petersuberUpdate. 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
petersuber (@[email protected])
"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
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.
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/
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
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/
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.
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
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/
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/
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.
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
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.
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/
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?
Trump officials exerting unprecedented control over CDC scientific journal
"The MMWR has lost its autonomy," one health official told CBS News.
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."
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.
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
petersuber (@[email protected])
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Update. "Join the Organizing Team for Your Local Stand Up For Science Rally!"
https://airtable.com/app4h5wUssMGXxiaX/shrxZ4tAY6LYldCNg
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
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
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.
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
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
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.
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
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."
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.
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.
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
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/
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.
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.
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.
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
AndreaUpdate. "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
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.
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
Update. An editorial in #JAMA and the #JAMANetwork.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2830748?guestAccessKey=47e4b56b-8f69-4ff3-a26e-3a66a88b2c67&linkId=753250407
"Some authors of scientific works in process have had to remove their names from publications for these publications to proceed; others have chosen to pause or withdraw their publications. While some of these actions are directly related to the executive order to #HHS employees to cease communications, many have been undertaken preemptively by authors who are not subject to the order but are presumably fearful of the challenges of communicating complex findings in this current environment. Some authors are engaging in anticipatory compliance by scrubbing from their manuscripts words they fear may be deemed, in the moment, politically unacceptable…We remain steadfast in our guidance to authors and readers across the JAMA Network journals and endorse and adhere to the standards set by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors [#ICMJE]…We will act flexibly, where appropriate, to ensure that censoring efforts will not silence the integrity of the scientific process or clear communication of scientific information important for health."
#Censorship #DefendResearch #Medicine #ScholComm #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics
Update. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (#ICMJE) has updated its guidance in light of recent actions by the #Trump administration.
https://www.icmje.org/news-and-editorials/icmje_guidance_notice.html
"If authors request removal or addition of an author after manuscript submission or publication, journal editors should seek an explanation and signed statement of agreement for the requested change from all listed authors including the author to be removed or added…Corrections are warranted for errors of fact that should have been recognized at the time of publication. Matters of debate and evolving science and methods are not errors. Retraction of published work is generally reserved for errors serious enough to invalidate results and conclusions and/or when there is scientific misconduct.."
#Censorship #DefendResearch #Medicine #ScholComm #Takedowns #USPol #USPolitics
Update. "Why the European Journal of Public Health and EUPHA are opposing President Trump’s attack on the language of diversity"
https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurpub/ckaf018/8030478
"The news that the #Trump administration has ordered scientists at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to withdraw or retract articles containing terms such as “gender,” “transgender,” “LGBT,” or “transsexual” is as shocking as it is dangerous…Such censorship is not only an assault on scientific integrity but also a harbinger of the creeping authoritarianism that Europe has seen before, one that we must resist with all the force of history…First, we will not retract published articles due to political pressure. Retractions are reserved for fraud, major errors, or ethical breaches, not for the mere use of words that a government disapproves of. Second, we will continue to publish research that includes terms related to gender, sexuality, and reproductive health. Third, we will defend the rights of researchers to publish without fear of political persecution. Fourth, we will stand in solidarity with colleagues facing censorship. Suppression of knowledge anywhere is a threat to knowledge everywhere."
#Censorship #DefendResearch #DEI #Medicine #ScholComm #Takedowns #USPol #USPolitics
Update. "ALLEA Statement on Threats to Academic Freedom and International Research Collaboration in the United States"
https://allea.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ALLEA-Statement-on-Threats-to-Academic-Freedom.pdf
"The European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities expresses grave concern over the escalating threats to academic freedom, both in the United States and beyond. Recent developments regarding science and scholarship in the U.S., including executive orders freezing billions in federal research funding and censorship around topics such as climate change and gender, are forcing many U.S. science agencies and research organisations to abruptly suspend normal operations. Such censorship and political suppression of language, research topics, and methodologies—whether through funding restrictions, legislative control, or institutional interference—fundamentally compromise the integrity of scientific and scholarly endeavours not just in the U.S. but around the world due to the global nature of the research ecosystem."
#AcademicFreedom #ALLEA #Censorship #Collaboration #DefendResearch #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics
Update. "Reflections on the Current Moment from SSP’s Board of Directors"
https://www.sspnet.org/community/news/statement-from-the-ssp-board-of-directors/
"The challenges stemming from a shifting U.S. political landscape, which threaten academic freedom, #DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) initiatives, the scholarly record, and federal research funding, are affecting the Society for Scholarly Publishing (#SSP) community in multiple ways: mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially…Since we were established in 1978, SSP has intentionally demonstrated an unwavering commitment to building a diverse and inclusive community. We actively infuse our work with equitable values, including providing leadership as a founding member of the Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Publishing (#C4DISC)."
#Censorship #DefendResearch #DEI #ScholComm #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics
Update. "Will medical publishers fight Trump’s war on 'woke'?"
https://www.thebookseller.com/comment/will-medical-publishers-fight-trumps-war-on-woke
"Although many medical journal #editors have made their position known, medical #publishers are, for now, conspicuously silent…The collective resolve of the medical publishing industry is being put to the test. This is an opportunity for the industry to affirm its commitment to safeguard the scholarly record from ideological distortion. #Censorship in health research affects us all. We share a responsibility to stand firm and decry Trump’s war on "gender ideology" as a full-scale assault on the scientific method."
#DefendResearch #Journals #Medicine #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics
Update. Statement from #TheLancet in response to recent US executive orders
https://www.thelancet.com/editorial-policies#anchor10
"The Lancet Group will be making no changes to our editorial policies regarding withdrawal, authorship change, inclusive language, or retraction. Ahead of publication, the withdrawal of submitted papers and authorship changes will only generally be considered if the written agreement of all authors is received. The Lancet Group will continue to recommend the use of inclusive language, accepting authors’ ultimate choice of terminology when it is scientifically accurate and respectful, and will continue to encourage authors to follow the Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER) reporting guidelines. Published papers will only be corrected or retracted when they contain factual errors or if scientific misconduct has taken place. These policies are in line with recently issued guidance from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors [#ICMJE]."
#Censorship #DefendResearch #DEI #Medicine #ScholComm #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics
Update. "Farmers Sue Over Deletion of Climate Data From Government Websites"
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/climate/agriculture-farmer-website-data-lawsuit.html
"Organic farmers and environmental groups sued the Agriculture Department on Monday over its scrubbing of references to #climate change from its website…That included websites containing data sets, interactive tools and funding information that farmers and researchers relied on for planning and adaptation projects, according to the lawsuit…Peter Lehner, a lawyer for #Earthjustice, said the pages being purged were crucial for farmers facing risks linked to climate change, including heat waves, droughts, floods, extreme weather and wildfires."
#Agriculture #Censorship #DefendResearch #Litigation #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics
Update. "On March 7, 2025, we [Stand Up For Science] rally [in Washington DC] to defend science as a public good…We call on policymakers, institutions, and the scientific community to uphold the integrity of science, protect its accessibility, and ensure its benefits serve all people. To achieve this, we seek the following policy actions.
1. Secure and Expand Scientific Funding…
2. End Censorship and Political Interference in Science…
3. Defend Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in Science."
https://standupforscience2025.org/our-policy-goals/
#Censorship #DefendResearch #DEI #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics
Update. "The National Archives is nonpartisan but has found itself targeted by Trump."
https://apnews.com/article/trump-national-archives-firings-layoffs-historical-recordkeeping-559027fdd2f634263bea7774a78d66fe
"The president didn’t give a public reason for firing archivist Colleen Shogan, but he has long held a grudge against the agency for notifying the Justice Department of his alleged mishandling of classified documents after he left office following his first term…A Trump-aligned archivist might also be less inclined to enforce the Presidential Records Act or ask questions if Trump leaves office with troves of classified documents, said Norm Eisen, executive chair of the State Democracy Defenders Fund."
#Censorship #DefendResearch #NARA #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics
National Archives targeted by Trump with firings and layoffs
As President Donald Trump moves to overhaul the federal government with astonishing speed, he has wreaked havoc on one agency long known for its nonpartisanship and revered for its mission: the National Archives and Records Administration. The independent agency and its trove of historic records have been the subject of Hollywood films and the foundation of research and policy. The agency also holds responsibilities in processes crucial for democracy, from amending the Constitution to electing a president. Former employees of the agency now worry it’s becoming politicized. The Republican president abruptly fired the head archivist this month, and several senior staffers quit or retired soon after.
Update. "Will They Come for PubMed Next?"
https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/114383
"PubMed is the backbone of biomedical research in the U.S. That's not an exaggeration…However, there are reasons to be extremely concerned about its continued existence…There are [at least five] ways the administration could interfere with PubMed."
PS: Although the author mixes up #PubMed and #PubMedCentral, her concerns apply to both.
#Censorship #DefendResearch #Medicine #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics
Update. "The Rise (and Fall?) of the National Science Foundation"
https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-national-science-foundation
(#paywalled)
"The #Trump administration’s assault on the #NSF represents precisely the kind of political interference [#VannevarBush] sought to prevent — one that threatens not only scientific progress but also the very foundation of academic freedom."
Update. "Déclaration visant à défendre la recherche contre la censure du gouvernement américain"
https://www.redactionmedicale.fr/2025/02/declaration-visant-a-defendre-la-recherche-contre-la-censure-du-gouvernement-americain
Thanks to Herve Maisonneuve for his French translation of the key recommendations of the Feb 13 Declaration To Defend Research Against U.S. Government Censorship. He adds this good conclusion: "We are free to consider that these initiatives are useless… but [signing them] allows us to support colleagues who cannot express themselves in public."
Déclaration visant à défendre la recherche contre la censure du gouvernement américain | Rédaction Médicale et Scientifique
Point n'est besoin d'expliquer ce qui se passe aux USA depuis l'arrivée au pouvoir de Donald Trump dans le domaine de la recherche et de la santé. Des organisations sont démantelées, des fonctionnaires licenciés, des aides humanitaires internationales bloquées... quitte à laisser pourrir de la nourriture.. Le silence n'est pas…
Update. Thanks to @georgetown for making this public statement.
https://president.georgetown.edu/messages/what-we-stand-for-feb-2025/
"I know that the rapidly evolving external environment is unsettling to many in the community. Some of us have received directives to stop our research activities; some of our students have had job offerings rescinded; some have read repeated external communications that question the value of their work…We promote scholarship freely based on inquiring minds…We do not conduct these activities alongside our mission; they are the essence of our mission…Be assured that we are actively tracking all developments as they occur, assessing whether they affect our mission’s work, quickly partnering with those community members affected, and supporting them as they navigate change."
#Censorship #DefendResearch #Trump #Universities #USPol #USPolitics
Who We Are and What We Stand For - Office of the President
I know that the rapidly evolving external environment is unsettling to many in the community. Some of us have received directives to stop our research activities; some of our students have had job offerings rescinded; some have read repeated external communications that question the value of their work.
Update. A new editorial in Nature: "Trump 2.0: an assault on science anywhere is an assault on science everywhere."
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00562-w
"How, then, should those of us who are part of the global enterprise of education, health, science and engineering respond? One priority must be to denounce these actions, to shout about their negative effects, to support researchers and to defend their ability to work and study without fear for their jobs. Understandably, those working at — or even leading — federal agencies might feel that they cannot speak up, but researchers at other organizations, such as universities, scientific societies, businesses, labour unions and campaign groups have more freedom, and must exercise it by showing support for affected colleagues."
#Censorship #DefendResearch #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics
Update. Reminder from #Trump's first term (2017): Trump’s budget director pick: “Do we really need government-funded research at all”
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2016/12/21/14012552/trump-budget-director-research-science-mulvaney
"President Donald #Trump recently picked Rep. Mick #Mulvaney…to head the White House’s Office of Management and Budget [#OMB]…In a stunning September 9 Facebook post (that’s since been deleted but is still cached), Mulvaney asked, '... what might be the best question: do we really need government funded research at all.'"
Update. "CDC Staff Prohibited From Co-Authoring Papers With World Health Organization Personnel"
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cdc-who-publication-memo_n_67c1eb34e4b0bf54864084cf
"Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [#CDC] have been prohibited from co-authoring publications with World Health Organization [#WHO] staff, dealing a blow to global research efforts and continuing the #Trump administration’s aggressive attack on government-funded science."
#Censorship #DefendResearch #Medicine #Trump #USPol #USPolitics
Update. The #NIH web site is down.
https://www.nih.gov/
It's been up and down, but mostly down, since before noon yesterday.
https://downdetector.com/status/nih/
I don't know what's going on but will post updates as I find them.
#DefendResearch #Medicine #Takedowns #Trump #USPol #USPolitics
VHG 🇪🇺🇺🇦
Ponygirl@petersuber Ignore, ignore, ignore...
astolk@petersuber china has been catching up in numbers of patents applications since 2010. actually they are no 1 already since then. that race is lost.
so why bother financing us research, if america is going to be a third world fascist country anyway :)
China is the largest contributor to global patent applications, substantially ahead of other countries
China’s patent applications have grown rapidly in recent decades, as shown in the chart. Chinese applications surpassed US applications in 2010, reaching over 1.4 million in 2021. According to this data from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), China’s applications accounted for more than half of the global total in 2021.
Lisa Schiff@petersuber This would be disastrous!
Daniel Hernández@petersuber I really don't understand how the US works. First, I don't know how Trump can fire the national archivist. Is there an online copy of the official document where Trump fires her? For example, in Chile, every of these documents has to be filed in the Chilean law (https://www.bcn.cl/leychile/). Does the US have a similar website where we can read this Trump executive order?
@petersuber Second, Shogan was nominated by Biden, and ratified by the congress. So, I guess that Trump can nominate a person as the new national archivist, but cannot state it. He needs the ratification by the congress. Do you think the congress will approve the new candidate selected by Trump?
hsolerkalinovski@petersuber I hope that makes more people turn an eye to data mirroring
Fuzzy Leapfrog
Kate Nyhan is changing servers@petersuber
Hmm
"While not explicitly stated in our recommendations, there may be extenuating circumstances in which a journal editor may choose to honor an author's request to be removed despite lack of agreement of all coauthors, but all coauthors should be notified of this decision."
Hmm
"While not explicitly stated in our recommendations, there may be extenuating circumstances in which a journal editor may choose to honor an author's request to be removed despite lack of agreement of all coauthors, but all coauthors should be notified of this decision."
@petersuber
And if author A wants to remove themself, but author B says, "wait, no, author A's contributions merit inclusion and not including them is a breach of publication ethics" -- what happens then?
And if author A wants to remove themself, but author B says, "wait, no, author A's contributions merit inclusion and not including them is a breach of publication ethics" -- what happens then?
@petersuber I get it -- all the authors (and deserve-to-be-authors) want to get their findings out, and if author A withdrawing is the only way that can happen, it's pretty enticing. And author A is being quite gracious in foregoing the credit for their contributions.
But - a symptom of (or reason for?) the mess we are in is that a lot of voters have been persuaded that scientists are unethical. Ghost authorship "for good reasons" is still ghost authorship :(
But - a symptom of (or reason for?) the mess we are in is that a lot of voters have been persuaded that scientists are unethical. Ghost authorship "for good reasons" is still ghost authorship :(
PhillyChuck@petersuber @neuralreckoning As always, look to #Asimov. As the power of the empire declined, the importance of librarians/archivists, then mayors increased.
#Foundation
#Foundation