When Do Citizens View Science as Politically Biased?

Public trust in science is becoming increasingly politicized (Rekker, 2021). Twenty years ago, this trust was hardly linked to political preferences, but nowadays, conservative and far-right voters in particular often have less trust in science (Rekker, 2023). A possible reason for this is that citizens do not always accept science as a politically neutral epistemic authority. For example, sociologists are often seen as ‘left-leaning,’ while economists are perceived as ‘right-leaning’ (Altenmüller et al., 2024; Clark et al., 2023). Such perceptions of political bias are moreover associated with distrust in these scientific fields. This literature review integrates existing evidence on where these perceptions originate and what their consequences are. In addition, it examines what scientists can do to avoid being seen by the public as politically biased, for instance, by presenting their findings in a more politically neutral way or by avoiding certain forms of activism.