DEI, CRT, wokeness in general, are last refuges of scoundrels, racists and Democrats/socialists/communists (D/s/cs). Not only do they waste billions, displace actual learning in education, indoctrinate the young and push wildly insane and false claims, they encourage the very evils they pretend to fight. Not only that, they really tick off people who aren’t racist, like most Americans and particularly white men, one of their primary targets. 

And now we have scientific—trust the science!--proof, though the New York Times and Bloomberg are suppressing it:  

Graphic: X Screenshot

In a stunning series of events, two leading media organizations—The New York Times and Bloomberg—abruptly shelved coverage of a groundbreaking study that raises serious concerns about the psychological impacts of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) pedagogy. The study, conducted by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) in collaboration with Rutgers University, found that certain DEI practices could induce hostility, increase authoritarian tendencies, and foster agreement with extreme rhetoric. With billions of dollars invested annually in these initiatives, the public has a right to know if such programs—heralded as effective moral solutions to bigotry and hate—might instead be fueling the very problems they claim to solve. The decision to withhold coverage raises serious questions about transparency, editorial independence, and the growing influence of ideological biases in the media.

As one might expect, texts like Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility and Ibram X, Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist are at the heart of the damage. Why do I suspect “X” doesn’t appear on Kendi’s birth certificate, nor does “Kendi”?  

The findings were unsettling, though perhaps not surprising to longstanding opponents of such programs. Through carefully controlled experiments, the researchers demonstrated that exposure to anti-oppressive (i.e., anti-racist) rhetoric—common in many DEI initiatives—consistently amplified perceptions of bias where none existed. Participants were more likely to see prejudice in neutral scenarios and to support punitive actions against imagined offenders. These effects were not marginal; hostility and punitive tendencies increased by double-digit percentages across multiple measures. Perhaps most troubling, the study revealed a chilling convergence with authoritarian attitudes, suggesting that such training is fostering not empathy, but coercion and control.

But wait a minute. Hasn’t the NYT quoted the NCRI’s work before?

This context makes the suppression of the study even more alarming. The New York Times, which has cited NCRI’s work in nearly 20 previous articles, suddenly demanded that this particular research undergo peer review—a requirement that had never been imposed on the institute’s earlier findings, even on similarly sensitive topics like extremism or online hate. At Bloomberg, the story was quashed outright by an editor known for public support of DEI initiatives. The editorial decisions were ostensibly justified as routine discretion, yet they align conspicuously with the ideological leanings of those involved. Are these major outlets succumbing to pressures to protect certain narratives at the expense of truth?

Of course they are, but such "pressures" need not be part of an organized conspiracy. In the late 2000s, there was the Journolist, an e-mail list where journalists exchanged D/s/c views. Founded by Ezra Klein, who then wrote for the leftist American Prospect, it was exposed and ended when its members kept writing precisely the same D/s/c ideas in the same words, day after day. Since then, D/s/c journalists across America do the same thing in support of the narrative of the day.

There doesn’t need to be a Journolist, though it was convenient while it lasted. The staffs of the NYT, Bloomberg, Washington Post, LA Times, NPR and all the rest think alike. They’re in a media and social bubble where they’re not exposed to ideas other than their own and think other’s ideas abhorrent, violent and evidence of evil, which to them is refusal to adhere to leftist polices and thought. It’s no surprise they’d reject actual, replicable science that might bring down the entire woke edifice.

The public deserves to know if the tools being deployed to foster “equity” and “anti-racism” are instead causing harm. The NCRI study raises urgent questions about the real social consequences of DEI programming, but it also underscores the need for transparency and accountability in how we address these issues. Suppressing this research does not further the goal of making society more inclusive and accepting—it undermines it.

Graphic: Twitter Screenshot

Yes the public does, but anti-science, anti-American organs like the NYT certainly aren’t going to inform them.

The left’s insistence of believing “the science” only applies to science that supports their delusions. Real science is never settled and seeks objective truth through the scientific method. Leftist science is whatever the narrative demands in the here and now.

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.