Anthony Fauci, head of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was assigned personal security guards after receiving death threats during the COVID-19 pandemic.Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Intimidation and harassment have become an occupational hazard for scholars studying phenomena linked to politics, including climate change, disinformation and virology. Now, researchers have united to create a defence playbook that offers tactics for dealing with this reality. Their message is clear: scientists can take steps to protect themselves, but their institutions also need to have a support plan in place. 'It's universities and the academic institutions that have the primary responsibility to act,' says Rebekah Tromble, who leads the Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics at George Washington University in Washington DC, and has herself experienced harassment because of her professional work. 'They are the employers, and frankly it's the type of public-interest...
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