WaPo: CDC given a list of 'forbidden words'
The Post reported that CDC policy analysts were told not to use seven words, including fetus, transgender and science-based, in budget documents, framed as a list of forbidden words.
The 'banned words' framing portrayed the Trump administration as censoring science at the CDC.
What was reported
The Post reported that CDC policy analysts were told not to use seven words, including fetus, transgender and science-based, in budget documents, framed as a list of forbidden words.
What actually happened
The story sparked wide 'Trump bans words' coverage. HHS disputed it and CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald said there were no banned words at CDC. The New York Times, citing CDC officials, described the guidance as suggested wording to help budget documents win Republican approval rather than a ban. No written ban was ever produced.
The proof
CDC Director Fitzgerald's public statement that no words were banned, HHS's denial, and contrary accounts from CDC officials to other outlets.
The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:
WaPo: CDC given a list of 'forbidden words' — Unproven. CDC Director Fitzgerald's public statement that no words were banned, HHS's denial, and contrary accounts from CDC officials to other outlets. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/wapo-cdc-forbidden-words/
Original reporting
- Washington Post report as syndicated by WAFB: CDC gets list of forbidden wordshttps://www.wafb.com/story/37083398/cdc-gets-list-of-forbidden-words-fetus-transgender-diversity/
Corrections, findings & records
- PBS NewsHour: CDC director says there are no banned wordshttps://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/cdc-director-says-there-are-no-banned-words-at-the-agency
- ABC13: HHS disputes report it barred CDC from using wordshttps://abc13.com/news/hhs-disputes-report-it-has-barred-cdc-from-using-words-like-diversity-and-fetus/2788887
- Euronews: CDC can say 'fetus,' insists there's no banhttps://www.euronews.com/2017/12/18/cdc-can-say-fetus-insists-there-s-no-ban-words-n830881
Archived copies
Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.
- Archived copy: Washington Post report as syndicated by WAFB: CDC gets list of forbidden wordshttps://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.wafb.com/story/37083398/cdc-gets-list-of-forbidden-words-fetus-transgender-diversity/