‘Misinformation’ Researchers Are Losing It After Trump Admin Cuts More Funding

Researchers slammed the Trump administration over the weekend after the National Science Foundation (NSF) terminated grant funding for research related to “misinformation” and “disinformation.”

As a result of President Donald Trump’s day one executive order “Restoring Freedom Of Speech And Ending Federal Censorship,” the NSF “will not prioritize research proposals that engage in or facilitate any conduct that would unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen,” the agency announced Friday.

“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,” the agency’s frequently asked questions page updated Friday states.

The cuts were among awards the agency wrote were “not aligned with NSF’s priorities,” including others “on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).” The NSF declined to comment on the number of awards canceled or their amounts.

Researchers reacted on social media to receiving notice that their awards would be terminated.

“I got an email yesterday afternoon that my NSF SPRF Postdoctoral Fellowship was terminated,” Maddy Jalbert, who works at the Center for an Informed Public (CIP) at the University of Washington, wrote Saturday afternoon on Bluesky. “My grant focused on testing interventions to address online misinformation and I was 8 months into a two year appointment.”