End of Term blog
Sharing news and commentary on the urgent effort to save public research websites before Trump cuts access
The Week of March 24, 2025
NYT. Vast quantities of climate and environmental information have been removed from official websites
Hundreds of volunteers, including EOT Harvest members Internet Archive and EDGI, are working to download government data recreate the digital tools that allow the public to access that information.
The Week of March 10, 2025
Washington Post. Photos are disappearing, one archive at a time
As photographers try to find homes for their work, traditional archives (hard copy photos, negatives, and slides) are also vanishing, especially in local journalism, where generations of photographers built shared visual records of community history. - gjw
Clean Technica. US Cultural Revolution: Bonfire of NASA, NOAA, EPA, CDC, & USDA Climate Programs
NASA, NOAA, NIH, National Science Foundation data and budgets slashed as if Mao's Cultural Revolution lives on. - acb
Columbia Journalism Review. Fighting the Great Federal Website Purge
By preserving such information, newsrooms are not only aiding themselves and other journalists, but are showing data archivists where to dig and supporting countless scientists whose work the current purge has devalued. - acb
AP. Judge tells agencies to restore webpages and data removed after Trump’s executive order
Removing important information from the CDC and FDA websites is delaying patient care, hampering research and hindering doctors’ ability to communicate with patients, the plaintiffs’ attorneys argued in a court filing. - acb
CivilRights.org. Why We Must Stop Trump’s Attempts to Erase Our Communities
These rollbacks do not merely threaten the integrity of scientific research — they undermine the fundamental goals of our federal statistical system to produce and share timely, relevant data while ensuring accuracy, credibility, objectivity, and confidentiality. Eliminating critical data allows for agencies to absolve themselves of accountability, obscures population-policy impacts, and worsens inequities. Without trusted data to make decisions, mistrust and disinformation can proliferate. - acb
GWU National Security Archive. Disappearing Data: Trump Administration Removing Climate Information from Government Websites
Community-led advocacy groups, archivists, and universities scramble to download climate resources and datasets. EPA, NOAA, and CEQ all targets of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. End of Term Web (EOT) Archive and Internet Archive's (IA) Wayback Machine crucial in preserving web data.download climate resources and datasets. EPA, NOAA, and CEQ all targets of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. End of Term Web (EOT) Archive and Internet Archive's (IA) Wayback Machine crucial in preserving web data. - acb
The Week of February 23, 2025
Fierce Pharma. CDC’s ‘Wild to Mild’ flu vaccine campaign muzzled amid HHS handover
According to snapshots collected by the Internet Archive, at some point between Feb. 14 and Feb. 18, the Wild to Mild webpage was wiped of its information and resources. - gw
The Verge. The mad dash to protect environmental data from Donald Trump
“Trump’s second term in office could pose a bigger risk to information about climate change and pollution on federal websites, advocates warn” - gw
Freedom of the Press Foundation. Here’s how you can help save government data and research
President Donald Trump’s administration has been quick to purge information about “vaccines, veterans’ care, hate crimes and scientific research, among many other topics” from thousands of federal government websites. - gw
The Week of January 6, 2025
CNN. Scientists fear Trump will erase public research
NYT. Could Trump’s return pose a threat to climate and weather data?
Breaking News I E. What’s in a name? Trump set to wipe government language
Fast Company. The Internet Archive is even more essential than I realized
Forbes. Safeguarding against a Trump data dump
Verge. How scientists scrambled to stop Donald Trump’s EPA from wiping out climate data — the birth of EDGI
Research Information. Public access to published science “under threat in the US”
AIP. White House Issues New Security Rules for Government-Funded Research
Union of Concerned Scientists. Protecting Government Science from Political Interference
Brennan Center for Justice. Five Cases of Political Threats Against Scientific Integrity
Edited by Jenny Young, Damon Gitelman, AC Blaisdell, and Gordon Whiting