petersuberJan 22

I'm starting a #Mastodon thread on the new #Trump administration's actions and positions on #OpenAccess to research.

I posted frequently about the actions of his first administration. But I did it on #Twitter / #X, which I no longer use.

Also see my separate Mastodon thread on outside efforts to capture and preserve research and data that the admin has taken down or might take down.
https://fediscience.org/@petersuber/114359552828366397

Also see this wiki page where I'm collecting my old Twitter posts on his first term and my new Mastodon posts on his second term.
https://cyber.harvard.edu/hoap/The_Trump_administrations_on_open_access_to_research

For updates, watch this space.

#OpenWashing #OSTP #ScholComm #Takedowns #USPol #USPolitics

petersuber (@petersuber@fediscience.org)

Update. "With the recent announcement that numerous datasets — such as those from #NOAA — are scheduled for decommissioning in May, #PANGAEA has opened its archive to help safeguard these valuable resources. If you become aware of any endangered datasets, please don't hesitate to contact us. PANGAEA data!" https://pangaea.de/ #Censorship #DefendResearch #OpenData #Preservation #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

FediScience.org
Show threadpetersuberJan 22

Update. "The mad dash to protect environmental data from Donald Trump"
https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/18/24346025/data-donald-trump-climate-environment-epa
(#paywalled)

"Information about climate change vanished from federal websites under Donald Trump, who has repeatedly called climate change “a hoax.” Now, federal agencies could face deep staff and budget cuts overseen by Trump cronies Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. The proposed cuts not only threaten what kind of data the government shares but also whether it can collect and organize it at all....

One key resource that could languish under the Trump administration is the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool, #EJScreen.…Even if it stays online, the tool is not as useful without constant upkeep....

Much of the environmental data included in EJScreen is collected by the #EPA itself. The EPA isn’t likely to abandon its air quality monitors anytime soon, but #Project2025…proposes eliminating the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights that manages the tool...."

#Climate #ClimateChange #Environment #Takedowns

The mad dash to protect environmental data from Donald Trump

Researchers are bracing for new threats to government data on pollution and climate change under the Trump administration.

The Verge
Show threadpetersuberJan 24

Update. Here's a good use of #GitHub to track textual changes and page takedowns on federal govt web sites since #Trump took office.
https://www.404media.co/github-is-showing-the-trump-administration-scrubbing-government-web-pages-in-real-time/

This project is dedicated to the pages on #DEI. I hope someone launches a similar project on the pages dedicated to science and research.

#Censorship #Takedowns #USPol #USPolitics

GitHub Is Showing the Trump Administration Scrubbing Government Web Pages in Real Time

Watch the Trump administration play DEI whac-a-mole on this government agency's GitHub page.

404 Media
Show threadpetersuberJan 25

Update. "For the first time in its more than 60-year history, the #CDC's [#OpenAccess] Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (#MMWR) did not go out as scheduled because of a communications pause at federal health agencies issued by the #Trump administration."
https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/generalinfectiousdisease/113905

#Censorship #Medicine #USPol #USPolitics

Trump's Gag Order Halts CDC Publication

MMWR did not publish as usual at 1 p.m. today

Show threadpetersuberJan 26

Update. As recently as January 2, 2025, #NASA had five modules for teaching #OpenScience on its web site. The #Trump administration has taken them down.
https://science.nasa.gov/open-science/tops/os101/

Here they are in the @internetarchive Wayback Machine.
https://web.archive.org/web/20250102141453/https://science.nasa.gov/open-science/tops/os101/

#Takedowns #TrumpAntiScience #USPol #USPolitics

Show threadpetersuberJan 28

Update. If you're following this thread, also follow the Silencing Science Tracker from Sabin Center for Climate Change Law (at Columbia Law School) and the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund.
https://climate.law.columbia.edu/Silencing-Science-Tracker

#Climate #USPol #USPolitics

Silencing Science Tracker | Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Show threadpetersuberJan 31

Update. "Datasets aggregated on data.gov, the largest repository of U.S. government #OpenData on the internet, are being deleted, according to the website’s own information. Since Donald Trump was inaugurated as president, more than 2,000 datasets have disappeared from the database."
https://www.404media.co/archivists-work-to-identify-and-save-the-thousands-of-datasets-disappearing-from-data-gov/

#Data #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Archivists Work to Identify and Save the Thousands of Datasets Disappearing From Data.gov

More than 2,000 datasets have disappeared from data.gov since Trump was inaugurated. But analyzing exactly what happened and where it went is going to take some time.

404 Media
Show threadpetersuberFeb 1

Update. "#USDA ordered to scrub climate change from websites"
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/31/usda-climate-change-websites-00201826

"Agriculture Department employees have been ordered to delete landing pages discussing climate change across agency websites and document climate change references for further review, according to an internal email obtained by POLITICO...."

#Agriculture #Censorship #Climate #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Show threadpetersuberFeb 4

Update. I just posted an item outside this thread that belongs in the thread. Sorry. Here it is. The #Trump #CDC is asking staffers to withdraw pending scientific publications that use newly-prohibited terms like #transgender, #immigrant, or #LGBT.
https://fediscience.org/@petersuber/113946091994922725

#Censorship #ScholComm #USPol #USPolitics

petersuber (@petersuber@fediscience.org)

"Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [#CDC] were ordered late on Friday to withdraw any pending publications, at any scientific journal, that mention terms such as “transgender,” “immigrant,” “L.G.B.T.” or “pregnant people.” https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02/01/us/trump-tariffs-news#trump-gender-research When CDC employees were co-authors of such pending papers, they were ordered to write to the journals and ask to be removed as co-authors. When all co-authors were CDC employees, they were ordered to ask the journal to retract the article from consideration. #Censorship #Retractions #ScholComm #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

FediScience.org
Show threadpetersuberFeb 4

Update. "Top advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [#CDC] are asking the agency’s acting director to explain the abrupt removal of information and data from CDC websites, and say when it will be restored. In a sharply worded letter sent Saturday, the group asked Acting Director Susan Monarez what the rationale was for removing the data, if the consequences and legal authority of such a decision were considered, what was being done to safeguard the data sets that were removed, and when access to them would return. The letter asks for answers by Feb. 7."
https://archive.is/SWhYj

The CDC advisory board was disbanded by Trump in 2019 and revived by Biden in 2021. The members "expect to be fired" for asking the agency to explain and reverse the takedowns.

#Censorship #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Show threadpetersuberFeb 5

Update. "Represented by Public Citizen Litigation Group, Doctors for America filed a #lawsuit today [Feb 4] against the Office of Personnel Management (#OPM), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (#CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (#FDA), and the Department of Health & Human Services (#HHS) for the removal of a broad range of #health-related data and other information used by health professionals and researchers from publicly accessible government websites."
https://www.citizen.org/news/doctors-for-america-sues-over-removal-of-health-information-from-hhs-cdc-fda-websites/

#Medicine #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Doctors for America Sues Over Removal of Health Information From HHS, CDC, FDA Websites - Public Citizen

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Represented by Public Citizen Litigation Group, Doctors for America filed a lawsuit today against the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the…

Public Citizen
Show threadpetersuberFeb 5

Update, on the #CDC order directing staffers to retract pending journal articles that use now-prohibited terms like #transgender and #immigrant (earlier in this thread) …

Bravo to the #BMJ (@bmj_latest) for calling this order "sinister and ludicrous."
https://www.bmj.com/content/388/bmj.r253

"This is not how it works. Medically relevant terminology and inclusive language follow evidence based reporting standards or are matters of individual journal style and policy. They do not follow political orders. Similarly, co-authors cannot simply scrub themselves from articles. Authorship gives credit and accountability for the work, and an article’s list of authors does not ghost contributors. If authors wish to withdraw submissions under review at a journal, this process is feasible should all of their co-authors agree. However, if somebody who merits inclusion in the authorship group of an article requests to be removed, even with the approval of the co-authors, this is a breach of publication ethics."

#Authorship #Retractions #ScholComm #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Show threadpetersuberFeb 5

Update. Here's an online tool from #BradleyAllf to help you publish research in the #Trump age, especially if you're a US govt scientist. Just paste in your abstract and it will underline the banned words.
https://brad7280.github.io/thoughtcrime-checker/

#Censorship #ReviseAndResubmit #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Thoughtcrime Checker

Show threadpetersuberFeb 5

Update. "Staffers with Elon #Musk’s [#DOGE] entered the headquarters of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (#NOAA)…today, inciting concerns of downsizing at the agency."
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/04/doge-noaa-headquarters

What's the #Trump or #Trumpist interest here?

1. "#Project2025…called for the agency to be 'broken up and downsized', claiming the agency is 'harmful to US prosperity' for its role in #climate science."

2. Andrew Rosenberg, a former NOAA official, "noted it had been a longtime goal of corporations that rely on NOAA data to prevent the agency from making the data public, instead of giving it directly to private corporations that create products based on it, such as weather forecasting services."

PS: Rosenberg is right. During the GWBush admin, Senator #RickSantorum (R-PA) repeatedly tried to take down NOAA's open weather data, to benefit AccuWeather, the for-profit weather forecaster in his state. I wrote about it often at the time and may have to dig out and reup those old pieces.

#OpenData #USPol #USPolitics

Doge staffers enter Noaa headquarters and incite reports of cuts and threats

Members reportedly sought access to IT systems at agency that Project 2025 has called ‘harmful to US prosperity’

The Guardian
Show threadpetersuberFeb 5

Update. The #BMJ isn't the only journal pushing back against the #CDC directive that staff scientists should retract pending publications that use Trump-banned words. (Earlier in this thread.)

Kudos to the _American Journal of Public Health_ (#AJPH) for pushing back as well.
https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/114076

From publisher Georges Benjamin: "We at the American Journal of Public Health have no interest in following the president's prohibitions on language. We will publish things under our guidelines, under our ethical principles." Benjamin acknowledged that the journal may now get fewer submissions from government scientists.

AJPH is published by the American Public Health Association (#APHA).

#Censorship #Medicine #ScholComm #SocietyPublisher #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Public Health Journal Won't Be Complicit in Trump Admin's Censorship

'We will publish things under our guidelines, under our ethical principles'

Show threadpetersuberFeb 6

Update. #OMB is telling #DOGE to stop using #Slack. Why? Because Slack messages are subject to #FOI requests.
https://www.404media.co/doge-employees-ordered-to-stop-using-slack-while-agency-transitions-to-a-records-system-not-subject-to-foia/

#Trump #USPol #USPolitics

DOGE Employees Ordered to Stop Using Slack While Agency Transitions to a Records System Not Subject to FOIA

Employees at Elon Musk's agency have been told "OMB is asking us to stop generating new slack messages starting now."

404 Media
Show threadpetersuberFeb 7

Update. If you're following this thread, you might also follow Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to #Trump Administration Actions, from #JustSecurity.
https://www.justsecurity.org/107087/tracker-litigation-legal-challenges-trump-administration/

#USLaw #USPol #USPolitics

Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions

A public resource tracking the legal challenges to the Trump administration's executive orders and actions.

Just Security
Show threadpetersuberFeb 7

Update. The Dept of Defense (#DOD) just released the implementation plan for its upgraded #OpenAccess policy under the Biden-era #OSTP #NelsonMemo.
https://discover.dtic.mil/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/DoD_PublicAccessPlan_Dec_2024.pdf

This is the first fed agency action of its kind since #Trump took office. Note that, so far, this work has not stopped or changed.

Show threadpetersuberFeb 8

Update. "Intense backlash prompted the reinstatement of some online resources. But guidelines for safe contraception and information on racial inequities in health care remain missing."
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/03/health/trump-gender-ideology-research.html

#CDC #Censorship #Medicine #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

C.D.C. Site Restores Some Purged Files After ‘Gender Ideology’ Ban Outcry

Intense backlash prompted the reinstatement of some online resources. But guidelines for safe contraception and information on racial inequities in health care remain missing.

The New York Times
Show threadpetersuberFeb 8

Update. "White House budget proposal could shatter the National Science Foundation"
https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/02/white-house-budget-proposal-could-shatter-the-national-science-foundation/

" 'This kind of cut would kill American science and boost #China and other nations into global science leadership positions,' [said] Neal Lane, who led the #NSF in the 1990s during Bill Clinton's presidency."

PS: I've never liked #nationalist arguments for funding or fostering science. Science is international. But the #Trump admin is putting us in a dilemma. Either we see deep cuts in US science funding. Or we use nationalist arguments to avert those cuts.

There are non-nationalist arguments to fund US science. For example, good science is usually expensive and those who do it well should be funded for the benefit of all. Unfortunately that argument is not likely to work on Trump admin officials. It's not US-specific and applies everywhere, even in China.

#Nationalism #USPol #USPolitics

White House budget proposal could shatter the National Science Foundation

“This kind of cut would kill American science and boost China.”…

Ars Technica
Show threadpetersuberFeb 9

Update. The @WashPost does a good job showing the breadth of govt science and info taken down by the #Trump admin.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/interactive/2025/sample-government-webpages-trump-doesnt-want-you-see/

#Censorship #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

A sample of the government webpages Trump doesn’t want you to see

Dozens of government webpages disappeared as part of his plan to reshape the U.S. government to his liking. Not even NASA was spared.

The Washington Post
Show threadpetersuberFeb 9

Update. "Trump officials exerting unprecedented control over CDC scientific journal"
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-officials-influence-cdc-mmwr/

"Trump administration political appointees have taken steps in recent weeks to exert unprecedented influence over the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's flagship medical research publication, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, multiple federal health officials tell CBS News. The interference included dictating what to cover and withholding studies on the growing bird flu outbreak."

PS: Just curious. How do Trump officials decide that covering bird flu is bad for their agenda?

#Medicine #ScholComm #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Trump officials exerting unprecedented control over CDC scientific journal

"The MMWR has lost its autonomy," one health official told CBS News.

Show threadpetersuberFeb 12

Over at @deltathink, Dan Pollock and Ann Michael estimate the impact of #Trump executive actions on academic publishing, starting with the #CDC.
https://www.deltathink.com/news-views-special-edition-how-much-of-scholarly-publishing-is-affected-by-us-presidential-executive-orders

"The proportion of CDC-authored papers is tiny [0.1% of global output and 0.6% of US output], and so their suppression is unlikely to lead to a drop in publishing output. However, should the orders spread to other areas of health research, then the effects could be profound – especially for journals and publishers relying heavily on US-authored papers."

#Censorship #USPol #USPolitics

News & Views Special Edition: How much scholarly publishing is affected by US Presidential Executive Orders?

Show threadpetersuberFeb 12

Update The #Trump admin has taken down the #OSTP #NelsonMemo.

It was formerly at this URL.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/08-2022-OSTP-Public-Access-Memo.pdf

You can still find it in the @internetarchive #WaybackMachine, as recently as Jan 18, 2025.
https://web.archive.org/web/20250118021041/https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/08-2022-OSTP-Public-Access-Memo.pdf

We can't tell yet whether it was taken down because Trump officials didn't like the #OpenAccess policies it laid out, didn't like its use of #DEI language — or both.

h/t https://fediscience.org/@jnonfiction@social.coop

#Censorship #Takedowns #USPol #USPolitics

Show threadpetersuberFeb 12

Update. I still don't know the full story behind the takedown of the #NelsonMemo. But here's a clue. The Dept of Defense (#DOD) continued rolling its memo-based #OpenAccess policy *after* Trump took office and *after* the memo was taken down.
https://fediscience.org/@petersuber/113964410103345053

That's a sign that agencies have not been told to stop rolling out their memo-based policy upgrades. But of course that may change.

Also note that memo is preserved in the #NationalArchives, for now, not just in the Wayback Machine.
https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/08-2022-OSTP-Public-Access-Memo.pdf

(Yes, I'm aware that Trump fired Colleen Shogan, the Biden-era National Archivist.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/us/politics/trump-fires-the-nations-archivist-in-latest-round-of-personnel-purge.html

#USPol #USPolitics

petersuber (@petersuber@fediscience.org)

Update. The Dept of Defense (#DOD) just released the implementation plan for its upgraded #OpenAccess policy under the Biden-era #OSTP #NelsonMemo. https://discover.dtic.mil/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/DoD_PublicAccessPlan_Dec_2024.pdf This is the first fed agency action of its kind since #Trump took office. Note that, so far, this work has not stopped or changed.

FediScience.org
Show threadpetersuberFeb 13

Update. "In the initial days of the #Trump administration, officials scoured federal websites for any mention of what they deemed #DEI keywords — terms as generic as “diverse” and “historically” and even “women.” They soon identified reams of some of the country’s most valuable public health data containing some of the targeted words, including language about LGBTQ+ people, and quickly took down much of it — from surveys on obesity and suicide rates to real-time reports on immediate infectious disease threats like bird flu."
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/399319/trump-cdc-health-data-removed-obesity-suicide

#Censorship #Medicine #Takedowns #USPol #USPolitics

Trump’s shocking purge of public health data, explained

Trump and Elon Musk have said they want to get rid of DEI. But their purge has swept up data on obesity and suicide rates plus teen smoking and sexual behavior.

Vox
Show threadpetersuberFeb 13

Update. "The White House has designated Mr. #Musk’s office, United States #DOGE Service, as an entity insulated from public records requests."
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/us/politics/trump-musk-doge-foia-public-records.html

In Nov 2024 before Musk joined the #Trump government, he wrote on X / Twitter: "There should be no need for FOIA requests. All government data should be default public for maximum transparency."
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1853079605596340235

#FOIA #Secrecy #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Trump’s Declaration Allows Musk’s Efficiency Team to Skirt Open Records Laws

Government watchdog groups say they will challenge the Trump administration’s decision to put the initiative under the Presidential Records Act, which shields its work from public disclosure.

The New York Times
Show threadpetersuberFeb 13

Update. "Court Orders #CDC, #FDA to Restore Scrubbed Webpages, Data"
https://www.medpagetoday.com/washington-watch/washington-watch/114177

"A federal judge on Tuesday ordered government agencies to restore public access to health-related webpages and datasets that they removed to comply with an executive order by President #Trump…The scrubbed material includes reports on HIV prevention, a CDC webpage for providing clinicians with guidance on reproductive healthcare, and an FDA study on 'sex differences in the clinical evaluation of medical products.'"

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Litigation #Medicine #Takedowns #USPol #USPolitics

Court Orders CDC, FDA to Restore Scrubbed Webpages, Data

Judge agreed to temporary restraining order requested by the Doctors for America advocacy group

Show threadpetersuberFeb 14

Update. From @hildabast: "What if We Can’t Rely on PubMed?"
https://absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/02/14/what-if-we-cant-rely-on-pubmed/

"#PubMed is incredibly reliable…That said, between the risks of an exodus of key personnel, understaffing, or goodness-knows-what vandalism when a goon squad arrives at NIH, it’s not paranoid any more to think ahead to the once-unthinkable. What would PubMed enshittification look like? Could PubMed go down more often, and for longer? Might services no longer be free? How else could the #quality and #reliability of its services be degraded?"

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Medicine #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

What if We Can't Rely on PubMed? - Absolutely Maybe

PubMed is incredibly reliable. And a lot depends on it. It’s an ecosystem built around MEDLINE, the steady feed of new publications…

Absolutely Maybe
Show threadpetersuberFeb 15

Update. From #HaroldVarmus, "I Used to Run the #NIH. Here’s What Worries Me."
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/opinion/trump-public-health-funding-nih.html

"I’ve spent over five decades as a scientist in academia and the federal government, including as director of the NIH. Never before have I seen my profession so politicized as it is now under the #Trump administration…For baffling reasons, the executive branch is now waging war on America’s scientific enterprise. This assault includes nominating leaders hostile to science and unqualified for their roles; issuing a barrage of executive orders that disrupt research by restricting meetings, publications, travel and grant making; censoring ideas and even certain words from scientific discourse; and trying to withhold billions of dollars from universities and other research institutions that help pay the costs of research."

PS: In addition to being a former NIH director, Varmus is a Nobel laureate (1989 Medicine) and co-founder of @PLOS.

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Medicine #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Opinion | American Science is Under Attack

The Trump administration hobbles research and endangers the public health.

The New York Times
Show threadpetersuber

Update. "The Trump Administration Is Targeting Science. The Scientific Integrity Act Could Help Protect It."
https://blog.ucsusa.org/kellickson/the-trump-administration-is-targeting-science-the-scientific-integrity-act-could-help-protect-it/

"The Scientific Integrity Act (#SI Act) is a bipartisan bill re-introduced on February 6th in the US House of Representatives… [It] would include language prohibiting scientific or research misconduct; preventing intimidation or attempted coercion to alter or censor scientific or technical findings; and allowing public dissemination of scientific and technical findings…It would ensure that scientific conclusions are not made based on political considerations but based on the best available science."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Legislation #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

The Trump Administration Is Targeting Science. The Scientific Integrity Act Could Help Protect It

The first few weeks of the Trump administration has seen a flurry of far-reaching executive orders and other actions that threaten, among other things, the ability of federal agencies to pursue science and share that science with the public. These dangerous and in some circumstances, potentially unc

The Equation
Feb 15 at 6:23pmWeb
Show threadpetersuberFeb 16

Update. "The #Trump administration and Elon #Musk are reportedly taking aim at #NOAA, the agency responsible for the National Weather Service and many other crucial functions."
https://www.fastcompany.com/91274927/trump-wants-to-dismantle-the-agency-that-provides-weather-forecasts-it-will-make-your-life-worse

"#Project2025 specifically noted NOAA as a target, as well. The Heritage Foundation’s 900-page right-wing playbook called the agency “one of the main drivers of the #climate change alarm industry” and recommended it be “dismantled and many of its functions eliminated” and instead #privatized. It’s not clear what that would look like, though experts have said it isn’t a good idea—and that private weather companies wouldn’t even want that change because they’d have to bear the cost of collecting weather data that’s currently given to them for free."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #OpenData #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Trump wants to dismantle the agency that provides weather forecasts. It will make your life worse

The Trump administration and Elon Musk are reportedly taking aim at NOAA, the agency responsible for the National Weather Service and many other crucial functions.

Fast Company
Show threadpetersuberFeb 16

Update. "Science at Risk: Protect #NOAA"
https://secure.ucsusa.org/a/2025-protect-noaa-science-aaas

I just signed this open letter from @ucsusa and hope you will too.

"Scientists and other experts: Add your name to this open letter calling on Congress and the #Trump administration to ensure that NOAA and its sub-agencies remain fully funded and staffed, and that the independent, trusted science the agency produces is protected."

#Climate #DefendResearch #OpenData #Takedowns #USPol #USPolitics

Science at Risk: Protect NOAA

Scientists and other experts: Add your name to this open letter calling on Congress and the Trump administration to ensure that NOAA and its sub-agencies remain fully funded and staffed, and that the independent, trusted science the agency produces is protected.

Union of Concerned Scientists
Show threadpetersuberFeb 16

Update. "Join the Organizing Team for Your Local Stand Up For Science Rally!"
https://airtable.com/app4h5wUssMGXxiaX/shrxZ4tAY6LYldCNg

#DefendResearch #USPol #USPolitics

Airtable | Everyone's app platform

Airtable is a low-code platform for building collaborative apps. Customize your workflow, collaborate, and achieve ambitious outcomes. Get started for free.

Airtable
Show threadpetersuberFeb 17

Update. I applaud this open letter from 48 US scientific societies to US researchers, educators, and academics.
https://unitedsciencealliance.org/

"Today, science is under threat…We need scientific research to support the health and safety of people and our planet. We need policy decisions that are grounded in research and data…We will champion scientific integrity, including academic freedom, the inclusion of diverse perspectives, and policies grounded in scientific evidence…Scientific truths are nonpartisan. It has never been more important to recommit to scientific knowledge, and to ensure you have access to data, are free from censorship, and are able to do your valuable work."

#Academia #Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics
@academicchatter

Letter

Show threadpetersuberFeb 17

Update. "This position is a response to concerns raised regarding prohibition of specific terminology, and restrictions on researchers’ activities and collaborations. #COPE [Committee on Publication Ethics] considers that authors and editors are best placed to determine the appropriate language to be used in their respective fields, to ensure that research is communicated appropriately…COPE supports the World Association of Medical Editors (#WAME)’s statement that editorial decisions must remain unaffected by the authors’ nationality, ethnicity, political beliefs, race, or religion. Publication choices should not be swayed by external governmental policies, unless compliance with applicable laws is at stake.”
https://publicationethics.org/guidance/cope-position/banned-terms-scholarly-publications-and-restrictions-researchers-activities

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Show threadpetersuberFeb 17

Update. The Union of Concerned Scientists (#UCS, @ucsusa) just released this open letter to Congress. I signed and hope you will too.
https://secure.ucsusa.org/a/2024-save-science-save-lives

"I am asking you to defend the science and scientists that keep Americans safe. The Trump administration's current agenda is eviscerating the protections that Americans count on and support: clean air and water; safe food and medicine; products that won't harm us; and protection from extreme weather and other damaging effects of climate change…Protecting rigorous and independent science is a common-sense, nonpartisan goal."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Save Science, Save Lives

Please join science supporters, scientists, and experts in signing an open letter asking Congress to stand up against attempts to politicize or eliminate scientific roles, agencies, and federal research that protect our health, environment, and our communities.

Union of Concerned Scientists
Show threadpetersuberFeb 18

Update. Kathleen Bachynski and Martin McKee argue that #Trump cuts to medical research and ongoing clinical trials violate the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki on Research Ethics and the 1979 Belmont Report on Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research.
https://www.bmj.com/content/388/bmj.r289

#DefendResearch #Ethics #Medicine #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Show threadpetersuberFeb 18

Update. "Join academic workers across the country in fighting restrictions on research - Feb. 19th Rally."
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe53wTzsA1T6b6-QxZtt20Yq1k2IX23YnDgKCli4mcTMRwYLA/viewform

"For the last three weeks, we have seen unprecedented attacks on science that have severely impacted our day-to-day work as scientists, researchers, and clinicians - funding that sustains critical scientific research to improve human health has been dramatically cut, research is being censored, and scientists are losing their jobs…The work we do is a public good and essential for the health of each and every American, now and in the future. We must fight to save science so we can continue doing the work that keeps Americans healthy."

h/t @ClimateJenny

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Join academic workers across the country in fighting restrictions on research - Feb. 19th Rally

Why? For the last three weeks, we have seen unprecedented attacks on science that have severely impacted our day-to-day work as scientists, researchers, and clinicians - funding that sustains critical scientific research to improve human health has been dramatically cut, research is being censored, and scientists are losing their jobs. Every day our research is restricted and censored, we lose years on potential treatments and cures for Alzheimer’s Disease, Diabetes, and Cancer for the American people. Every job that is lost, we lose the next scientist that could cure Cancer. Every dollar of science funding that is cut, we lose competitiveness as a scientific world power. The work we do is a public good and essential for the health of each and every American, now and in the future. We must fight to save science so we can continue doing the work that keeps Americans healthy. What? We are joining academic unions across the country in a National Day of Action. We will rally in defense of science, medicine, and public health in DC. We are demanding the administration stop the attack on science, medicine, and public health research by rescinding the cuts and restrictions. Who? Scientists, Researchers, Clinicians, Academics, and Allies in the DMV area Where? HHS Building 200 Independence Ave SW, Washington DC When? 12PM EST February 19th

Google Docs
Show threadpetersuberFeb 18

Update. @juddlegum and #RebeccaCrosby provide more evidence that the #Trump team is taking down valuable govt pages — this time #OSHA pages on workplace safety — that use #DEI language in ways that have nothing to do with the kind of DEI Trumpists oppose.
https://popular.info/p/in-botched-dei-purge-osha-trashes

For example, they're taking down pages that refer to "diversity of state-specific…regulatory requirements" and "diverse conditions under which EMS responders could work."

PS: It's no accident that this might remind you of the brainless firing of US nuclear security staffers, which Trumpists are still trying to reverse. Autopilot ransacking.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/16/us/politics/trump-national-nuclear-security-administration-employees-firings.html

#BrainlessKeywordSearching #Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

In botched DEI purge, OSHA trashes workplace safety guidelines

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has ordered the digital and physical destruction of 18 publications on workplace safety practices, according to an internal February 7 email obtained by Popular Information.

Popular Information
Show threadpetersuberFeb 18

Update. US space scientists have written an open letter to #NASA and #Congress.
https://sites.google.com/view/space-science-for-everyone

"Almost all of our work as space scientists is funded by U.S. taxpayers, and we have a responsibility to oppose actions that limit the reach of our work to the public… Following NASA’s request, all AG [Analysis/Assessment Group] websites and the important, labor-intensive study reports, science goals documents, and other resources hosted on those websites are indefinitely unavailable to the communities who did this work and to the general public…We ask that all those in decision-making positions unequivocally condemn and act to reverse recent attacks on scientific integrity, federal grant funding for scientific research, and initiatives that broaden public participation in science."

PS: Also see the list of similar letters growing the left sidebar.

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Home

Space Science is for Everyone: An Open Letter Written February 6, 2025

Show threadpetersuberFeb 19

Update. From @alicejmeadows: "Declaration To #DefendResearch Against US Government Censorship"
https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/02/19/declaration-to-defendresearch-against-us-government-censorship/

"Much of the resistance to the Trump administration’s efforts to censor research and researchers is happening at the grassroots level, including this Declaration To Defend Research Against US Government Censorship, instigated by Lisa Schiff, together with Catherine Mitchell, Sara Rouhi, Peter Suber, and myself [Alice Meadows]. Like many of those who are protesting against these growing threats to research, we are acting in a personal capacity, rather than on behalf of our organizations. As members of the scholarly communication community, we believe that researchers must be freely able to conduct, collaborate on, share, review, and discuss their research…I very much hope that you’ll join the 1,000 plus who have already signed."

#Censorship #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Declaration To #DefendResearch Against US Government Censorship - The Scholarly Kitchen

In response to US government efforts to censor research and researchers, a small group of scholarly communications professionals have launched a Declaration to defend research. Learn more in today's post by Alice Meadows, one of the members of this group.

The Scholarly Kitchen
Show threadpetersuberFeb 19

Update. From @mayank_mchugh and @JACoates at @force11: "Science is Under Siege: The Open Science Community Must Act and Lead by Example"
https://upstream.force11.org/open-science-call-to-act/

"The new US administration has thrown the entire academy into chaos, threatening global health. This article is a call for the #OpenScience community to practice what it preaches and lead by example in defending science…The only viable line of defence against such rapid and intense attacks is transparency and a heightened rigour. And it is here that the open science community has a unique and essential role in this very moment."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Science is Under Siege: The Open Science Community Must Act and Lead by Example

Worldwide, science is under attack by anti-scientific movements. The new US administration has thrown the entire academy into chaos, threatening global health. This article is a call for the open science community to practice what it preaches and lead by example in defending science.

Upstream
Show threadpetersuberFeb 19

Update. "Defend Scientific Freedom and Integrity Against Political Suppression."
https://www.change.org/p/defend-scientific-freedom-and-integrity-against-political-suppression

I just signed this petition and hope you will too.

"We call on governments, funding bodies, academic institutions, and international organizations to:
1. Protect Scientific Freedom: Ensure that research funding decisions are made based on scientific merit, not political ideology.
2. Stop Censorship in Public Health and Environmental Science: Allow government scientists to communicate freely with the public and publish research without political interference.
3. Preserve Open Access to Data: Governments must not delete, withhold, or manipulate scientific data that serves the public good...."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Sign the Petition

Defend Scientific Freedom and Integrity Against Political Suppression

Change.org
Show threadpetersuberFeb 20

Update. Special thanks to the Association of University Presses (#AUPresses, @aupresses). It not only signed the Feb 13 Declaration to #DefendResearch, it posted an announcement to spread the word.
https://aupresses.org/news/aupresses-supports-anti-censorship-declaration/

#Censorship #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

AUPresses Supports Anti-Censorship Declaration - Association of University Presses

AUPresses joins with individual and institutional members of the scholarly communications community to assert that researchers must be freely able to conduct, collaborate on, share, review, and discuss their research.

Association of University Presses
Show threadpetersuberFeb 20

Update. Although the #Trump admin is firing scientists, "some science leaders argued [that it's] not specifically targeting research. 'Science seems to be collateral damage to these [downsizing] efforts that are almost random, by date of hire or date of promotion,' says Sudip Parikh, CEO of #AAAS…'It’s not strategic. It’s not based on the needs of the future, the needs of science.'"

PS: My take: Some of the destruction targets research he opposes for political reasons, like #climate research. But much of the rest is semi-random pillaging to show numbers (positions cut, dollars saved). This is evident from the growing number of firings, in a growing number of departments, that Trump and #Musk later try to rescind.

#DefendResearch #USPol #USPolitics

Show threadpetersuberFeb 21

Update. "Journalism organizations call for restoration of public data."
https://www.nasw.org/article/journalism-organizations-call-restoration-public-data

"Leaders of five #journalism organizations, including the National Association of Science Writers and representing more than 7,000 members in the United States and abroad, sent the following letter to the heads of eight U.S. federal agencies that have recently removed public datasets and databases funded by Americans’ tax dollars."

#Censorship #Data #DefendResearch #OpenData #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Journalism organizations call for restoration of public data

Leaders of five journalism organizations, including the National Association of Science Writers and representing more than 7,000 members in the United States and abroad, sent the following letter to the heads of eight U.S. federal agencies that have recently removed public datasets and databases funded by Americans’ tax dollars.

Show threadpetersuberFeb 22

Update. "Outcry as Trump withdraws support for research that mentions ‘climate’ "
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/feb/21/trump-scientific-research-climate

"The #Trump administration is stripping away support for scientific research in the US and overseas that contains a word it finds particularly inconvenient: “climate”…Trump, who has said that the climate crisis is a “giant hoax”, has already stripped mentions of climate change and global heating from government websites."

#Censorship #Climate #DefendResearch #Takedowns #USPol #USPolitics

Outcry as Trump withdraws support for research that mentions ‘climate’

US government stripping funds from domestic and overseas research amid warnings for health and public safety

The Guardian
Show threadpetersuberFeb 22

Update. "PLOS [@PLOS] statement on recent US Executive Orders and scientific integrity"
https://theplosblog.plos.org/2025/02/plos-statement-on-recent-us-executive-orders-and-scientific-integrity/

"We are deeply concerned about a range of recent US Executive Orders that collectively have the potential to dismantle the US scientific enterprise as it has existed for the past 70 years…We will not approve changes to terminology or removal of data that compromise the scientific accuracy of content. Requests to remove legitimate authors from manuscripts violate our authorship policies which are grounded in principles of credit, accountability and transparency…We are actively working to understand the evolving implications of these directives and the disruption they have brought…We remain dedicated to the advancement of #OpenScience."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #PLOS #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

PLOS statement on recent US Executive Orders and scientific integrity - The Official PLOS Blog

Since its founding over twenty five years ago PLOS has been dedicated to advancing open science, ensuring that knowledge is accessible to…

The Official PLOS Blog
Show threadpetersuberFeb 22

Update. From @neuralreckoning: "Science must step away from nationally managed infrastructure"
https://www.thetransmitter.org/policy/science-must-step-away-from-nationally-managed-infrastructure/

"Scientific data and independence are at risk. We need to work with community-driven services and university libraries to create new multi-country organizations that are resilient to political interference."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #OpenInfrastructure #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

Science must step away from nationally managed infrastructure

Scientific data and independence are at risk. We need to work with community-driven services and university libraries to create new multi-country organizations that are resilient to political interference.

The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives
Show threadpetersuberFeb 23

Update. From @karenhao: "The foundations of America’s prosperity are being dismantled"
https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/21/1112274/the-foundations-of-americas-prosperity-are-being-dismantled/

"[Scientists] warn that dismantling the behind-the-scenes scientific research programs that backstop American life could lead to long-lasting, perhaps irreparable damage to everything from the quality of health care to the public’s access to next-generation consumer technologies. The US took nearly a century to craft its rich scientific ecosystem; if the unraveling that has taken place over the past month continues, Americans will feel the effects for decades to come."

#Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

The foundations of America’s prosperity are being dismantled

Federal scientists warn that Americans could feel the effects of the new administration's devastating cuts for decades to come.

MIT Technology Review
Show threadPhillyChuckFeb 23
@petersuber @neuralreckoning As always, look to #Asimov. As the power of the empire declined, the importance of librarians/archivists, then mayors increased.
#Foundation
Show threadEgon WillighagenFeb 20
@petersuber isn't the strategy much simpler: undermine and let the scientists turn on each other?
Show threadBastian Greshake TzovarasFeb 20
@petersuber @mayank_mchugh@bird.makeup @JACoates @force11 relatedly: https://scholar.social/@gedankenstuecke/114033373548462148
Bastian Greshake Tzovaras (@gedankenstuecke@scholar.social)

So, all the folks that have been happily lending their scientific credibility to #czi by trying to play nice with them, how are you feeling about it now? Will some of you grow a spine? Or just remove any hints to diversity, equity and inclusion from your #openscience programs in the hope to keep the cash flowing? «Mark Zuckerberg’s charity guts DEI after assuring staff it would continue» https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/feb/19/mark-zuckerberg-chan-dei

Scholar Social
Show threadLaura CrossettFeb 18
@petersuber Ah, internet filtering follies 101! Words have contexts!
Show threadBodlingFeb 18
@petersuber @juddlegum Is this to be blamed on their reliance on mindless "AI" without using any human eyes, mind, and soul to review the machine's results?
Show threadRich Stein (he/him)Feb 18
@petersuber
Requires a party to recognize international rule of law. Afraid that is not the zeitgeist emanating from this administration.
Show threadClimate Jenny 2.1Feb 18
@petersuber If you are near DC, this is tomorrow, Wednesday.
Show threadpetersuberFeb 18
@ClimateJenny
Thx, Jenny. I won't be able to make it but I'm publcizing it.
https://fediscience.org/@petersuber/114025562276753033
petersuber (@petersuber@fediscience.org)

Update. "Join academic workers across the country in fighting restrictions on research - Feb. 19th Rally." https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe53wTzsA1T6b6-QxZtt20Yq1k2IX23YnDgKCli4mcTMRwYLA/viewform "For the last three weeks, we have seen unprecedented attacks on science that have severely impacted our day-to-day work as scientists, researchers, and clinicians - funding that sustains critical scientific research to improve human health has been dramatically cut, research is being censored, and scientists are losing their jobs…The work we do is a public good and essential for the health of each and every American, now and in the future. We must fight to save science so we can continue doing the work that keeps Americans healthy." h/t @ClimateJenny@biodiversity.social #Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics

FediScience.org
Show threadBlueDot🇺🇦Feb 17

@petersuber

Of course if I were writing to a Republican member of Congress, I'd describe independent science as "a common-sense, nonpartisan goal."

But it isn't. Science is inherently anti-fascist, because #fascism is anti-science. Indeed, fascists have been railing for years against the very idea that there is objective truth. The destruction of the American scientific community was always part of the plan.

@ucsusa

Show threadnoplasticshowerFeb 16
@petersuber disgusted with Republicans
Show threadJay Thoden van Velzen ☁️​🛡️​Feb 16
@petersuber that cat 5 or 6 hurricane will still come. Now you just won't know about it, until it hits you
Show threadPhillyChuckFeb 16
@petersuber Does he not realize how critical weather was to the D-Day landings, and also the Japanese A-bombs? Of course, he wanted the other side to win.
Show threadCelloMom On CarsFeb 16

@petersuber

So WEIRD, the way private companies harvest the publicly available output of public institutions, make money and a reputation off of it, and suddenly are shown to need the Cinderella after all.

Show threadTytraterFeb 16
@petersuber can’t measure climate change if we stop measuring the weather
Show threadPteryx the Puzzle SecretaryFeb 15
@petersuber Why are they only introducing something like this now, when it's really unlikely to be passed? We need more than theatre.