I wonder, if mass media existed at the time, whether this is what the Church vs Galileo affair would have looked like from the outside.<p>There have even been arguments that the "verdict against Galileo was rational and just" because they took into consideration "the ethical and social consequences of Galileo's teaching too."[1] This has been a major argument in the Damore debate also, that even if his entire menu was true, it was right to fire him because of the social consequences within the company.<p>Galileo's opposition also used less well-supported opposing theories (like geocentrism and others) to discredit his work, and on a personal front tried to shame him as a religious heretic for going against dogma and established "moral" order.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_the_Catholic_Church#Modern_view_on_Galileo" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_the_Catholic_Churc...</a>