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Researchers logging onto the website Data.gov in January discovered a digital void where roughly 2,000 data sets were once cataloged. No warning, no explanation — just the quiet deletion of knowledge. Not long after that, historical pages focused on Black soldiers vanished, as did a website about Jackie Robinson and, bizarrely, one about a plane with “gay” in its name.
President Trump’s administration has targeted information curated by government agencies, erasing vast swaths of knowledge. While database updates and website changes are routine, this is probably the first time Americans are witnessing deletion weaponized on a large scale as a political tool. These deletions undermine basic good government — and the historical record. Democratic governments need far more robust legal frameworks and safeguards for data that is essential to citizens’ well-being. Scientific practices may change, policies may shift, and history may be debated, but the record of government should endure, regardless of who holds power.
The administration is seemingly pursuing deletion as a means of control. “It’s kind of like leaving a weed,” Elon Musk said of destroying agencies — and their attendant records. “If you don’t remove the roots of the weed, then it is easy for the weed to grow back.” Mr. Trump has sacked the national archivist and put Secretary of State Marco Rubio in charge. Without separation of powers, the archives are at risk. The use of apps like Signal, an encrypted messaging service with auto-delete features, showcases how intentional the deletion is. As a 2022 report from a British think tank put it, Signal and similar apps essentially create black holes in democratic accountability, systematically undermining proper record keeping to circumvent public oversight. As if on cue, Trump administration officials used Signal to plan the bombardment of a foreign country. As the French philosopher Jacques Derrida wrote, “There is no political power without control of the archive.”
www.nytimes.com
Once again, they aren't hiding their intentions. MAGA is not subtle. All this and much more is happening right out in the open, in front of God and everybody.
Greenland is essential to our national security. I'll do whatever it takes.
Governor Trudeau of Canada, our 51st state.
Universities threatened. Immigrants eating dogs and cats. Tariffs, no tariffs, tariffs, pause tariffs, tariffs for some but not for Russia. The stock market is a Duncan Butterfly yo-yo.
Voting with Russia, Belarus, and North Korea.
Purge of top military officers. Investigating anyone who opposes anything Trump wants.
The richest man in the world in charge of firing tens of thousands of people.
And so much more.
It's the dead of night and I'm getting scared.
President Trump’s administration has targeted information curated by government agencies, erasing vast swaths of knowledge. While database updates and website changes are routine, this is probably the first time Americans are witnessing deletion weaponized on a large scale as a political tool. These deletions undermine basic good government — and the historical record. Democratic governments need far more robust legal frameworks and safeguards for data that is essential to citizens’ well-being. Scientific practices may change, policies may shift, and history may be debated, but the record of government should endure, regardless of who holds power.
The administration is seemingly pursuing deletion as a means of control. “It’s kind of like leaving a weed,” Elon Musk said of destroying agencies — and their attendant records. “If you don’t remove the roots of the weed, then it is easy for the weed to grow back.” Mr. Trump has sacked the national archivist and put Secretary of State Marco Rubio in charge. Without separation of powers, the archives are at risk. The use of apps like Signal, an encrypted messaging service with auto-delete features, showcases how intentional the deletion is. As a 2022 report from a British think tank put it, Signal and similar apps essentially create black holes in democratic accountability, systematically undermining proper record keeping to circumvent public oversight. As if on cue, Trump administration officials used Signal to plan the bombardment of a foreign country. As the French philosopher Jacques Derrida wrote, “There is no political power without control of the archive.”
Opinion | The Trump Administration’s Data Purges Weaken America
The Trump administration has started purging the government’s digital memory. Democracies die without proper archiving and public records.
Once again, they aren't hiding their intentions. MAGA is not subtle. All this and much more is happening right out in the open, in front of God and everybody.
Greenland is essential to our national security. I'll do whatever it takes.
Governor Trudeau of Canada, our 51st state.
Universities threatened. Immigrants eating dogs and cats. Tariffs, no tariffs, tariffs, pause tariffs, tariffs for some but not for Russia. The stock market is a Duncan Butterfly yo-yo.
Voting with Russia, Belarus, and North Korea.
Purge of top military officers. Investigating anyone who opposes anything Trump wants.
The richest man in the world in charge of firing tens of thousands of people.
And so much more.
It's the dead of night and I'm getting scared.
