CDC Director Says No Words Are Actually Banned At the CDC (pbs.org)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from PBS: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald on Sunday addressed a report that President Donald Trump's administration had banned the CDC from using seven words or phrases in next year's budget documents. The terms are "fetus," "transgender," "vulnerable," "entitlement," "diversity," "evidence-based" and "science-based," according to a story first reported on Friday in The Washington Post. But Fitzgerald said in a series of tweets on Sunday said there are "no banned words," while emphasizing the agency's commitment to data-driven science. "CDC has a long-standing history of making public health and budget decisions that are based on the best available science and data and for the benefit of all people -- and we will continue to do so," she said.

A group of the agency's policy analysts said senior officials at the CDC informed them about the banned words on Thursday, according to the Post's report. In some cases, the analysts were reportedly given replacement phrases to use instead. But in follow-up reporting, The New York Times cited "a few" CDC officials who suggested the move was not meant as an outright ban, but rather, a technique to help secure Republican approval of the 2019 budget by eliminating certain words and phrases. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC, said the reported decree on banned words was a misrepresentation.

Comments

Banjos; I head banjos!

[Rick Schumann]

The New York Times cited "a few" CDC officials who suggested the move was not meant as an outright ban, but rather, a technique to help secure Republican approval of the 2019 budget by eliminating certain words and phrases.

Is the GOP, in general, so ass-backwards that you can't mention anything about 'science' without them making warding signs against evil, invoking the Spirit, or whatever it is they do? I'm hearing banjo music..

Then it is proved

[SuperKendall]

You can still find words like "fetus" on the web site, and the very statement they issued noting the story was false included "science-based" (which I still believe to be a stupid term).

I can't believe how willing so may of you are to spread #FakeNews. Even I believed it was real (and stupid) at the time, so compelling and well-crafted has the #FakeNews industry become.

Re:Then it is proved

[Anonymous Coward]

Honestly, racing for headlines had nothing to do with this. There's nothing about this that's news worthy. It's all about reporters looking for every little thing to nitpick Trump on and not bothering to get their facts straight.

Re: Then it is proved

[greenwow]

Oh please. It's not fake news even though it isn't correct since all thinking people know Trump wanted to do that.

Then it is proved

[Okian Warrior]

For those of you who are interested in actual news, Breitbart had an article about the so-called "ban".

I've found that Breitbart, with a conservative slant, is more accurate and has better overall journalism. They provide links and are very cautious about unnamed single-person sources like the one cited in the WaPo article. (Makes perfect sense: they have a lot to lose, and if they made a mistake they'd never hear the end of it.)

Just recently Trump's lawyer complained that the E-mails were "unlawfully" obtained.

That was a direct quote, the actual word used. Watching the news cycle on this was hilarious:

E-mails were "illegally" obtained (ABC News)
E-mails were "improperly" obtained (NBC News)
Trump criticizes how Mueller obtained transition emails (WaPo)
Trump Allies Flip Out After Mueller Lands Tens Of Thousands Of [EMails] (HuffPo)
Image of Cooperation Between White House and Mueller Starts to Fracture (NY Times)
Are Trump's Lawyers Attempting to Discredit Mueller? (nymag.com)

Everyone falling over themselves trying to make the actual quote softer and less significant.

Anyone still wonder why no one trusts the mainstream news?