Donald Trump has begun a data purge

The Trump Administration has taken down information on “Gender Ideology” and “Inconsistency in Resources” from Government Websites over the Last Two Years

Fortunately, researchers have been archiving government websites for months. This is typical with every change in administration, but there was even more imperative with the return of Donald Trump to office. Access to as much as 20 percent of the Environmental Protection Agency’s website was removed during the first round of Trump’s deregulatory spree. And now, it seems, similar moves are happening fast.

This week, the Trump administration instructed all federal agencies to remove information from their websites pertaining to “gender ideology.” There were many reports on Friday stating that the exact thing was happening.

On Friday, however, many pages that did not seem related to “gender” or “diversity” had also been taken down, such as AtlasPlus, an interactive tool from CDC with surveillance data on HIV, viral hepatitis, STDs and TB. Basic information about HIV testing is missing from the page. The CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index, a tool that assesses community resilience in the event of natural disaster was also taken down.

The Children’s Mental Health (YRBS) Crisis: A Commentary on the 35 Years OPM and the Struggles for Gender Identity

The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System tracks key metrics on nutrition, physical activity, tobacco and drug use, sexual behavior and other areas. 35 years ago, the program was created and now includes a survey that is used to measure how behaviors affect health.

It is Russell’s belief that the crisis in youth mental health can be traced back to this survey.

“OPM sent guidance to agencies to remove gender ideology related content from their websites by 5 pm today as part of the efforts to defend women and uphold the truth about biological sex against the radical claims of gender activists”, according to the statement issued on Friday evening. “This may have been misinterpreted to mean we would shut down government websites who weren’t able to comply but that is not the plan for continuing to implement this important effort.”

Notably, the most recent survey asked students about “transgender identity” for the first time. The survey found that 3% of high school students self-identified as transgender and an additional 2% were “unsure.”

The published studies from previous years that contain overviews of the survey results still appear to be available in the archive for the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

“I’m giving a talk today where I’m going to cite some of the most recent data on mental health, but is this greater than just the website being down?” asked Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, a developmental psychologist atSTANFORD University. Are they not collecting the data? Is the reporting stopped?

Comments on “Intimate Spaces” by the CDC, the Washington Post, and the Department of Labor and Public Works (NPR)

The memo suggests that agencies make sure that “intimate spaces” are designated by their sex, which may mean that employees from non- genders will not be able to use the bathroom of their choice. NPR reached out for clarity on which spaces would be considered “intimate spaces” and did not receive a response.

When asked Friday about the removal of “DEI” information from websites, Trump said, “It doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me. It’s dead because DEI ruined our country.

Many who support the rights of the trans community don’t like using the phrase “gender ideology” as it suggests that being trans is a belief system, rather than an identity. Nearly 2 million Americans identify as trans or transgender, according to 2023 polling from KFF and Washington Post.

The examples that were spread on social media were that basic information had vanished from government websites. The data on the CDC’s HIV program disappeared as noted by a scientist. KFF’s Cynthia Cox pointed out that the Youth Risk Survey data is no longer accessible.

The part of the Census Bureau’s website that you could try to visit was down for maintenance. The page on sexual orientation and gender identity was not on the website.

The End of CDC: A Voice for Vaccines, Public Works, Human Rights, and the Environment: A Case Study in Washington, DC, USA

is a senior science reporter covering energy and the environment with more than a decade of experience. She is the host of Hell or High Water: When Disaster Hits Home and is a contributor to the Audible originals.

Warnings floated on social media today about an impending purge at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), spurring calls to save as much data as soon as possible. The CDC shares data on a wide range of topics, from chronic diseases to traffic injuries, tobacco use, vaccinations, and pregnancies in the US — and it’s just one of the agencies in the crosshairs.

The CDC’s social vulnerability index and environmental justice index — tools that could show whether particular populations might face disproportionate health risks — have both been taken offline within the past week. During the Bush administration, social scientists, economists, and statisticians began to develop the social vulnerability index which factored demographic and socio-geographic factors over the years.

The environmental justice index was launched by the Biden administration. “Too many communities across our nation, particularly low-income communities and communities of color, continue to bear the brunt of pollution. Meeting the needs of these communities requires our focused attention and that is why the Environmental Justice Index will be used, said the Health and Human Services Secretary at the time.

He also claimed that “climate extremism has exploded inflation and overburdened businesses with regulation.” During his first term in office, the term “climate change” dropped by 40% on all federal environmental agencies’ websites. It’s too soon to know what the damage might be this time around, but some webpages have already vanished. The US Department of Transportation’s website has removed pages on both climate and equity. The internal memo, sent this week, instructed USDOT operating administrations toterminate activities relating to climate change and DEI.

Donald Trump’s efforts to limit foreign aid seem to have also led to information being taken down on HIV and AIDS. The data page for the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief was taken down this week. PEPFAR has been around since 2003 and helped more than 20.6 million people get access to antiretroviral therapy in 2024 alone, according to a snapshot of the website taken by the Wayback Machine on January 26th, before it was taken down.

The End of Term Web Archive project has saved content on federal government websites during every presidential transition since 2008. After Donald Trump was elected, the Environmental data and governance initiative (EDGI) formed and made changes to government websites. It has backed up data from the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index and Environmental Justice Index and shared it on a webpage for The Public Environmental Data Project.

People should be careful with how they use Aging Datasets because they might not fully represent what is actually happening on the ground. He says it’s better than nothing and could be risky.