Trump Administration Tells Government Scientists To Stop Speaking To Public: Reports

Federally employed scientists at the United States Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency have been told not to speak to the press about their research or publish it on social media until further notice, according to multiple reports.

Citing sources from the EPA, Kate Sheppard from the Huffington Post reported last night that the agencies' grants were frozen, in addition to a hiring and regulations freeze that was publicly announced, and that staff were instructed not to speak publicly about the order. Monday afternoon, the Associated Press reported that the EPA was under a "media blackout" — meaning it cannot issue press releases, blog posts or social media updates to communicate its most recent findings.

"The orders are expected to have a significant and immediate impact on EPA activities nationwide," according to the AP.

And according to BuzzFeed, researchers at the United States Department of Agriculture received similar orders, restricting them from communicating with the press or the public indefinitely.

BuzzFeed quotes an email it obtained that went out to the Agriculture Research Service, the USDA's research department: “Starting immediately and until further notice, ARS will not release any public-facing documents,” wrote Sharon Drumm, chief of staff for the department. “This includes, but is not limited to, news releases, photos, fact sheets, news feeds, and social media content."

It appears the researchers are still permitted to publish research in peer-reviewed journals; however, speaking directly to the press and public about research is a common method for theses agencies to distribute valuable information.

“As the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency, ARS values and is committed to maintaining the free flow of information between our scientists and the American public as we strive to find solutions to agricultural problems affecting America,” said Christopher Bentley, a spokesman for the department, in a statement to BuzzFeed.

Photo credit: Urcomunicacion