Scientific American is a magazine that focuses its coverage on science, technology, the environment, and critical race theory-influenced social issues. ¹ Scientific American is owned by Springer Nature, a left-of-center publishing company that is committed to championing left-wing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in its networks and publications. ^{2 3}

Scientific American has strongly supported left-of-center policy approaches to transgender issues. It has claimed that a “moral panic” is sweeping the U.S. based on “junk science” in opposition to pro-transgender policies. It also has opposed state-level legislation restricting gender-reassignment surgery ^{4 5 6} and published articles saying that natal boys who identify as female belong in girls’ sports. ⁷

In 2020, Scientific American endorsed Democratic candidate Joe Biden for President of the United States, the first presidential endorsement in the magazine’s history. ⁸

History and Leadership

Scientific American was founded in 1845. It is the oldest continually published magazine in the United States. ⁹

Kimberly Lau is the president of Scientific American. Previously, Lau worked at left-of-center publication The Atlantic and Hearst Magazines. ¹⁰ Lau is the vice president of consumer media for Scientific American’s parent company, Springer Nature Group. ¹¹ Jeremy A. Abbate is Scientific American’s publisher and vice president, and Laura Helmuth is Scientific American’s editor-in-chief. ¹²

Corporate Ownership

Scientific American is owned by Springer Nature, a left-of-center publishing company that is committed to championing critical race theory-influenced diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in its networks and publications. Springer Nature has stated that DEI one of its “highest strategic priorities” and has said DEI is “essential” to achieving its mission. ^{13 14 15} Springer Nature is majority-owned by the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, which also emphasizes DEI policies throughout its subsidiaries. ^{16 17}

Activities

Scientific American is an American magazine that focuses its coverage on science, technology, environmental, and critical race theory-influenced social justice issues. ¹⁸ Scientific American is estimated to reach more than 10 million people through online and print sources. It has published articles by more than 200 Nobel Prize winners and its authors include journalists, scientists, scholars, policymakers, and others with experience in scientific and social issues. ¹⁹ Scientific American is headquartered in New York City and has 14 local language editions worldwide. ²⁰

Scientific American hosts opinion commentary, podcasts, videos, multimedia, events, and the digital magazines Mind, Space & Physics and Health & Medicine in addition to its regular features and stories. ²¹

Political Positions

In 2020, Scientific American endorsed Democratic candidate Joe Biden for President of the United States. This was the first time in the publication’s 175-year history that it had endorsed a presidential candidate. Scientific American made this decision based on its beliefs regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration’s opposition to then-White House Chief Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci, and the publication’s desire to pursue the left wing concept of an equitable future. ²²

Transgender Issues

Scientific American strongly supports left-of-center policy approaches to transgender issues. The publication claims that a “moral panic” is sweeping through state legislatures in the U.S. to oppose transgender individuals and that there is a “war on youth” that uses transgender issues to impose control over children, teens, and young people. ²³ It has opposed state-level legislation restricting gender reassignment surgery for minors. ²⁴

The magazine has said that pseudoscience and “junk science” are used to oppose gender reassignment surgery, ²⁵ left-of-center transgender ideology, and controversial medical procedures. ²⁶ It also has published articles claiming that natal boys who identify as female belong in girls’ sports, saying there is no scientific case for excluding them from participation. ²⁷

Scientific American has written that research into the determinants of gender identity may cause more harm than good, especially when it comes to finding out what causes individuals to identify as transgender. ²⁸ It has also published articles saying it is misguided to search for a biological basis of transgenderism ²⁹ and has said that it is more useful to advocate for nondiscrimination laws instead of conducting research into several transgender issues. ³⁰

Scientific American also has claimed that rapid onset gender dysphoria does not exist in an effort to debunk a study that alleged 1,600 cases of social contagion among transgendered individuals. ³¹

COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Scientific American supported COVID-19 mandates from the U.S. government. The magazine said that personal liberty and freedom-based arguments opposing mandatory vaccination “do not hold water” while also arguing that COVID-19 vaccine efforts were, lawful, effective, based on rock-solid evidence, and ethical. The magazine claimed that no one had a right to enter a classroom or workplace unmasked or unvaccinated, supported requirements for proof of vaccination, said there were public health exceptions for privacy rules, and drew a distinction between discrimination based on animus and the COVID-19 vaccine mandates. ³²

Other Issues

Scientific American supports implementing left-of-center climate policies across the United States. ³³ The magazine has also advocated for re-designing American society and cities away from automobiles to combat climate change. ³⁴

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3. “Our Values.” Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://holtzbrinck-careers.com/en/our-values/diversity.html.
4. Boerner, Heather. “What the Science on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Kids Really Shows.” Scientific American. May 12, 2022. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-the-science-on-gender-affirming-care-for-transgender-kids-really-shows/.
5. Bose, Tulika. “How Junk Science is Being Used Against Trans Kids.” Scientific American. Accessed via Web Archive March 13, 2024. https://archive.ph/voqoZ.
6. Pepin-Neff, Chris. “Anti-Trans Moral Panics Endagner All Young People.” Scientific American. May 19, 2023. Accessed via Web Archive March 13, 2024. https://archive.ph/Yld2b.
7. Mulkey, Nat. “The Search for a ‘Cause’ of Transness Is Misguided.” Scientific American. March 23, 2021. Accessed via Web Archive March 13, 2024. https://archive.ph/3ZHGn.
8. The Editors. “Scientific American Endorses Joe Biden.” Scientific American. October 1, 2020. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientific-american-endorses-joe-biden1/#:~:text=Scientific%20American%20has%20never%20endorsed,do%20not%20do%20this%20lightly.
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23. Pepin-Neff, Chris. “Anti-Trans Moral Panics Endagner All Young People.” Scientific American. May 19, 2023. Accessed via Web Archive March 13, 2024. https://archive.ph/Yld2b.
24. Boerner, Heather. “What the Science on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Kids Really Shows.” Scientific American. May 12, 2022. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-the-science-on-gender-affirming-care-for-transgender-kids-really-shows/.
25. Bose, Tulika. “How Junk Science is Being Used Against Trans Kids.” Scientific American. Accessed via Web Archive March 13, 2024. https://archive.ph/voqoZ.
26. G. Samantha Rosenthal and The Conversation US. “Pseudoscience Has Long Been Used to Oppress Transgender People.” Scientific America. February 12, 2024. Accessed via Web Archive March 13, 2024. https://archive.ph/rIoKx.
27. Turban, Jack. “Trans Girls Belong on Girls Sports Steams.” Scientific American. Accessed March 16, 2021. Accessed via Web Archive March 13, 2024. https://archive.ph/wkPtC.
28. Turban, Jack. “The Disturbing History of Research into Transgender Identity.” Scientific American. October 23, 2020. Accessed via Web Archive March 13, 2024. https://archive.ph/bzmR7.
29. Mulkey, Nat. “The Search for a ‘Cause’ of Transness Is Misguided.” Scientific American. March 23, 2021. Accessed via Web Archive March 13, 2024. https://archive.ph/3ZHGn.
30. Turban, Jack. “The Disturbing History of Research into Transgender Identity.” Scientific American. October 23, 2020. Accessed via Web Archive March 13, 2024. https://archive.ph/bzmR7.
31. Broderick, Timmy. Evidence Undermines ‘Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria’ Claims.” Scientific American. August 24, 2023. Accessed via Web Archive March 13, 2024. https://archive.ph/N1nAR#selection-449.0-449.195.
32. Gostin, Lawrence O. “Vaccine Mandates Are Lawful, Effective, and based on Rock-Solid Science.” Scientific American. August 5, 2023. Accessed via Web Archive March 13, 2024. https://archive.ph/V1kOF#selection-2017.369-2025.113.
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