Food and Drug Administration staffers were told not to use words like “woman” and “disabled” in work chats for at least the last week, but the White House said this order was erroneous. A White House spokesperson told Reuters that the list of “prohibited words” came from a misunderstanding of President Donald Trump’s executive orders

A list with the file name "Prohibited words" has been circulating since at least last week in official work chats, according to two FDA scientists with direct knowledge of the matter.

Scientists at the Food and Drug Administration say they were told to stop using certain words in external communications, including “woman,” “disabled,” and “elderly,” according to a report. Two FDA scientists told Reuters that a file titled “Prohibited Words” showing a list of banned terms was circulated at the agency over the last week.

Some of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists have been told to stop using the words "woman", "disabled", and "elderly" in external communications, Reuters reported citing two sources familiar with the matter.