an overwhelming context is ideally suited for manipulative attempts to spread misinformation. We illustrate our account by analysing two strategies: one by which political authorities attempted to discredit scientific expertise, and one by which minority experts tried to weaken mainstream scientific expertise. In so doing, we provide a principled account of the way manipulation targeting expert voices in public discourse can affect an audience’s epistemic vigilance mechanisms, while offering insights into the role overwhelming contexts can play in bringing about these manipulative effects.