# Plain Language Summary: Federal Funding Ban on Disinformation Research

This bill would stop the federal government from spending money on research grants related to disinformation. In other words, if a university, think tank, or research organization wants federal funding to study false information, misleading claims, or how misinformation spreads online, they won't be able to get that money under this bill.

The practical effect is that research projects examining disinformation—how it's created, how it spreads on social media, how it affects public opinion, or how to counter it—would lose access to federal grant money. This could affect researchers at universities and nonprofit organizations who currently receive funding from agencies like the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, or other federal bodies to study these topics. Some ongoing research projects might have to shut down or find private funding instead.

The bill doesn't appear to have specific exceptions built in, so it would apply broadly to any research that falls under the category of disinformation studies. This means even research aimed at helping people identify false information or protect against manipulation campaigns would be affected. The impact would be felt most by academic institutions and research organizations that depend on federal grants to fund their work in this area.

To prohibit the obligation or expenditure of Federal funds for disinformation research grants, and for other purposes.

Massie, Thomas

<p>This bill prohibits federal funding for (1) disinformation research grants, (2) the National Science Foundation (NSF) Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace grant program, and (3) programs within the NSF Convergence Accelerator grant program’s Track F: Trust and Authenticity in Communications Systems. &nbsp;</p><p>The Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace grant program provides grants to support research and education on various topics in cybersecurity and privacy, including cryptography, hardware security, and information integrity. The Convergence Accelerator’s Track F projects focused on tools and techniques to prevent, mitigate, and adapt to the unanticipated negative effects of, and potential manipulation of, communications systems (e.g., misinformation).</p>