A $600,000 federal grant to research feminine hygiene products was axed after US officials falsely labelled it a study on transgender menstrual cycles, underscoring the way that misinformation is underpinning a breakneck cost-cutting spree.
Elon Musk, President Donald Trump's billionaire advisor, has overseen a crusade by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to slash government spending, ordering massive cuts and layoffs that have upended scientific research and foreign aid.
But the cost-cutters are spreading misinformation as they home in on their targets.
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For example, the cancellations include funding awarded to Southern University in Louisiana, which Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins rescinded last month.
However, she falsely described it as a grant to study "menstrual cycles in transgender men."
DOGE amplified her announcement on its website and X.
Outrage fueled by the misinformation grew so intense online that the professor in charge of the research, Samii Kennedy Benson, feared for her safety, multiple sources told AFP.
The true purpose of "Project Farm to Feminine Hygiene" was to explore how alternatives to synthetic pads, liners and underwear could be made using natural fibers such as regenerative cotton, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and interviews with five sources.
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The effort also involved an outreach program educating women and girls about menstruation and the establishment of a local...
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