Analysis Reveals Widespread Deceptive Health Product Ads. On April 15, 2026, Reset Tech, a global public policy not-for-profit company, reported that it collected 350,549 Facebook ads across 22,320 pages and 2,073 Google ads from 472 advertisers for more than 390 products promoted in the European Union (EU) with unfounded medical claims. Cumulatively, Facebook ads reached 878 million unique users in the EU with exposure of many individuals to multiple ad campaigns. Google ads generated between 5.9 million and 8.3 million impressions, mostly in the EU. Reset Tech exposed advertising campaigns in violation of the media platforms’ own policies; ads impersonating celebrities, doctors, pharmaceutical companies, and medical organizations; coordinated networks of advertisers, including accounts used in multiple scam campaigns and the Russian influence operation Doppelganger; and lack of accountability and transparency for advertisers based in Brazil and Vietnam. Reset Tech calls for the platforms to apply stricter rules to stop problematic ad campaigns and for regulators to enforce violations of the EU’s Digital Services Act to protect the public’s health. (For more, see Issue #26-21 of Consumer Health Digest at quackwatch.org.)
Vaccine Trust Decreases Globally. On April 17, 2026, the Council on Foreign Relations provided a summary of data from various sources indicating confidence in vaccine safety has decreased across many countries (even though vaccine safety remains high). Moreover, through international coordination and financing, immunization coverage across both higher- and lower-income regions have increased overall across decades, but there have been setbacks in several countries. Countries vary significantly in how public confidence in vaccine safety is related to actual vaccination coverage. Several countries have lost their measles-free status. (For more, see “Vaccine Skepticism Has Risen in the U.S.—and in Many Other Countries” at cfr.org.)
Scientists Object to Firing of Science Funding Board Members. On April 24, 2026, President Donald Trump dismissed the entire National Science Board (NSB), the independent group that oversees the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) with a budget of $9 billion. The NSB establishes the policies of NSF, advises the president, approves major NSF awards, provides congressional testimony, and issues statements relevant to science and engineering. According to the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, members must be chosen “solely on the basis of established records of distinguished service.” Every two years, eight members are nominated to serve six-year terms. The Board typically meets four times a year, but its May 5 meeting was canceled. In a letter to Congress and the White House dated April 30, thirteen former NSB chairs and former NSF directors called for the seating of a new highly qualified NSB and quick filling of the vacancy for the NSF director position. On May 11, thousands of members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine signed the “Open Letter to Congress Demanding the Restoration of the NSB” (available at standupforscience.net) calling the dismissal of NSB members “an alarming attack on the ability of the US to engage in basic and applied research.” Concerned citizens could add their names to endorse the letter. (For more, see “Scientists Press Congress on Trump’s Dismissal of Funding Agency Board” at nytimes.com.)
Most People Trust Vaccine Scientists. On April 27, 2026, the Annenberg Public Policy Center shared the results of a survey of 1,600 adults in the United States conducted earlier this year (February 3–17). Despite the many debunked criticisms of vaccines and vaccine scientists in the past six years (and a decline in trust in vaccines; see above), 69 percent of those surveyed said they trust vaccine scientists a moderate (or greater) amount to act in the best interests of “people like you.” That percentage is not significantly different statistically from the trust level for medical scientists (72 percent) and scientists in general (70 percent). (For more, see “Scientists Esteemed by Public, with Vaccine Scientists Seen as Similar to Scientists in General” at annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org.)
NSF Loses Resources to Curb Research Misconduct. On June 2, 2026, the journal Science reported that shortly after President Trump took office in January 2025, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) was drastically downsized and lost its team of PhD scientists that have uncovered research misconduct, such as fabricating and falsifying data, and plagiarism. Moreover, in April 2026, Trump sent a budget request to Congress that describes the elimination of twenty-two OIG positions during Trump’s second term as president. Without staff to investigate research misconduct, OIG’s role is to refer all allegations of research misconduct to the grantee institution. If the institution finds the scientist guilty, OIG is supposed to send the report to NSF senior management for review. NSF’s OIG was created in the 1980s to uncover waste, fraud, and abuse involving NSF monies. It was given responsibility to respond to research conduct allegations in 1991. It has monitored institutions’ investigations of grantees and conducted its own investigations when necessary. The OIG has developed a reputation for more aggressive oversight than the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Research Integrity. (For more, see “Exclusive: NSF Watchdog Unit Is No Longer Investigating Research Misconduct” at science.org.)
NASEM Presidents Respond to Ocean Monitoring System Dismantling. On June 9, 2026, the presidents of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) issued a statement calling for preserving and improving the National Science Foundation (NSF) Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) deep-sea infrastructure. The statement responds to NSF’s May 21 announcement that it has “initiated descoping of the OOI Major Facility.” The statement concludes: “As [a 2025 National Academies] report highlights, policymakers need better information on the oceans, such as how ocean ecosystem change influences important fisheries, the impacts of El Niño, and how greater access to the Arctic will challenge U.S. national security. Without ocean-observing assets such as OOI, we risk not having the data needed to address such crucial issues.” A week later (June 17), the Senate passed a bipartisan bill aimed at maintaining the ocean monitoring system. In response to the bipartisan reaction, the Trump Administration reversed course. (For more, see “Statement by National Academies Presidents on Importance of NSF’s Ocean Observatories Initiative” at nationalacademies.org and “Trump Administration Backs Off Plan to End Ocean Monitoring” at nytimes.org.)
Journal Editors Object to Science Politicization. On June 15, 2026, the editors of The New England Journal of Medicine published a scathing editorial about the drastic rule changes proposed by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for funding Health and Human Services (HHS) grants. They highlighted three of the rule changes that would “raise fundamental concerns about the research endeavor, about ethical obligations to participants in clinical studies, about the ability to train the next generation of leaders in biomedical innovation, and about society’s ability to address disease threats early, before broader consequences occur.” Political appointees would be able to make funding decisions regardless of what independent scientists advise, halt promised funding midway through grant periods, and “institute new rules, including rules severely limiting foreign interactions.” Noting the lesson of the disastrous consequences of the political process in the Soviet Union, which advanced agronomist Trofim Lysenko’s scientifically unsupported views and rejection of modern genetics, the editors concluded: “When science becomes politicized, everyone loses.” (For more, see “The OMB and the Politicization of Science” at nejm.org.)
FTC Identifies Imposter Scams as the Biggest Type of Fraud in 2025. On June 15, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that people reported losing $3.5 billion to imposter scams in 2025, a nearly threefold increase in reported losses since 2020. The number one fraud report category in 2025 was imposter scams. People lost nearly $1 billion to business impersonators, especially bank impersonators. Scams that begin with a fake security alert led people to move money to protect it and thereby lose it. Using its Impersonation Rule, finalized in 2024, the FTC has filed federal court cases to obtain redress for consumers and apply civil penalties to rule violators. The FTC reports it has halted imposter schemes and returned $70 million to consumers who were scammed by imposters. (For more, see “FTC Data Show People Reported Losing $3.5 Billion to Imposter Scams in 2025” at ftc.gov.)
