Edward R. Martin Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, sent a list of questions to CHEST Editor-in-Chief Peter Mazzone, MD, MPH, of the Cleveland Clinic, asking how the journal handles "misinformation" and "competing viewpoints," among other things.

Martin's letter asks five questions, including how the journal assesses its "responsibilities to protect the public from misinformation," and how it "clearly articulate[s] to the public when you have certain viewpoints that are influenced by your ongoing relations with supporters, funders, advertisers, and others." It also asks whether the journal accepts manuscripts from "competing viewpoints" as well as how it assesses the role of "funding organizations like the National Institutes of Health in the development of submitted articles." Finally, it asks how the journal handles allegations that authors "may have misled their readers." "I am also interested to know if publishers, journals, and organizations with which you work are adjusting their method of acceptance of competing viewpoints," Martin wrote. "Are there new norms being developed and offered?"

Adam Gaffney, MD, MPH, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Cambridge Health Alliance in Massachusetts, said the letter "should send a chill down the spine of scientists and physicians." "It is yet another example of the Trump administration's effort to control academic inquiry and stifle scientific discourse – an administration, it warrants mentioning, that has embraced medical misinformation and pseudoscience to reckless effect," Gaffney said in an email.

 
Source https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/115180

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