The new administration has been accused of selectively deleting information from the White House website and other government pages in an effort to reshape the public record in line with its own vision of America. President Trump’s team is being criticized for erasing content about the Constitution, past presidents, vaccines, hate crimes, and more, leaving a historical vacuum and jeopardizing trust in facts. Some experts see the administration’s actions as authoritarian and reminiscent of tactics used in Russia to control information.
Critics fear that the removal of data and resources could limit Americans’ ability to access their past and hold the government accountable. Utah’s lieutenant governor even called on Trump to “bring back our history” after notable women were removed from the Arlington National Cemetery website. The Trump administration has also been accused of deleting records and trying to obscure mistakes in an effort to shape its preferred narrative.
Outside the government, archivists and organizations like the Data Rescue Project and the Internet Archive are working to preserve endangered material and government data sets. These efforts are crucial in maintaining transparency and ensuring access to information. The Internet Archive, with the support of partners like Cloudflare and Wikipedia, has collected vast amounts of archived web pages, identifying government pages that have gone offline since the inauguration.
Despite challenges and cyberattacks, the Internet Archive remains committed to preserving the public record and providing access to information. With concerns about censorship and restricted access to data growing, efforts like those of the Archive are more important than ever in safeguarding transparency and accountability.
Note: The image is for illustrative purposes only and is not the original image of the presented article.
