About

The Silencing Science Tracker is a joint initiative of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund. It is intended to record reports of federal, state, and local government attempts to “silence science” since the November 2016 election.

All tracker entries are drawn from media reports, with most taken from national news sources. We do not take any position on the accuracy of those reports. Please contact info@silencingscience.org to recommend relevant media reports we may have missed or provide responses or corrections to media reports we have included. To stay up to date on new entries, subscribe to our mailing list here.

We define “silencing science” to include any action that has the effect of restricting or prohibiting scientific research, education, or discussion, or the publication or use of scientific information. We divide such actions into 7 categories as follows:

Category	Examples
Government Censorship	Changing the content of websites, reports, and/or other materials to suppress or distort scientific information. Blocking the release of scientific data, reports, and/or other materials. Restricting public communication by scientists (e.g., preventing scientists from speaking at conferences or to the media).
Self-Censorship	Scientists voluntarily changing the content of websites, reports, and/or other materials to suppress or distort scientific information, potentially in response to political pressure.
Budget Cuts	Reducing or withholding funding for existing agency programs involving scientific research or education. Eliminating existing scientific research or education programs for which funding has been appropriated by Congress or state legislatures. Cancelling existing grants for scientific research or education without cause (i.e., absent proof of fraud, abuse, or other inappropriate conduct).
Personnel Changes	Removing scientists from agency positions or creating a hostile work environment. Appointing unqualified individuals to, or failing to fill, scientific positions. Changing the composition of scientific advisory boards or other bodies to remove qualified scientists or add only industry-favored members. Eliminating government bodies involved in scientific research or education, or the dissemination of scientific information.
Research Hindrance	Destroying or blocking access to data or other inputs needed to undertake scientific research. Preventing the use of particular scientific methods, models, or other widely accepted tools (e.g., preventing scientists from modeling climate impacts beyond a specific data).
Bias and Misrepresentation	Engaging in “cherry picking” or only disclosing certain scientific studies (e.g., those that support a particular conclusion). Misrepresenting or mischaracterizing scientific studies.
Interference with Education	Changing science education standards to prevent or limit the teaching of proven scientific theories. Requiring or encouraging the teaching of discredited or unproven scientific theories. Preventing the use of factually accurate textbooks and other instructional materials.

Government actors may seek to engage in the above anti-science actions in order to justify certain policy positions or actions. For example, a 2020 study found that the first Trump administration sought to “restrict access to scientific information” about climate change and “cast doubt on its veracity, thereby limiting public understanding of the issues, and reducing possible options to the Administration’s plans” to roll back climate regulations that “scientific research shows would advance public health and environmental quality.” While we recognize this link, the tracker does not include information about policy decisions or actions taken by federal, state, or local governments that are based on or justified by the silencing of science.

The tracker also does not include federal legislative proposals affecting scientific research, education, or discussion. State-level proposals are included, however.

Please note, we cannot provide assistance to researchers and/or others who believe they may have been the target of government attempts to silence science. If you believe you may have been targeted, we recommend you contact an attorney. You may also contact one or more of the organizations listed on the resources page. If you wish to stay anonymous, please be sure to discuss confidentiality issues before disclosing information to any organization or person, including those listed here.