FDA Vaccine Chief Front-Runner Called mRNA Vaccines “Experimental Genetic Technology,” Compared Pandemic Response to Iranian Rule Dr. Houman David Hemmati is closely aligned with the MAHA movement.

The leading candidate to run the FDA's vaccine office is a MAHA-aligned ophthalmologist who views mRNA shots as "experimental" & mask mandates as "religious" extremism.
A deep dive into Dr. Houman David Hemmati & the total overhaul of U.S. public health. 🧬🧪

www.importantcontext.news/p/fda-vaccin...

As HHS Rails Against Science Politicization, Leading Agency Officials Embrace Right-Wing Political Action The suprising number of public health officials at CPAC earlier this month highlights what critics say is a disturbing trend.

NEW: As Donald Trump’s HHS messages about restoring “gold standard science” and combating politicization of public health, top officials from the department are embracing right-wing political advocacy.

Last month, a number of them even appeared at CPAC.

www.importantcontext.news/p/as-hhs-rai...

Inside AJI’s fight against disinformation - Editor and Publisher Investigative journalist Walker Bragman isn’t interested in simply debunking misinformation. He wants to identify the people funding it, the networks spreading it and the political forces benefiting f...

Thanks to Editor & Publisher for the feature on AJI. We started this work to go beyond debunking falsehoods and expose the people, money, and networks behind them.

www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/insi...

Inside AJI’s fight against disinformation

We got profiled in Editor & Publisher!

Give this a read and follow @accountabilityji.bsky.social

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“Rewrite All of Your Woke Science”: Early-Career Researcher Says NIH’s Anti-DEI Agenda is Undermining Agency’s Mission Dr. Michael D. Green says his work is being censored to fit an “amorphous political agenda.”

An early-career NIH researcher says he was told to “rewrite all of your woke science” to keep funding alive. His work on discrimination in health care was already approved. Now he says politics are overruling science. @walkerbragman.bsky.social has the story

open.substack.com/pub/importan...

We are proud to welcome Billy Jean Sweeney to our Board of Directors!

www.marketwatch.com/press-releas...

Meat and Dairy Industries Spent Big Money Lobbying Ahead of Trump Dietary Guideline Changes The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans emphasize red meat and dairy.

NEW: In January the Trump administration released new dietary guidelines that prompted the consumption of red meat and full-fat dairy products.

Federal lobbying disclosures reveal that the meat and dairy industries spent big money lobbying USDA and HHS, which were responsible for the guidelines.

Meat and Dairy Industries Spent Big Money Lobbying Ahead of Trump Dietary Guideline Changes The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans emphasize red meat and dairy.

The Trump administration says its new dietary guidelines reject corporate influence.Lobbying disclosures tell a different story.
Meat and dairy interests spent heavily ahead of major changes to federal nutrition advice.
New from @walkerbragman.bsky.social

www.importantcontext.news/p/meat-and-d...

To support our enterprise journalism, please subscribe to Important Context or donate to @accountabilityji.bsky.social.

Vinay Prasad Returns to FDA Within two weeks of his unceremonious departure, the COVID vaccine skeptic is back as the nation’s top vaccine regulator.

How did an ousted vaccine skeptic get his job back at the FDA in just two weeks? Inside the growing turf war between RFK Jr. and Laura Loomer over the nation's public health agencies:

www.importantcontext.news/p/vinay-pras...

Vinay Prasad Returns to FDA Within two weeks of his unceremonious departure, the COVID vaccine skeptic is back as the nation’s top vaccine regulator.

Prasad allegedly left to spend more time with his family.

But Makary came to his aid and got him back two weeks later.

Enough family time!

www.importantcontext.news/p/vinay-pras...

Jay Bhattacharya is now acting CDC director— and his record raises major questions about where vaccine policy is headed next. Read the latest reporting from @walkerbragman.bsky.social

open.substack.com/pub/importan...

New CDC Director Has Questioned Vaccine Safety Jay Bhattacharya’s recent new appointment may suggest more changes to the vaccine schedule.

NEW from me in Important Context:

NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya is now the acting CDC director.

Bhattacharya has long cast doubt on vaccine safety, and his appointment may signal more changes to the childhood and adolescent immunization schedule.

www.importantcontext.news/p/new-cdc-di...

A Dazzling Tower of Inference: A Review of Muddy Waters — AJI AJI’s own Wendy Orent offers a critical review of Muddy Waters , a recent book arguing that COVID-19 emerged from a laboratory.

This new book review by @wendyorent.bsky.social is a must read.

Wendy read the recent COVID lab leak book “Muddy Waters” for @accountabilityji.bsky.social and wrote a devastating critique, demolishing the hysteria and wild speculation.

www.accountabilityjournalism.org/insights/4nd...

NIH Director Declines to Fully Rule Out Vaccine-Autism Link During Senate Hearing Jay Bhattacharya would not categorically denounce the discredited narrative that vaccines cause autism.

Who’s writing HHS’s talking points? A Project 2025–linked Christian Right think tank. They’re calling trans care “sex-denying procedures.”

www.importantcontext.news/p/nih-direct...

NIH Director Declines to Fully Rule Out Vaccine-Autism Link During Senate Hearing Jay Bhattacharya would not categorically denounce the discredited narrative that vaccines cause autism.

Stuff like this has become so normalized, but it shouldn’t be.

The National Institutes of Health director leaving room for anti-vax narratives or participating in conferences of anti-vax groups is, frankly, outrageous.

www.importantcontext.news/p/nih-direct...

“The Entire City's in This Sort of State of Siege:” A Conversation With A Minneapolis ICE Tracker Important Context spoke with attorney Will Stancil, who has been tracking ICE in his city.

Minneapolis is living under “a state of siege.” Important Context spoke with attorney Will Stancil, part of a decentralized community network tracking ICE/CBP movements.

www.importantcontext.news/p/the-entire...

With US’s Measles-Free Status in Danger, ABC Fails to Mention Trump and MAHA as Cause When ABC reported on reluctance to vaccinate and its consequences, it failed to call out the administration sowing much of this doubt and confusion.

NEW piece from my @accountabilityji.bsky.social colleague @origgio.bsky.social published in FAIR:

fair.org/home/with-us...

RFK Jr.‘s Former Anti-Vax Org Launches RICO Suit Against Leading Pediatrics Group The lawsuit by Children’s Health Defense comes as the American Academy of Pediatrics wages its own legal battle against Kennedy’s HHS.

RFK Jr.’s former org Children’s Health Defense just filed a RICO lawsuit against the American Academy of Pediatrics—accusing the 67k-member group of a pharma-backed “conspiracy.”

www.importantcontext.news/p/rfk-jrs-fo...

In this video from Maine obtained by @accountabilityji.bsky.social, an ICE agent repeatedly threatens a protester with pepper spray and ends the encounter by saying “Make America Great Again.”

Jon Stewart Praises Attorney Behind Years of Anti-Vaccine and Anti-Lockdown Lawfare “You’re a civil rights attorney who has been canceled by both the right and the left, which means you must be doing something right.”

NEW: This week, Daily Show host Jon Stewart introduced his audience to Jenin Younes, describing her as a courageous civil rights attorney who had been canceled by both the right and left and therefore “must be doing something right.”

Really, she spent years undermining public health—and Democrats.

Jon Stewart Praises Attorney Behind Years of Anti-Vaccine, Anti-Public Health Lawfare “You’re a civil rights attorney who has been canceled by both the right and the left, which means you must be doing something right.”

Jon Stewart says being "canceled by both sides" means you’re doing something right. Does that apply to promoting vaccine skepticism and suing researchers? A look at the record Stewart ignored:

www.importantcontext.news/p/jon-stewar...

Experts Warn U.S. in Early Stages of Genocide Against Trans Americans Genocide scholars say policies targeting transgender Americans match early warning signs of mass atrocity.

ICYMI: Genocide scholars are sounding the alarm about the worsening attacks on the trans-community. Read our latest story:

www.importantcontext.news/p/experts-wa...

FDA deletes warning on bogus autism therapies touted by RFK Jr.‘s allies The agency used to warn of chelation, used by RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine ally David Geier.

There’s a big story everyone is missing—but this article hits on it.

We aren’t just seeing public health dismantled bc we’ve been taken over by conspiracy theorists and lunatics.

What we’re really seeing is the giant, predatory, underegulated wellness industry come to Washington.

This work is reader supported. Please consider subscribing to Important Context or donating to @accountabilityji.bsky.social to help us continue covering stories like this.

This year, we are trying to raise enough to fund a 3-person newsroom full-time. That’s the goal.

Experts Warn U.S. in Early Stages of Genocide Against Trans Americans — AJI Genocide scholars say policies targeting transgender Americans match early warning signs of mass atrocity. Written By:  Walker Bragman Originally Published: Jan 05, 2026 This piece has...

"The objective here is literally, physically to destroy this group."
Experts in genocide prevention warn that current U.S. policies toward the trans community match historical patterns of mass atrocity.

www.accountabilityjournalism.org/trump-admini...

Experts Warn U.S. in Early Stages of Genocide Against Trans Americans Genocide scholars say policies targeting transgender Americans match early warning signs of mass atrocity.

NEW from Important Context:

Genocide experts, including two past presidents of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, are speaking out about escalating attacks on transgender Americans in the U.S.

www.importantcontext.news/p/experts-wa...

HHS Moves to Restrict Gender-Affirming Care Based on Dubious Report Shredded in Peer Review — AJI A review of the report HHS relied on calls it “a dangerous incursion of politics into science and medicine.” On Thursday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. announced new policies...

HHS is moving to restrict gender-affirming care based on a report that experts call a “dangerous incursion of politics into science.” The APA and others highlight massive methodological flaws.

www.accountabilityjournalism.org/trump-admini...

How a Free Speech Group Helped Right-Wing Dark Money Undermine Protections for Trans and Nonbinary Students — AJI The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression weighed in on a case brought by Parents Defending Education in Ohio. This piece has been updated from its original email version. A prominent fr...

How did a "free speech" group help right-wing dark money interests gut protections for trans and nonbinary students?
Our investigation follows the money to reveal a coordinated legal attack on student civil rights.

www.accountabilityjournalism.org/dark-money/h...

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