Taking sides: a case of political ideology influence in reporting neuroscience

Abstract

Science as a human enterprise of search for knowledge has largely benefited not only from the development of the scientific method, but also from the practice of technical and lay reporting of its findings. In view of this, doing science in society is an activity that relates to a myriad of actors besides the scientist and in which journalists and others are included. Therefore, all these actors may leave a mark in the scientific process as a whole, according to adopted ideologies of many kinds, including political and partisan. Although the quantity and quality of such influences in science are still a matter of debate, getting to know them seems to be of undisputable importance. In this opinion paper, we present the fundamental topics about the scientific method and scientific reporting, as well as the relationships science holds with politics, with a special interest on those concerning scientific reporting to the lay public. For this, we proceed with a more thoughtful analysis of a representative case illustrating the influence of political-partisan ideology in the reporting of neuroscience findings: the electronic media coverage following the demonstration of the robotic exoskeleton during the opening of World Soccer Cup in Brazil. We conclude by revisiting discussions in the literature to put the issue into a proper perspective that may help in the important dialogue between science and journalism