Inspired by the acclaimed book by Harvard historian Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway, Merchants of Doubt is a satiric yet serious examination into the heart of conjuring American spin. Filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the curtain on a secretive group of charismatic pundits-for-hire and pseudo-scientists, paid for by multinational energy businesses, who present themselves in the media as scientific authorities -- yet have the contrary aim of spreading maximum confusion about well-studied threats ranging from smoking and toxic chemicals to pharmaceuticals and, in recent years, climate change. By fabricating false arguments, they work to muddle the scientific debate on global warming to slow the cause of progress and defer public action for as long as possible.
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New America