Merchants of Doubt (2014) on Netflix
PG-1320141h 36mDocumentary
Tobacco firms developed the tactics: hired voices who cast doubt on findings about health risks. The same approach now appears in fights over toxic flame retardants and climate change.
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- Netflix4.1/5
- IMDb7.6/104,072 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes86%
Trailer
Plot summary
In the 1950s, research linking cigarettes to serious health risks threatened tobacco sales, and the industry answered by cultivating scientists and other persuasive figures who argued that uncertainty justified waiting before any regulation. That delay held off government action long after a scientific consensus formed. A magician's interludes draw the parallel between distracting an audience from a trick and distracting the public from a product's risks. A second case follows the makers of flame retardants, who fought to protect sales once toxic effects were reported. The wider concern is the same machinery pointed at greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, where scientists who study the problem have faced personal threats.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Merchants of Doubt (2014)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Fred Singer, one of the scientists interviewed in the film, wrote to director Robert Kenner saying he was considering a lawsuit. No suit was filed, and Kenner said the implication that litigation would be very expensive was an attempt to intimidate him.
