But as you've documented, it turns out that media organizations and research organizations are often the same thing.

That's right, quite literally. When I read:

Funding from HHMI’s Department of Science Education, the largest private, nonprofit supporter of science education in the U.S., will add additional all-formats journalists to AP’s current health and science team.

I read that HHMI has hired journalists, plural, to work in, to be embedded in, AP.

This behaviour is not that far removed from the organ harvesting of live Falun Gong members. You wouldn't have to get all the way to The Refuser to see a day when the 'dead' definition comes to include prisoners on death row - or even political prisoners. The rationale would be: Well, they're dead to society - let's put them to some use!

And I think they're working in that direction. These two stories seem to be a case of a 21st century version of manufacturing consent.

They're publishing these stories, apparently at the behest of the HHMI, but why? They have misleading headlines. What's going on?

I think what's happening is that they're taking a proactive approach to public consent. They know that if they explained this in the starkest of terms, the public would likely protest. This way, the public will likely not even read the stories! They'll see the headlines, maybe read the first paragraph or two, and that's it. Notice that the first couple of paragraphs in both stories are vague and largely avoid the whole context of the experiment.

Then if, in the future, there are voices raised, they can say, "Well, these experiments have been reported by the most respected news sources for years, and nobody said anything." It's a way to allow the acceptability of these experiments to seep into society.

But back to your point about the unfortunate and unwilling Falun Gong organ donators. Where is this headed?

Our societies are aging so once this becomes common, researches will have plenty of unwilling subjects. They sure won't talk back! And consider where this type of research could go. Cancer research requiring the subject be kept alive for possibly months or longer. Other types of transplantation. Brain work? Growing viruses in the body? All these scenarios would require longer periods of research.

And it's all for the money! HHMI is, among other things, a venture capital organization. When one of their researchers gets a patent as a result of research done under HHMI funding, HHMI profits from that patent.