Populist views of science: how social media, political affiliation, and Alt-Right support affect scientific attitudes in the United States

Abstract

ABSTRACT The growth of populist movements in the US necessitates further understanding of how they use social media and evaluate elites. Work on populist attitudes suggests skepticism of elites is not limited to political domains but extends into online and scientific spaces. This study draws on the recently articulated concept of science populism as well as social media usage to examine Alt-Right and institutional partisans’ attitudes toward scientific elites. Using an online survey our findings are threefold: first, Alt-Right supporters hold stronger science populist beliefs than Republicans/Democrats; second, heavy social media use bridges the gap in partisans’ science populist beliefs, as Democrats come to hold more populist attitudes with increased social media use; and third, science populist beliefs are associated with maladaptive health behaviors through lower COVID-19 vaccine intentions. We discuss implications for understanding how political affiliation and social media use are associated with populist attitudes and their potential to cause individual and societal harms.