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Scientific Integrity at Stake: Researchers Withdraw Paper Over Censorship
Two researchers based in California have brought to light a troubling case of censorship within a U.S. government health publication. They revealed that they were instructed to omit data regarding sexual orientation from a scientific manuscript that had already been accepted for publication.
The researchers, Tamar Antin and Rachelle Annechino, claim they were also told to eliminate terms like “gender,” “cisgender,” and “equitable” from their study, which focuses on smoking behavior among rural young adults. The rationale for this directive was cited as adherence to an executive order issued by then-President Donald Trump, which mandated government agencies to curtail language associated with gender identity.
In response to these requests, the researchers opted to withdraw their manuscript from Public Health Reports, the official journal of the U.S. Surgeon General and U.S. Public Health Service. This decision reflects their commitment to maintaining the integrity of their research.
On Trump’s first day back in office, he signed an executive order aimed at eliminating “gender ideology” from government publications, which is part of a broader pattern of executive actions targeting initiatives related to diversity and inclusion.
Antin has stated that they aim to find another platform for their findings. In their blog post detailing this incident, both Antin and Annechino encouraged other academics to avoid publishing in journals associated with federal agencies to prevent political meddling.
“In normal times, this would never happen,” remarked Antin, who heads the Center for Critical Public Health. “I have never faced such demands for censorship, nor have any of my colleagues, to my knowledge. This raises serious concerns about the current state of scientific research.”
The evidence of attempted censorship includes screenshots from the blog post, showcasing proposed deletions of critical demographic data regarding sexual orientation, with annotations noting that “Per the Executive Order, we cannot include language surrounding gender.”
Antin emphasized that understanding smoking behaviors across different genders and sexual orientations is vital for crafting effective public health messaging, underscoring the importance of demographic information in research.
Moreover, Antin contended that such censorship jeopardizes the credibility of scientific inquiry and likely contravenes the established policy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS asserts that scientific findings must not be “unduly suppressed, delayed, or altered for political purposes.”
In response to these developments, HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon stated that the agency is committed to restoring the integrity of scientific discourse, asserting that all articles published in Public Health Reports must align with President Trump’s executive orders.
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