The case of the American Diabetes Association: compromising editorial independence is bad for the society and the journal
BMJ 2026; 393 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2026-100027 (Published 19 June 2026) Kamran Abbasi, Editor-in--chief
'Last week the American Diabetes Association (ADA) shocked the world of medicine and science by ordering police to remove its journal’s editor, and others, from the society’s major annual conference (doi:10.1136/bmj-2026-511576).1 Steven Kahn, editor in chief of the society’s journal Diabetes Care, had upset the ADA leadership by writing and publishing a journal editorial critical of President Trump’s damaging attack on US medical science. The ADA explained itself by saying that it was unable to allow politicisation of its event because of its charitable status. The explanation rang hollow given that it had invited members of the Trump administration to speak at the conference...'
'editorial integrity and independence remain an expression of liberty, of the freedom to tell people who are destroying our crisis ridden world what they don’t want to hear.'
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org