Researchers are currently in a race to uncover the extent of public data that has been removed from government websites and publications by the Trump administration. Federal agencies recently took down numerous government webpages in response to President Trump’s directive to eliminate protections for transgender individuals, which involved deleting “gender ideology” language from various platforms. While some websites have been restored, analysts are struggling to determine exactly what content was altered or removed.
Amy O’Hara, a researcher at Georgetown University and president of the Association of Public Data Users, expressed concern over the lack of transparency regarding the changes. Social science researchers and data users found critical federal datasets to be inaccessible, leading to a frantic effort to preserve existing data before it was erased. In addition to concerns about gender-related terminology, researchers fear that other contentious subjects like climate change or vaccines could also be targeted for removal or modification.
An expert panel associated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called for a meeting to address the deletions. The panel, tasked with advising the CDC director, sought clarification from the agency regarding the removal of datasets crucial for understanding community health. Despite these inquiries, responses from the CDC have been lacking, causing further alarm among researchers.
The impact of these changes extends beyond datasets and summaries, affecting codebooks and published research utilizing the altered data. Researchers have encountered obstacles in accessing vital information, discovering omissions only after conducting thorough searches. The situation has raised concerns about the reliability and integrity of the U.S. statistical system, with experts warning that the removal of data could erode public trust in government information.
As researchers continue to uncover the full extent of alterations, the implications of these deletions on data integrity and transparency remain a cause for significant concern within the research community.
The recent removal of public datasets has been deemed “unacceptable” by the presidents of the Population Association of America and the Association of Population Centers. They have urged Congress and the Trump administration to restore the datasets. Paul Schroeder, the executive director of the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics, mentioned that individuals seeking data may need to consider legal action or submit Freedom of Information Act requests to access the datasets. Schroeder emphasized that the removal of these datasets from agency websites contradicts the core principles of statistical agencies and leaves public data users uninformed. Schneider reported from Orlando, Florida, and AP data journalist Kasturi Pananjady contributed to this story. The Associated Press Health and Science Department is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is responsible for all content.
