Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Smart Again
  • Home
  • Trending
  • Politics
  • Law & Defense
  • Community
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Smart Again
  • Home
  • Trending
  • Politics
  • Law & Defense
  • Community
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Smart Again
No Result
View All Result
Home Politics

Government cancels disinformation grants in disinformation-filled statement

April 22, 2025
in Politics
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0 0
A A
0
Government cancels disinformation grants in disinformation-filled statement
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Thousands protest the Trump administration’s federal funding cuts during the Stand Up for Science rally in Washington, DC, March 7, 2025. Dominic Gwinn/ZUMA

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

Lisa Fazio expected her National Science Foundation grant to be cancelled. The associate professor of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt University had watched, with apprehension, the GOP targeting disinformation in a series of legislative attacks.

She only grew more certain when, on April 18, the National Science Foundation (NSF) put out a statement on how grants would henceforth be evaluated for funding. In addition to limiting the inclusion of underrepresented groups, the statement cited Trump’s Inauguration Day executive order, “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship,” to cut funding for disinformation research:

“NSF will not support research with the goal of combating “misinformation,” “disinformation,” and “malinformation” that could be used to infringe on the constitutionally protected speech rights of American citizens across the United States in a manner that advances a preferred narrative about significant matters of public debate.”

Fazio knew her research—”How false beliefs form and how to correct them“—was toast. Building on the established understanding that the more times a given piece of information is repeated, the more likely people are to believe it—whether or not it’s true—Fazio’s research tested that idea outside the lab in studies based on social media and texting. The question, Fazio said, was, “How can we best design misinformation debunks and misinformation corrections so that they’re as effective as possible?”

She didn’t have to wait long for the news. Hours after the NSF statement was released, Fazio received an email about the termination of the roughly $500,000 grant funding her study. Despite expecting the news, Fazio described it as a “gut punch.”

Mary Feeney, a professor at Arizona State University’s School of Public Affairs, worked as a program officer at NSF under the Biden administration, overseeing its “Science of Science” program, which approved grants in fields like science communication and information quality. Feeney expressed confusion: none of the research she approved, she remarked, could reasonably be said to infringe on the constitutional right to free speech or debate. “No research project I ever recommended for funding, or that I’ve ever heard of, goes out and denies someone from speaking or doing a media report,” Feeney said.

“We know false information is out there, we know it spreads widely, and it’s important for people’s health and for democracy to understand what we can do about it.”

“The work that we’re doing is not censorship,” said Fazio. “We’re telling what the scientific community thinks about topics where there’s consensus on what we think is true or false, based on what we know. That’s not censorship. That’s adding additional speech to the conversation.”

Moreover, said Feeney, NSF doesn’t regulate anyone’s speech; it funds research that leads to “an advancement of knowledge, the delivery of courses, training for junior scientists.”

“I think it’s a big leap between ‘we fund research on X topic’ and ‘the results of that research prevent someone from doing something,’” she said.

But the cuts didn’t surprise her, either. In Feeney’s final year with NSF, she says, leadership asked her to remove the word “misinformation” from grant titles, replacing it with other terms. She believes that the Biden White House “sensed that misinformation was becoming a target word for the incoming administration, and they were trying to kind of move it out of the system.”

Regardless, more than 50 other NSF grants studying how information is disseminated and trusted—worth some $9 million—have been cancelled since Friday, when the body released its new guidelines. Most of those grants funded studies on disinformation.

Fazio is one of the lucky ones. Most of her grant had already been used, with several papers already published. She hopes to continue follow-up research on a smaller scale with private funding, although it’s harder to come by. “Since the federal government started attacking misinformation researchers, nonprofits and foundations have been less interested in funding this research than they were before,” she said.

But she worries about the impacts of the funding loss. Fazio’s next project was going to study the formation of false beliefs broadly—she offered the example of “how repeating false information about immigrants might affect your belief about immigration as a whole.” The loss of NSF funding may make that project impossible.

“We know false information is out there,” Fazio says, “We know it spreads widely, and it’s important for people’s health and for democracy to understand what we can do about it.”

NSF’s “Science of Science” program, Feeney explained, wasn’t just about spotting false narratives but making science more understandable. “Some of it was misinformation, but a lot of it is also trust,” she says. “Misinformation is one component of this broader understanding of science communication.”

The new NSF statement is “creating a false narrative about science in America,” said Fazio. “It’s misinformation [to say] that research on misinformation is actually censoring the general public.”

“The administration is complaining about the censorship while censoring academics and what we research,” she lamented.



Source link

Tags: cancelsDisinformationdisinformationfilledGovernmentgrantsstatement
Previous Post

Sen. Chris Murphy And Rep. Maxwell Frost Are Heading To NC For A Town Hall Where Republicans Are Hiding

Next Post

With Latest Missteps, Veneer of Discipline in 2nd Trump Term Falls Away

Related Posts

ICE’s spending on weaponry has soared more than 700 percent this year
Politics

ICE’s spending on weaponry has soared more than 700 percent this year

October 22, 2025
Democrats Move To Take Pay Away From Trump, Vance, And White House During Shutdown
Politics

Democrats Move To Take Pay Away From Trump, Vance, And White House During Shutdown

October 21, 2025
Mike Johnson Accused Of 1/6 Cover-Up
Politics

Mike Johnson Accused Of 1/6 Cover-Up

October 21, 2025
Devastated by Israel, Gaza faces an environmental crisis “above imagination”
Politics

Devastated by Israel, Gaza faces an environmental crisis “above imagination”

October 21, 2025
No Kings Is On Its Way To Changing America
Politics

No Kings Is On Its Way To Changing America

October 20, 2025
The federal workers who showed up at “No Kings” are not the villains in this story
Politics

The federal workers who showed up at “No Kings” are not the villains in this story

October 20, 2025
Next Post
With Latest Missteps, Veneer of Discipline in 2nd Trump Term Falls Away

With Latest Missteps, Veneer of Discipline in 2nd Trump Term Falls Away

“My Dinner with Adolf”: Larry David roasts Bill Maher’s meeting with Trump in satirical NYT essay

"My Dinner with Adolf": Larry David roasts Bill Maher's meeting with Trump in satirical NYT essay

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
“Empathy is not weak or woke”: Jane Fonda tells actors to “resist” and fight for goodness

“Empathy is not weak or woke”: Jane Fonda tells actors to “resist” and fight for goodness

February 24, 2025
Ask Donald Trump, Republicans In Congress, Trump Supporters And The GOP Supreme Court Questions That Expose Their Corruption.

Ask Donald Trump, Republicans In Congress, Trump Supporters And The GOP Supreme Court Questions That Expose Their Corruption.

September 9, 2025
Americans aren’t buying Trump’s shutdown blame game

Americans aren’t buying Trump’s shutdown blame game

October 2, 2025
ALFRED NOBEL DID NOT INTEND THIS HONOR TO BE AWARDED TO VIOLENT- NATURED PEOPLE.

ALFRED NOBEL DID NOT INTEND THIS HONOR TO BE AWARDED TO VIOLENT- NATURED PEOPLE.

October 8, 2025
The crisis coming for our national parks, explained in two charts

The crisis coming for our national parks, explained in two charts

February 19, 2025
Gavin Newsom rediscovers that “fighter” is a good look

Gavin Newsom rediscovers that “fighter” is a good look

June 13, 2025
“They stole an election”: Former Florida senator found guilty in “ghost candidates” scandal

“They stole an election”: Former Florida senator found guilty in “ghost candidates” scandal

0
The Hawaii senator who faced down racism and ableism—and killed Nazis

The Hawaii senator who faced down racism and ableism—and killed Nazis

0
The murder rate fell at the fastest-ever pace last year—and it’s still falling

The murder rate fell at the fastest-ever pace last year—and it’s still falling

0
Trump used the site of the first assassination attempt to spew falsehoods

Trump used the site of the first assassination attempt to spew falsehoods

0
MAGA church plans to raffle a Trump AR-15 at Second Amendment rally

MAGA church plans to raffle a Trump AR-15 at Second Amendment rally

0
Tens of thousands are dying on the disability wait list

Tens of thousands are dying on the disability wait list

0
Miankina amin’ny ranomasina izy ireo mba hivelomany. Saingy ankehitriny, miharava ny aina velona ao an-dranomasina.

Miankina amin’ny ranomasina izy ireo mba hivelomany. Saingy ankehitriny, miharava ny aina velona ao an-dranomasina.

October 22, 2025
This Day In History: Monster Mash #1 On Billboard

This Day In History: Monster Mash #1 On Billboard

October 22, 2025
ICE’s spending on weaponry has soared more than 700 percent this year

ICE’s spending on weaponry has soared more than 700 percent this year

October 22, 2025
“Excellent candidate”: Sanders defends Maine Senate candidate amid Nazi tattoo controversy

“Excellent candidate”: Sanders defends Maine Senate candidate amid Nazi tattoo controversy

October 22, 2025
Democrats Move To Take Pay Away From Trump, Vance, And White House During Shutdown

Democrats Move To Take Pay Away From Trump, Vance, And White House During Shutdown

October 21, 2025
Trump’s 0 million cash grab, briefly explained

Trump’s $230 million cash grab, briefly explained

October 21, 2025
Smart Again

Stay informed with Smart Again, the go-to news source for liberal perspectives and in-depth analysis on politics, social justice, and more. Join us in making news smart again.

CATEGORIES

  • Community
  • Law & Defense
  • Politics
  • Trending
  • Uncategorized
No Result
View All Result

LATEST UPDATES

  • Miankina amin’ny ranomasina izy ireo mba hivelomany. Saingy ankehitriny, miharava ny aina velona ao an-dranomasina.
  • This Day In History: Monster Mash #1 On Billboard
  • ICE’s spending on weaponry has soared more than 700 percent this year
  • About Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA
  • Cookie Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2024 Smart Again.
Smart Again is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Trending
  • Politics
  • Law & Defense
  • Community
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2024 Smart Again.
Smart Again is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Go to mobile version