They have denied the existence of dissenting scientists since the Petition Project
http://www.petitionproject.org/index.php, and went to great lengths to try to discredit and marginalize the Petition and its signatories. This, since 1997, claiming the signatories represented only 0.3% of science graduates in their respective fields. (The petition was in 1997, the grad pool compared to was from 1970-2015.)
https://skepticalscience.com/oism-petition-project.htmIronically, this data was presented on a website that claims to be skeptical--not of the 'accepted science', but of the people who were skeptical of the emerging orthodoxy of Anthropogenic Global warming.
I am content to have been right then, and still be right today in my 'skepticism' that CO2 (human generated) is a significant factor in driving changes in climate, and I am one of those who signed the Oregon Petition, as it has come to be known. Despite claims to the contrary, we were vetted and had to produce our credentials before our signatures would be accepted.
Like you said, it isn't a popularity contest, it isn't a democratic process with the majority deciding what the natural processes around us are, it is just a question of being right.
Small wonder the NYT, which has been as active a proponent of Anthropogenic Climate Change (formerly known as 'global warming') as any of the MSM and other outlets for 'popular science', would be shocked to find people like me persist, and that we do so in greater numbers than the vocal proponents of Anthropogenic Climate Change would have any believe. So much for their 97% consensus, it just means that (however many actually buy in) that many are wrong.