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2024-11-11

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CDC orders its scientists to withdraw new papers to hunt out ‘forbidden terms': reports (www.huffpost.com)

submitted 4 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Summary

The CDC has ordered its scientists to withdraw or pause pending research papers for review by the Trump administration, which is enforcing a ban on terms like “gender,” “LGBT,” and “pregnant person.”

An internal email revealed that all manuscripts, even those already accepted for publication, must comply.

Reuters confirmed the directive, which follows broader federal efforts to remove references to gender identity from government materials.

Critics warn the policy could hinder scientific integrity, as even demographic terms like “gender” may be censored.

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[–] [email protected] -2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Twitter choosing a new policy wouldn't be affected by the constitution.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

That's the point I'm making, yes.

The twitter thing was never a free speech issue, while this CDC thing is, yet the outcry for twitter seems to have been far louder than the actual govt censorship.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Twitter was absolutely a free speech issue, it's just not a legal issue because despite all the propaganda the US free speech protections are very narrow in scope, only applying to the government.

It also reflects a more general trend in US mindsets where it's only the government that can violate people's rights and not private entities. To an extend it helps this takeover by Musk, they are not "real government" they are outsiders that are taking on the "deep" state.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

US free speech protections are very narrow in scope, only applying to the government.

This is the part I'm referring to. United States constitutional free speech. Sure the twitter thing is a debatable issue, but it's a side issue. That issue was not and is not protected by the constitution. You can argue that it should be all you want, but it currently isn't and therefore wasn't illegal.

The thing with the CDC is an actual violation of the constitution and a real life example of the government violating the rights it is supposed to be upholding.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

You mentioned the word outcry in your first post. I therefore assume we are not discussing legality but the response of the US public. Which is not as much as you believe it should be.

The explanation is that the American public does not actually care for free speech as a human right that much. Your own dismissal of corporate censorship as not 'actual' censorship reinforces my point. It being illegal on it's own won't necessarily cause an outcry.

Especially when it's done to people that the American public has been propagandized to hate for decades. Ivory tower scientists, 'working' for the government like a commie instead of working for a corporation, like Tesla.