You don’t need science if your business is fraud, graft and conspiracy theories. In fact you need to keep your citizens as far away from any sort of critical thinking practice. Throttle the education sector and reduce access to healthcare. Give everyone a phone and a social media account where all of their preconceived notions are continually reinforced. Then sit back and watch all the educated people leave in droves as your society devolves into a robber baron mafia state.