"The study revealed that, while transparency about good news increases
trust, transparency about bad news, such as conflicts of interest or
failed experiments, decreases it. Therefore, one possible solution to
the paradox, and a way to increase public trust, is to lie (which Hyde
points out is unethical and ultimately unsustainable), by for example
making sure bad news is hidden and that there is always only good news
to report.
Instead, he suggests that a better way forward would be to tackle the
root cause of the problem, which he argues is the public overidealising
science. People still overwhelmingly believe in the 'storybook image' of
a scientist who makes no mistakes, which creates unrealistic
expectations. Hyde is calling for a renewed effort to teach the public
about scientific norms, which would be done through science education
and communication to eliminate the "naive" view of science as
infallible. "
Source: https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/08/01/2254211/lying-increases-trust-in-science-study-finds
