It's almost as if regulated industries continue to follow the historical script known as the #ManufactureOfDoubt in efforts to create a regulatory vacuum.
The denial of causation is the centerpiece of this script, but it is not the only technique used.
The denial of causation is the centerpiece of this script, but it is not the only technique used.
This release of Meta documents is a deeply shocking look at how tech tries to steer & control science.
It's normal for crisis comms teams to ask how to counter scientists who criticize their employers. But here's what's especially shocking in these docs:
cailinoconnor.substack.com/p/its-now-of...
It's normal for crisis comms teams to ask how to counter scientists who criticize their employers. But here's what's especially shocking in these docs:
cailinoconnor.substack.com/p/its-now-of...
It’s now official, tech is the new tobacco
New court documents make clearer than ever that Meta has been working hard to control the scientific narrative on their products
cailinoconnor.substack.com
October 28, 2026 at 2:46 AM
It's almost as if regulated industries continue to follow the historical script known as the #ManufactureOfDoubt in efforts to create a regulatory vacuum.
The denial of causation is the centerpiece of this script, but it is not the only technique used.
The denial of causation is the centerpiece of this script, but it is not the only technique used.
Important in thinking about ghost management, pharma marketing, and the #ManufactureOfDoubt. #PHLaw #PHEthics #Bioethics
Read the article: bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/1...
Industry strategies to market opioids to children and women in the USA: a content analysis of internal industry documents from 1999 to 2017 released in State of Oklahoma v. Purdue Pharma, L.P. et al
Objective Identify advertising strategies used to market opioids to women and children.
Design Qualitative content analysis of internal pharmaceutical industry documents released in litigation, dated...
bmjopen.bmj.com
July 27, 2026 at 4:03 PM
Important in thinking about ghost management, pharma marketing, and the #ManufactureOfDoubt. #PHLaw #PHEthics #Bioethics
This is an important intervention showing how the #ManufactureOfDoubt is an historical script that regulated industries deploy to achieve their political & economic ends ACROSS different industries. Here, the "better-for-you" technique is a tried-and-true device used since the 1950s at least.
#TobRegSky #PedSky #MedSky #pulmsky #EpiSky #addictionsci #policysky #polisky 🧪🛟 🫁💊
In the 1970-90s Big Tobacco owned the major US food companies, RJR-Nabisco, Philip Morris- Kraft General Foods, and turbocharged sales and development of ultraprocessed foods, changing the American diet ...
In the 1970-90s Big Tobacco owned the major US food companies, RJR-Nabisco, Philip Morris- Kraft General Foods, and turbocharged sales and development of ultraprocessed foods, changing the American diet ...
Tobacco Industry Contributions to the Development of Ultraprocessed Food in the United States, 1985‒2007: A Case Study of Lunchables | AJPH | Vol. Issue
We need to know how ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) are designed and formulated to better understand why these products cause overeating and weight gain, and how to apply appropriate guardrails. This info...
ajph.aphapublications.org
June 8, 2026 at 3:57 PM
This is an important intervention showing how the #ManufactureOfDoubt is an historical script that regulated industries deploy to achieve their political & economic ends ACROSS different industries. Here, the "better-for-you" technique is a tried-and-true device used since the 1950s at least.
It's weird being a content expert on conflicts of interest when the conflicts are so overt and blatant. Like we can't even discuss all the techniques of hiding and the #ManufactureOfDoubt when the conflicts are just part of the design
April 23, 2026 at 1:47 AM
It's weird being a content expert on conflicts of interest when the conflicts are so overt and blatant. Like we can't even discuss all the techniques of hiding and the #ManufactureOfDoubt when the conflicts are just part of the design
All of these claims are bog-standard devices used in the historical script known as the #ManufactureOfDoubt. I describe them in detail in my book on the subject. #HistPubHealth #PHEthx #RegulatoryCapture #Bioethics #PublicHealthLaw
press.jhu.edu/books/title/...
press.jhu.edu/books/title/...
April 22, 2026 at 6:22 PM
All of these claims are bog-standard devices used in the historical script known as the #ManufactureOfDoubt. I describe them in detail in my book on the subject. #HistPubHealth #PHEthx #RegulatoryCapture #Bioethics #PublicHealthLaw
press.jhu.edu/books/title/...
press.jhu.edu/books/title/...
I draw on Rosner & Markowitz's classic text on the history of #silicosis & the foundry industry in my recent book on the #ManufactureOfDoubt.
(press.umich.edu/Books/D/Dead...)
(press.jhu.edu/books/title/...)
Thus, once more, w/ feeling:
WHAT. 👏🏻 IS. 👏🏻 NEW. 👏🏻 IS. 👏🏻 OLD.
#HistPubHealth #HistSTM 🗃
(press.umich.edu/Books/D/Dead...)
(press.jhu.edu/books/title/...)
Thus, once more, w/ feeling:
WHAT. 👏🏻 IS. 👏🏻 NEW. 👏🏻 IS. 👏🏻 OLD.
#HistPubHealth #HistSTM 🗃
Quartz Cutters Are Falling Ill. Countertop Makers Want Protection From Congress.
www.nytimes.com
March 16, 2026 at 4:27 PM
I draw on Rosner & Markowitz's classic text on the history of #silicosis & the foundry industry in my recent book on the #ManufactureOfDoubt.
(press.umich.edu/Books/D/Dead...)
(press.jhu.edu/books/title/...)
Thus, once more, w/ feeling:
WHAT. 👏🏻 IS. 👏🏻 NEW. 👏🏻 IS. 👏🏻 OLD.
#HistPubHealth #HistSTM 🗃
(press.umich.edu/Books/D/Dead...)
(press.jhu.edu/books/title/...)
Thus, once more, w/ feeling:
WHAT. 👏🏻 IS. 👏🏻 NEW. 👏🏻 IS. 👏🏻 OLD.
#HistPubHealth #HistSTM 🗃
As Dr. Bachynski and I have been arguing for years, the notion that better technology can make the hazardous product safer is itself a risk frame shift. It is also a tried-and-true technique in the #ManufactureOfDoubt (e.g., "low-tar cigarettes").
Oh man, the amount of buzzwords in this… It is hilarious to see this introduced as a “data-driven quest” before the actual text of the article acknowledges: “The safety gains are difficult to quantify.” (Are there even any safety gains at all? It’s not clear to me.)
@profgoldberg.bsky.social
@profgoldberg.bsky.social
The evolution of the football helmet, a critical safety device, has accelerated in recent years, driven by concerns over the long-term effects of concussions, new concepts and materials, and data-driven test protocols.
Learn more: https://scim.ag/4r6nrYQ
Learn more: https://scim.ag/4r6nrYQ
February 9, 2026 at 3:14 PM
As Dr. Bachynski and I have been arguing for years, the notion that better technology can make the hazardous product safer is itself a risk frame shift. It is also a tried-and-true technique in the #ManufactureOfDoubt (e.g., "low-tar cigarettes").
If you read my book on collision sports, TBI, & ethics, you'll note that the technological imperative, the notion that we can substantially reduce risk thru improved tech, is part of the #ManufactureOfDoubt.
@bachynski.bsky.social is the real expert on this in context of helmets, so read her work!
@bachynski.bsky.social is the real expert on this in context of helmets, so read her work!
The Questionable Science Behind the Odd-Looking Football Helmets
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 7:57 PM
If you read my book on collision sports, TBI, & ethics, you'll note that the technological imperative, the notion that we can substantially reduce risk thru improved tech, is part of the #ManufactureOfDoubt.
@bachynski.bsky.social is the real expert on this in context of helmets, so read her work!
@bachynski.bsky.social is the real expert on this in context of helmets, so read her work!
The foundry industry advanced that script in fighting regs to protect against ... silicosis. The details of this are covered meticulously in Rosner & Markowitz's canonical "Deadly Dust," but a better proof of the notion that the #ManufactureOfDoubt is a script would be difficult to find.
2/
2/
Deadly Dust
During the Depression, silicosis, an industrial lung disease, emerged as a national social crisis. Experts estimated that hundreds of thousands of workers were at risk of disease, disability, and deat...
press.umich.edu
January 14, 2026 at 11:33 PM
The foundry industry advanced that script in fighting regs to protect against ... silicosis. The details of this are covered meticulously in Rosner & Markowitz's canonical "Deadly Dust," but a better proof of the notion that the #ManufactureOfDoubt is a script would be difficult to find.
2/
2/
Dr. Michaels is obviously aware of this, but it's critical to u-stand the #ManufactureOfDoubt as an historical script that regulated industries have deployed for at least 150 years.
The grotesque irony here is that during the 1920s, 30s, and 40s +
1/
The grotesque irony here is that during the 1920s, 30s, and 40s +
1/
Hundreds of workers who fabricate artificial stone countertops have developed silicosis. Dozens have died. Manufacturers of the product have known for years about the risk but have done nothing.
Tomorrow, I will be testifying against legislation prohibiting lawsuits by workers with silicosis. 1/ 🧵
Tomorrow, I will be testifying against legislation prohibiting lawsuits by workers with silicosis. 1/ 🧵
Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Protecting the American Stone Slab Industry from Lawfare
judiciary.house.gov
January 14, 2026 at 11:33 PM
Dr. Michaels is obviously aware of this, but it's critical to u-stand the #ManufactureOfDoubt as an historical script that regulated industries have deployed for at least 150 years.
The grotesque irony here is that during the 1920s, 30s, and 40s +
1/
The grotesque irony here is that during the 1920s, 30s, and 40s +
1/
If only someone had spent the last decade writing about unreasonable demands for proof of causation as a key component in the #ManufactureOfDoubt.
muse.jhu.edu/article/627259
muse.jhu.edu/article/627259
December 3, 2025 at 7:26 PM
If only someone had spent the last decade writing about unreasonable demands for proof of causation as a key component in the #ManufactureOfDoubt.
muse.jhu.edu/article/627259
muse.jhu.edu/article/627259
The #ManufactureOfDoubt is an historical script that regulated industries use in pursuing their political and economic goals. Many of the issues noted by the editor are known techniques deployed in #agnotology.
I wrote about a lot of this in my book; also see work of @drtomori.bsky.social
I wrote about a lot of this in my book; also see work of @drtomori.bsky.social
The seminal paper that has been used for 25 years to justify that the use of #Glyphosate is safe has been retracted.
RETRACTED: Safety Evaluation and Risk Assessment of the Herbicide Roundup and Its Active Ingredient, Glyphosate, for Humans
www.sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
RETRACTED: Safety Evaluation and Risk Assessment of the Herbicide Roundup and Its Active Ingredient, Glyphosate, for Humans
www.sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
December 2, 2025 at 1:51 AM
The #ManufactureOfDoubt is an historical script that regulated industries use in pursuing their political and economic goals. Many of the issues noted by the editor are known techniques deployed in #agnotology.
I wrote about a lot of this in my book; also see work of @drtomori.bsky.social
I wrote about a lot of this in my book; also see work of @drtomori.bsky.social
The 1890s are everything. The Second Book, an unpublished intellectual history of the X-ray, is situated around 1895 (Röentgen’s first X-ray).
The Third Book, out now, roots the #ManufactureOfDoubt in the railroad industry, and little doubt the 1890s are the quintessential decade for this focus.
The Third Book, out now, roots the #ManufactureOfDoubt in the railroad industry, and little doubt the 1890s are the quintessential decade for this focus.
I keep alternating between thinking that studying the 1890s is completely useless and thinking it's the key to everything.
December 14, 2024 at 5:28 AM
The 1890s are everything. The Second Book, an unpublished intellectual history of the X-ray, is situated around 1895 (Röentgen’s first X-ray).
The Third Book, out now, roots the #ManufactureOfDoubt in the railroad industry, and little doubt the 1890s are the quintessential decade for this focus.
The Third Book, out now, roots the #ManufactureOfDoubt in the railroad industry, and little doubt the 1890s are the quintessential decade for this focus.
We are going to need to think more on, talk more about, and devise ways to counter public health law vacuums. This is a concept on which I began work during early part of the COVID pandemic, but its role in the #ManufactureOfDoubt, the deregulatory political movement, cannot be overstated. #PHLaw
Thanks.
I've been thinking quite a lot about public health law vacuums and think that is much more likely to be the case moving forward: It's not quite as much the laws we have as the ones we *did* have but no longer do and/or the ones we *could* have but do not. :-(
I've been thinking quite a lot about public health law vacuums and think that is much more likely to be the case moving forward: It's not quite as much the laws we have as the ones we *did* have but no longer do and/or the ones we *could* have but do not. :-(
November 6, 2024 at 9:47 PM
We are going to need to think more on, talk more about, and devise ways to counter public health law vacuums. This is a concept on which I began work during early part of the COVID pandemic, but its role in the #ManufactureOfDoubt, the deregulatory political movement, cannot be overstated. #PHLaw
Altho it's been out in the world, today is the official publication day for my book!!! The title indicates it's a book about concussion and American tackle football, which is true, but really this is a book about regulated industries' use of the #ManufactureOfDoubt in ways that harm public health.
Tackle Football and Traumatic Brain Injuries
A timely look at the ethical, legal, and policy issues surrounding brain injury and collision sports.American tackle football is an industry like any other. And like many industries, it sells a produc...
press.jhu.edu
October 22, 2024 at 5:25 PM
Altho it's been out in the world, today is the official publication day for my book!!! The title indicates it's a book about concussion and American tackle football, which is true, but really this is a book about regulated industries' use of the #ManufactureOfDoubt in ways that harm public health.
“Safer than ever” keeps coming up as a key message, probably part of a coordinated comms strategy in at least some quarters.
I discuss the role of this move in the #ManufactureOfDoubt but there’s obviously more work to do in countering this framing in public reason. 😡😡😡
I discuss the role of this move in the #ManufactureOfDoubt but there’s obviously more work to do in countering this framing in public reason. 😡😡😡
September 4, 2024 at 9:19 PM
“Safer than ever” keeps coming up as a key message, probably part of a coordinated comms strategy in at least some quarters.
I discuss the role of this move in the #ManufactureOfDoubt but there’s obviously more work to do in countering this framing in public reason. 😡😡😡
I discuss the role of this move in the #ManufactureOfDoubt but there’s obviously more work to do in countering this framing in public reason. 😡😡😡
If you're interested, I have multiple publications on COIs you can check out, and chapter 4 of the forthcoming book is literally all about the role of COIs and #MotivatedBias in the #ManufactureOfDoubt.
7/7
#PHLaw #PHEthx #ScholarTeacher #PublicHealthLaw #PublicHealthEthics #PolicyStudies
7/7
#PHLaw #PHEthx #ScholarTeacher #PublicHealthLaw #PublicHealthEthics #PolicyStudies
May 29, 2024 at 10:05 PM
If you're interested, I have multiple publications on COIs you can check out, and chapter 4 of the forthcoming book is literally all about the role of COIs and #MotivatedBias in the #ManufactureOfDoubt.
7/7
#PHLaw #PHEthx #ScholarTeacher #PublicHealthLaw #PublicHealthEthics #PolicyStudies
7/7
#PHLaw #PHEthx #ScholarTeacher #PublicHealthLaw #PublicHealthEthics #PolicyStudies
Securing partnerships with academics is a core part of the #ManufactureOfDoubt for regulated industries.
Read all about it my forthcoming book!
www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/...
PS Disclosure is an absolutely ineffective remedy for the ethical problems posed by COos pass it on
Read all about it my forthcoming book!
www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/...
PS Disclosure is an absolutely ineffective remedy for the ethical problems posed by COos pass it on
May 7, 2024 at 12:59 AM
Securing partnerships with academics is a core part of the #ManufactureOfDoubt for regulated industries.
Read all about it my forthcoming book!
www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/...
PS Disclosure is an absolutely ineffective remedy for the ethical problems posed by COos pass it on
Read all about it my forthcoming book!
www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/...
PS Disclosure is an absolutely ineffective remedy for the ethical problems posed by COos pass it on
My editor doesn't necessarily agree with this take, but IMO this is really a book about the #ManufactureOfDoubt and public health. TBI and collision sports is more of the case study.
But if you're at all interested in #agnotology, occupational health, regulatory capture, etc., it's all in there.
But if you're at all interested in #agnotology, occupational health, regulatory capture, etc., it's all in there.
Hey BlueSky - guess what?
My book has an official page w/ @hopkinspress.bsky.social!!!
press.jhu.edu/books/title/...
It can also be pre-ordered @ many of the usual outlets.
#PHLaw #PublicHealthLaw #PHEthx #PublicHealthEthics #HistoryAndPolicy #HistPubHealth #Excited #ScholarTeacher
My book has an official page w/ @hopkinspress.bsky.social!!!
press.jhu.edu/books/title/...
It can also be pre-ordered @ many of the usual outlets.
#PHLaw #PublicHealthLaw #PHEthx #PublicHealthEthics #HistoryAndPolicy #HistPubHealth #Excited #ScholarTeacher
Tackle Football and Traumatic Brain Injuries
Daniel S. Goldbergforeword by Christopher Nowinski
press.jhu.edu
May 1, 2024 at 10:14 PM
My editor doesn't necessarily agree with this take, but IMO this is really a book about the #ManufactureOfDoubt and public health. TBI and collision sports is more of the case study.
But if you're at all interested in #agnotology, occupational health, regulatory capture, etc., it's all in there.
But if you're at all interested in #agnotology, occupational health, regulatory capture, etc., it's all in there.
From the introduction of products into the stream of commerce that prove injurious to public health. Regulated industries wield these settlements as part of larger political economies and the phenomenon itself is at least somewhat connected to the #ManufactureOfDoubt.
2/
2/
April 29, 2024 at 5:32 PM
From the introduction of products into the stream of commerce that prove injurious to public health. Regulated industries wield these settlements as part of larger political economies and the phenomenon itself is at least somewhat connected to the #ManufactureOfDoubt.
2/
2/
The tobacco industry did not invent the script. In my forthcoming book I trace it most significantly to the railroad industry. But of course the tobacco industry did more to refine, apply, and innovate new techniques in the #ManufactureOfDoubt than any other.
+
+
February 9, 2024 at 3:40 AM
The tobacco industry did not invent the script. In my forthcoming book I trace it most significantly to the railroad industry. But of course the tobacco industry did more to refine, apply, and innovate new techniques in the #ManufactureOfDoubt than any other.
+
+
But of course this is the point -- the #ManufactureOfDoubt is an historical script that commercial industries have used repeatedly to accomplish their political and economic goals.
There is zero coincidence b/c the USian tackle football industry is working through the script. +
There is zero coincidence b/c the USian tackle football industry is working through the script. +
Asher had no shortage of examples when he was putting together slides for us to present on this!
February 9, 2024 at 3:38 AM
But of course this is the point -- the #ManufactureOfDoubt is an historical script that commercial industries have used repeatedly to accomplish their political and economic goals.
There is zero coincidence b/c the USian tackle football industry is working through the script. +
There is zero coincidence b/c the USian tackle football industry is working through the script. +
The whole saga here is outrageous, a paradigm example of the #ManufactureOfDoubt and the critical role regulatory bodies and the modern administrative state plays in public health.
Not great that the ban only applies to the US and the products will still be sold elsewhere.
Not great that the ban only applies to the US and the products will still be sold elsewhere.
Philips Suspends U.S. Sales of Breathing Machines After Recall
Under a settlement with regulators, the company must revamp some operations before resuming sales of its CPAP and ventilator devices in the United States.
www.nytimes.com
January 30, 2024 at 8:43 PM
The whole saga here is outrageous, a paradigm example of the #ManufactureOfDoubt and the critical role regulatory bodies and the modern administrative state plays in public health.
Not great that the ban only applies to the US and the products will still be sold elsewhere.
Not great that the ban only applies to the US and the products will still be sold elsewhere.
I have sleep apnea and I’ve refused to use a CPAP machine despite the consequences (no matter how much I sleep I rarely feel well-rested) because I am a fricking scholar of the #ManufactureOfDoubt
This is making me blindingly furious. I used one of the recalled machines for years. Was it the reason I ended up in the hospital with pneumonia one fall? I might never know and that just makes me madder. www.propublica.org/article/phil...
Philips Kept Complaints About Dangerous Breathing Machines Secret While Company Profits Soared
Tainted CPAP machines and ventilators went to children, the elderly and at least 700,000 veterans despite internal warnings. Company insiders said the devices posed an “unacceptable” risk.
www.propublica.org
September 28, 2023 at 9:04 PM
I have sleep apnea and I’ve refused to use a CPAP machine despite the consequences (no matter how much I sleep I rarely feel well-rested) because I am a fricking scholar of the #ManufactureOfDoubt
