What is Rejection or downplaying of scientific consensus?

When scientists agree on something, but some people say “No, that’s not true!”, that's called rejection or downplaying of scientific consensus.

Imagine you and your friends are playing a game where everyone agrees on the rules. You all know it's fair, you take turns, you follow the same steps, and no one argues about how to play. But then someone comes in and says, “No, the rules aren’t like that! I don’t think they’re fair!” Even though most of you already agreed.

That’s kind of what happens with scientific consensus, scientists do experiments and agree on things, but sometimes people say, “I don’t believe it,” even when there's a lot of proof. It’s like saying the sky is green just because you think so, even though everyone else sees it as blue.

Sometimes, people don’t want to believe something new, especially if it changes what they already know. It’s like thinking your favorite toy is the best one, and then learning that another toy might be better too.

Other times, it's because someone wants others to think differently, maybe for a reason, or just because they enjoy arguing!