I just listened to an incredibly in‑depth, insightful episode of Your Undivided Attention—the Center for Humane Technology’s podcast—featuring historian Naomi Oreskes1. She breaks down how powerful actors, throughout histroy, weaponize uncertainty, fuel fear and stoke up doubt to avoid accountability. Not by accident, but by design to retain their positions of power and profit

You can listen to the episode here: Weaponizing Uncertainty

The Core Idea: Doubt can be weaponized

In the episode, Oreskes, author of Merchants of Doubt, explains how the concept of uncertainty has been consistently flipped from a driver of scientific rigor or clear fact into a smokescreen for inaction.

Scientific uncertainty, in its honest form, is what pushes inquiry forward. But when deliberately weaponized, it’s used to delay policy, sway public opinion, and shield industries from consequences.

This isn’t new a tatic. It’s a playbook thats repeatedly used.

1. Tobacco & Fire Safety

When cigarettes were found to cause deadly house fires, tobacco companies didn’t accept blame. Instead, they pointed fingers—at flammable pajamas and bedding. They co-opted firefighters to push for flame-retardant clothing, forcing shifts in manufacturing and fashion. Meanwhile, the tobacco industry quietly walked away untouched2.

2. Apartheid South Africa

Despite years of global protest and UN resolutions, Western governments—especially the U.S. and U.K.—resisted meaningful sanctions against the apartheid regime, often minimizing its threat to international peace. Behind the scenes, South Africa launched Muldergate, a covert propaganda operation funding media and front groups abroad to reshape public opinion and deflect criticism3.

3. The Climate Crisis (Still Ongoing)

Fossil fuel companies have long abandoned the goal of disproving climate science. Instead, they fund campaigns that aim to sow doubt—just enough to stall legislation, delay renewable adoption, and keep fossil profits flowing4.

4. Big Tech & Surveillance

From algorithmic manipulation to widespread polarization, the harms caused by digital platforms are well documented. Yet tech companies sidestep accountability by framing regulation as a threat to “innovation” or “free speech,” shifting the narrative instead of solving the problem5.

5. Israel–Palestine & the Humanitarian Blockade

In Gaza, repeated reports of famine are downplayed or denied by those in power. The blame is often deflected onto aid organizations or Hamas, obscuring evidence that starvation is being used deliberately as a tool of war6.

Across all these examples, the tactics repeat:

  • Turn facts into “opinions.”
  • Stall regulation or justice.
  • Protect power and profit.
  • Promote one idealogy or set of beliefs over another.

The Illusion of Debate

Oreskes highlights how the appearance of scientific debate can be more powerful than the science itself—especially when amplified by media and interest groups. As public confidence wavers, action stalls.

1992: The Rio Moment That Could’ve Been

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992 represented a potential turning point. But the fossil fuel industry intervened, using uncertainty as a tool to unravel momentum and policy7.

Ideology Over Evidence

What keeps this playbook effective is ideology. Defenders of unfettered capitalism equate any form of regulation with oppression. By weaponizing the language of freedom and individualism, they shut down collective action before it starts.

But doubtt isn’t necessarily bad. In science, it’s essential. But when its manufactured doubt, that’s a weapon.

So next time you see something labeled “controversial,” ask:

Who benefits from the confusion? And what are they trying to hide?

Footnotes