Keyword Newspeak: Trump’s Orwellian Censorship of DEI in Science

Amid rising censorship of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) language in U.S. research policy, this paper examines the presence of flagged keywords in NSF-funded research from 1988 to 2024. We find that DEI-related terms have been steadily growing in use, especially since the early 2000s, and are now widespread across all scientific disciplines. Usage is especially prevalent in projects led by women researchers, though it has also increased among men. These findings reflect a broad and expanding commitment within the research community to inclusive values. We argue that censorship efforts based on keyword detection threaten not only the Social Sciences but also STEM fields, both in scale and proportion. This work contributes to ongoing efforts to document the political pressures on research and underscores the need to protect inclusive science.