We wish to inform all members of the DDE Governing Council (GC), Executive Committee (EC), Scientific Committee (SC), Working Task Group (WTG) Leaders and Representatives, Principal Investigators of DDE-funded projects, and users of the DDE Platform and associated services—such as GeoGPT developed by Zhejiang Lab—that a series of email communications circulated by a self-appointed group calling itself the “Crisis Investigation Team (CIT)” regarding DDE governance are misleading, unfounded, and based on speculative and fictitious scenarios.

The DDE Secretariat has already responded to the first two emails distributed by the so-called “CIT,” providing factual clarifications and evidence that refute the claims made. We urged all recipients, including members of the GC, EC, and SC, not to consider any communications from the “CIT” as official correspondence from the DDE community.

Despite this, the “CIT” continues to send unsolicited messages to various individuals and groups within DDE.

The Communiqué issued by the IUGS Executive Committee concerning DDE, as referenced in the “CIT” messages, as well as DDE’s formal response to that Communiqué, are publicly available here: DDE Response to IUGS Communique - DDE World. We encourage all interested parties to consult these documents directly for accurate information.

We also note that the unauthorized use of the DDE logo by the “CIT” is a violation of legal and institutional protocols. The Secretariat is currently taking appropriate steps to address and prevent further misuse.

We appreciate your continued support and understanding.

—DDE Secretariat