‘Trust the Science’ as Tribal Signal

The article argues that slogans like 'trust the science' and lawn‑sign creeds function as in‑group identity markers rather than epistemic guidance. Used to project certainty and moral superiority, they can justify suppressing live hypotheses and backfire by deepening public distrust when claims later shift. — Seeing science slogans as status signals reframes misinformation policy toward rebuilding open inquiry norms and away from performative consensus.