Institutional Misinformation begins with Compartmentalization of Information
WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has instructed federal health agencies to pause all external communications, such as health advisories, weekly scientific reports, updates to websites and social media posts, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing a dozen current and former officials and sources.
The instructions were delivered on Tuesday to staff at agencies inside the Department of Health and Human Services, including officials at the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Institutes of Health, the newspaper reported. The agencies had no immediate comment.
Trump took office on Monday.
The Washington Post said that it was not clear from the guidance given by the new administration whether the directive would affect more urgent communications, such as foodborne disease outbreaks, drug approvals and new bird flu cases.
Stefanie Spear, a Department of Health deputy chief of staff, instructed agency staff on Tuesday morning to pause external communications, the newspaper reported.
Some officials cited by the newspaper were quoted as saying that the move is aimed at helping newly installed Trump health officials understand the vast flow of information coming out of health agencies.
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ANALYSIS
I believe this will lead to a significant reduction in funding for public health agencies and programs. Further, this funding will be tied to compliance and restrictive information release. In Louisiana, health departments are restricted from sharing information with the public about the availability and necessity of flu and covid shots. In Florida, the most vulnerable communities are being discouraged from getting Covid vaccines.
Early in the Covid pandemic Trump complained about the information being released hurting his administration. Translation: Stop saying things (releasing information) that can make ME look bad. This was more than a year after Trump had dismantled the White House pandemic team in 2018.
SOURCES TO CONSIDER
Trump in his own words: The Covid Pandemic
