Collection

Investigating claim of Colin Powell's name being removed from Arlington Cemetery website

Many of the rumored removals concerned pages the administration labeled as “DEI,” short for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

by Caroline Wazer, March 21, 2025


Image courtesy of White House/Snopes illustration


When U.S. President Donald Trump took office for the second time in January 2025, claims about changes his administration allegedly made to government websites almost immediately began to circulate online.

Most of the rumored changes that we investigated had to do with the removal of information, images or entire webpages from the websites of agencies and organizations ranging from NASA to Arlington National Cemetery. Although the administration has not explained all of the confirmed removals, individual agencies have confirmed that at least some were done to comply with new policies aimed at removing content associated with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

Some removed content, including a Department of Defense page about baseball legend Jackie Robinson's military career, was available again within days. Some pages, like one about Native American World War II veteran Ira Hayes, were put back online with significant changes. And other material, like the White House's page on the U.S. Constitution, remained missing at the time of this writing.


By Caroline Wazer

Caroline Wazer is a reporter based in Central New York. She has a Ph.D in history.

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