Donald Trump supporters allegedly trashed auditory research displays/posters at an otolaryngology conference in Florida because they thought research on “diversity in afferent firing” was a reference to DEI.
Such an incident is, sadly, not difficult to believe as the MAGA attack on medicine and research is already well underway. Reports have arisen that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF) now treat words like “female,” “women,” and “disability” as if they are banned words or trigger words. Any current research and grant applications that utilize words like “women” are flagged for review due to Trump’s desire to cut government funding of anything it considers “DEI.” It has raised fears that the administration wants all scientific research related to benefitting the lives of women, minorities, or the disabled community to be cut off from funding. Immediately after entering office, Trump also demanded that NIH halt all external communications and travel, which led to delays in considering tens of thousands of grant applications.
Due to the Trump administration’s obsession with DEI, the NSF was also forced to flag actual scientific terms like “bias.” Meanwhile, according to one doctor on TikTok, Trump supporters are also coming for auditory research.
Doctor shares shocking allegations from research conference
Dr. Goff has a PhD in Developmental Psychology and frequently addresses medical and research news on her TikTok account, which has over 100k followers. Recently, she used her platform to raise awareness of an alleged incident at a research conference that the media has not yet reported. Goff received text messages from a former student relaying what allegedly happened to their brother at a research conference in Orlando, FL. The conference was the 2025 Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO) Midwinter Meeting at Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld.
Goff shared a screenshot of the text messages, in which the student explained that several auditory research events were canceled because “it’s considered DEI.” However, the student also claimed that MAGA supporters staying at the hotel came into the conference and destroyed research posters and displays. They wrote, “Some residents of the hotel wearing MAGA hats trashed posters because it was a talk about the diversity of afferent firing in the cochlea… they just saw the word diversity and thought it was DEI.” The diversity of afferent firing refers to the firing patterns of neurons and has nothing to do with DEI.
In another video, the student shared more information via text, painting a nightmarish image of the conference. They noted how people at the conference “were crying” and that it had the atmosphere of a funeral. Throughout it, the student’s brother was learning that his post-doctorate opportunities had “evaporated.” The alleged disarray of the conference may have been partially due to NIH members being barred from attending due to Trump’s travel ban on them.
The conference has not confirmed Goff’s claims. However, in the comments on her TikTok, she revealed she reached out to the student’s brother and asked if he could provide her video of the incident so evidence may be forthcoming. Commenters also relayed similar incidents, noting that biodiversity conferences were canceled across the country and that biochemistry jobs and programs were being cut. One woman who works as a research admin alleged that MAGAs logged onto a webinar she was hosting to post racist messages in the chat. Another woman claimed her funding was cut because she was researching spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis, specifically in women.
While Goff’s allegations aren’t confirmed, it’s not difficult to imagine this incident. The Trump administration’s witchhunt and fearmongering about DEI has essentially conditioned MAGAs, especially uneducated ones, to have this rabid, hateful response to mere words. Not only that, but they are eating up calls to defund the Department of Education, NPR, PBS, and any other source of education/information in America. They’re not just anti-DEI, they’re also becoming anti-education and anti-intellectualism. This has created a dangerous combo for researchers and scientists, who will now struggle to perform or present research for fear that it will include one of the countless words anti-education MAGAs have identified as one of their “trigger words.”
