> But the response has not been better skepticism. It has been the migration of trust from one set of financially motivated actors to another.

This is the crux of it all. People want something to trust. If scientific institutions do not fuflill this role, peoppe migrate to pseudoscience, religion, pop stars, anything they can find. People will choose anything they can find to trust over remaining a sskeptic. Becsuse being a skeptic is a cognitive load that most are not really taught how to handle. It breeds anxiety, stress in people and causes/compound health/emotional issues that sometimes can then be solved better by supplying a lie to lower the anxiety and stress.