June 7, 2026
Glucose, Grievance, and a Great Ejection
Scientists ejected from diabetes conference for distributing journal reprints
Booted for handing out their own article, and the internet is calling foul
TLDR: Five scientists were thrown out of a major diabetes meeting for handing out copies of an editorial criticizing government attacks on research, even though the article appeared in the group’s own journal. Online, people are split between calling it blatant censorship and saying the event got too political.
A diabetes conference in New Orleans suddenly turned into academic reality TV when five well-known scientists were escorted out for handing out copies of an editorial that slammed the Trump administration’s treatment of science funding. The twist that sent commenters into full meltdown mode? The piece had been published in the American Diabetes Association’s own journal. So yes, people online immediately locked onto the same jaw-dropped question: how do you get kicked out of your own event for sharing your own article?
That disbelief became the real story. One commenter summed up the confusion with, basically, “wait, this isn’t even a copyright issue?” Another declared that science funding in the US is in crisis and praised the researchers for saying the quiet part out loud. But because this is the internet, consensus lasted about three seconds. The thread quickly swerved into a messy fight over whether this was about diabetes research, free speech, politics, or the broader war over reality itself. One side saw censorship and cowardice; the other pushed back with a skeptical “are you talking about science, or politics?”
The most chaotic energy came from the people treating the comments like a gladiator arena. Terms like “emperor has no clothing” and “tribalist regressors” got thrown around, prompting confused onlookers to ask who exactly was being accused of what. The result: part outrage, part culture-war pile-on, and part dark comedy. Online, the conference ejection looked less like a boring rules dispute and more like a spectacular own goal that only made the editorial spread faster.
Key Points
- •Five scientists were removed from the American Diabetes Association annual meeting in New Orleans after distributing reprints of a *Diabetes Care* editorial criticizing Trump administration actions affecting scientific research.
- •Those removed included *Diabetes Care* editor-in-chief Steven Kahn, former ADA president Desmond Schatz, Aaron Kelly, Justin Ryder, and Irl Hirsch.
- •The reprints were being handed out outside a room where NIH director Jay Bhattacharya had been scheduled to speak; Bhattacharya canceled and another NIH official spoke instead.
- •The ADA said the attendees violated its conference code of conduct and were escorted out by onsite security after being asked to stop.
- •The article reports that the ADA’s action triggered online backlash and increased traffic to the April 29 editorial, while Kahn sought re-admittance because he was scheduled to speak and chair a session.