Could you give me some of these issues that they were "caught" spinning? What would be equivocation in politics might be demanded in science, for example. When science is filtered through political spokesmen, it's probably not going to be the scientists doing the spinning.That’s fair, but part of the issue is that the “experts” often earned their platforms through elite gatekeeping, not public trust.
When they misled or filtered reality through institutional bias, they forfeited credibility. The rise of podcasts and alt media didn’t happen in a vacuum: it was a direct response to legacy voices failing to meet the moment.
None of this is ideal, but it’s understandable. When institutions are caught lying or spinning key issues, people are going to lose faith in them even when they’re actually telling the truth later. That’s the cost of broken trust.
Not that scientists are flawless. They can be frauds. Take the ulcer thing. That was terrible science. So was the failure in the 19th century to accept the value of antisepsis. It's still not going to be the smart money bet when it comes to twisting facts and figures. If caught out, politicians ,pundits and spokesmen move on the the next speech, scientists to their next occupation.