When the controversial conservative politician Hubert Ivangerdeputy prime minister of Bavaria, mocked him for his very youthful presentation, calling him a “kid” in a post on X, the environmentalist Christian Sarun he didn’t take it to heart. Instead he chose to take it a bit in stride and republish Ivanger’s post, writing in a slightly ironic tone: “I lived this too, to be insulted by Hubert Ivanger.” As Sharon later commented, “it is bad to judge people not based on their works, but based on their gender, age or appearance”.

The 31-year-old scientist consciously chooses to ignore derogatory comments about how petite he looks. But there are also times when he has been insulted by even calling him a fascist. Comments like “shut your stupid mouth” are among the coolest. “I could have made quite a few complaints, even on a daily basis,” says the former researcher at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), who now works for the team of environmental journalist Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim.

Many other scientists have a similar treatment. Whenever they post something online, they receive criticism, insults, and even threats to their lives. Thus, many researchers prefer not to speak publicly at all, in order to avoid the ensuing outcry. “However, we should not end up with only the thick-skinned expressing themselves,” says Sarun.

A really serious issue

Last May the German Research Center for Higher Education and Science (DZHW) published the findings of a representative survey, which showed that 45% of researchers have experienced some form of hostility in relation to their scientific work – and the incidence is increasing over the years.

Attacks of various kinds against scientists are a real problem, which moreover is not only observed when they are in the spotlight, as was the case for example during the pandemic period. On the contrary, attacks are also received by scientists who are rather unknown, as Saroun says.

After his lectures, people rarely come to criticize him – and when they do, they do so in a polite way. In social media, however, things get out of hand. When, for example, he uploads a paper on climate change, then there are waves of reactions. “In these cases I can assume that in just a few hours the mob will gather.”

Beyond the false claims of climate change deniers and insults, the ball quickly gets out of hand and the comments end up being about issues like the coronavirus, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war in Gaza. A classic insult he receives, especially since he started working for Nguyen-Kim, is that much of what he says is dictated by “the higher ups”, that he is in fact a “puppet of the elite”.

Help for victims

Fortunately, there are services that provide help to scientists who have received insults, threats and hate mail, such as the WissKon network and the “Scicomm-Support” initiative, an online platform with a telephone number where they can talk to a personal adviser.

Not only scientists and researchers who are active in fields such as climate change, research with animal experiments or general issues that often cause intense debates and polarization go there. “Calls are made by researchers from all scientific fields,” says the team behind Scicomm-Support – even from disciplines such as Theology, Philosophy and Economics. Among those who have sought help through the platform is a professor who has been the victim of attacks by a certain person for eight years – even physical violence.

“Disinformation is a weapon”

Sharon does not want to close his account on X, because through the platform he can reach many people – scientific disciplines are, after all, the most suitable framework for exchanging opinions. Sharon has been active on the platform since July 2021, when he won a science competition. Today he has more than 16,500 followers.

The researcher has decided not to respond at all to accounts with few followers. Of course, when he responds to the most well-known accounts of people who spread fake news and who count thousands of followers, his effort is in vain 99% of the time, as he admits. “But I might find someone who agrees.” And this is a time-consuming process: “It is much easier to spread nonsense than to correct it.”

Now he is more concerned with spreading false information. Sharon would like to see a stricter framework on X as well – for example a user must also cite their sources for the data or opinion they post. Previously the platform blocked accounts more often. Today it would be helpful if there was at least some kind of warning that an account is probably spreading fake news. “Of course everyone should in principle be able to say whatever they want,” says Sharon. “But misinformation is also a weapon.”

Edited by: Giorgos Passas