State Department will delete Xitter posts from before Trump returned to office
3 months ago
- #Transparency
- #Social Media
- #State Department
- The State Department is removing all posts on its public X accounts made before President Trump returned to office on Jan. 20, 2025.
- Posts will be internally archived but require a Freedom of Information Act request for public access, differing from typical government archiving practices.
- The Trump administration has previously removed information conflicting with the president's views, including environmental data, health information, and references to marginalized groups.
- The White House has revised historical accounts of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and replaced COVID-19 resource sites with a 'Lab Leak' narrative.
- The removal aims to control future messaging, affecting posts from Trump's first term, Biden, and Obama administrations.
- State Department claims the move limits confusion and promotes unified messaging, preserving history while advancing current goals.
- Concerns arise about reduced transparency and accessibility of historical government communications.
- The directive applies to all active State Department X accounts, including embassies, ambassadors, and bureaus.
- Critics argue the removal erases public records of diplomacy, cultural exchanges, and policy engagements.
- Other federal agencies, like the CIA, have also taken down public resources without explanation.
- Trump's messaging strategy treats social media content as governance, with some agencies sharing extremist rhetoric and conspiracy theories.
- Trump faced backlash for a racist post, later deleted, which the White House initially defended as an 'internet meme.'