To a first approximation, nobody actually cares what scientists say. Scientists can publish press releases and hound journalists until they're blue in the face,

To a first approximation, nobody actually cares what scientists say. Scientists can publish press releases and hound journalists until they're blue in the face, but they're not getting on the news unless what they're saying fits into a pre-determined media narrative. They're little more than a useful prop, like the flashy "scientific" graphics in moisturizer commercials. Fox News will wheel out anyone with a PhD who is willing to cast doubt on climate change, Vox will dredge up someone who'll say that NASCAR gives you cancer and we all end up less informed than grade-schoolers. Scientists are largely powerless to "push back" against anything, because they don't control the institutions that disseminate information.