The hatred has become so great that Germany’s universities feel compelled to do something. Together with the foundation Science in dialogue, the Federal Association of University Communications on Thursday Contact point called Scicomm Support for Scientists founded, which are affected by hostilities. Trust in science has grown overall, but in some social groups hostility towards science has recently increased dramatically. The corona pandemic and the climate crisis are real fire accelerators, because they hit people to the core. What scientists paint on the wall in data and calculations on these topics demands a lot from the population in terms of restrictions and willingness to change – whether these are measures against corona viruses or against increasing global warming. This leads to the reflexes that are also known from other debates between gender justice and migration: If the world is changing and you don’t want to change with it, then those who show the need for these changes are the enemy.

Resentment has long since been vented not only against well-known virologists and climate experts such as Christian Drosten and Mojib Latif, but also against many others who are researching socially heated topics. The problem for scientists goes beyond the fundamentally bewildering increase in hatred of those who think differently: scientists are forced to express themselves publicly, even if they don’t want to or maybe aren’t so good at it. Because funding now depends on engagement in public discourse.

It’s not fair to ask that of all scientists. There is no question that the voices of researchers are extremely important in these discourses. Because it is science that can ultimately provide guidance in times of crisis and save this planet. It is therefore important for scientists to find out about their Research contribute to debates. And it’s important to empower them in the process, as Scicomm Support is doing now. Because science also helps against hate and bullying, there are evidence-based strategies on how to deal with it. And yet the obligation to communicate with the public must not apply to everyone. The shy, the quiet, the sensitive, who know they can’t stand the public eye, must be allowed to stay in the ivory tower.