Several diabetes experts, including the editor-in-chief of Diabetes Care and a former American Diabetes Association (ADA) president, were escorted out of an influential medical conference by police for distributing an editorial. This incident occurred at the 2026 annual meeting, highlighting a significant clash over scientific advocacy and conference rules regarding journal reprints. The forceful removal of prominent scientists from a major forum for diabetes research raises questions about the boundaries of scientific discourse.
Prominent scientists were advocating for public health policy at a major medical conference, but the conference organizers responded by ejecting them for violating a code of conduct. This action created immediate tension between the scientists' mission to inform public policy and the organization's enforcement of internal regulations.
This incident suggests a growing tension between scientific communities' desire to engage in policy advocacy and professional organizations' efforts to maintain neutrality or control messaging, potentially leading to increased self-censorship or more confrontational forms of protest.
