U.S. State Department to Remove Older X Posts from Public View
The U.S. State Department is removing all posts made on its public X accounts before January 20, 2025. These posts will no longer be publicly visible but will be archived internally. Access to older posts will require a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. This move differs from how the U.S. government typically handles archiving the public online footprint of previous administrations. The State Department confirmed to NPR that staff members were informed that older posts would be accessible only through FOIA requests.
This move marks a significant departure from standard government archiving practices for public online footprints, with older posts shifting from open access to FOIA-only retrieval.
Policy Details
This directive applies to all active official State Department X accounts, including those of U.S. embassies, missions, ambassadors, and department bureaus. The removal encompasses posts from the first Trump administration, as well as those made during the Biden and Obama administrations.
A State Department spokesperson stated the goal is to "limit confusion on U.S government policy and to speak with one voice to advance the President, Secretary, and Administration's goals and messaging," aiming to "preserve history while promoting the present." The spokesperson added that the department's X accounts are powerful tools for advancing "America First goals and messaging." The guidance specifies that the removals do not apply to official accounts already dormant and marked as "archived."
Broader Context and Past Practices
This action follows other instances where information has been removed from government websites under the current administration, including environmental and health data, and references to specific demographic groups. Other government sites have also seen content changes, such as revised accounts of the January 6, 2021, event and new pages on the origins of Covid-19. The CIA recently discontinued its World Factbook.
Historically, federal agency accounts were passed to incoming administrations with previous posts remaining visible. While high-profile accounts like @POTUS are archived to specific historical handles (e.g., @POTUS44 for Obama), these archives typically remain publicly accessible.
Concerns Regarding Transparency
Some current and former State Department employees, along with academics, have expressed concerns that this change will complicate the historical record of government communications and actions.
"While social media has introduced challenges, it has also created a level of transparency, and putting up a barrier to access information, even if archived, is a concern."
— Shannon McGregor, Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Orna Blum, a retired senior foreign service officer, noted that the removed posts include records of diplomacy, policy announcements, and cultural programming.
"FOIA is a slow, discretionary, and often redacted process, not a substitute for open archives."
— Orna Blum, Retired Senior Foreign Service Officer
Similar questions regarding transparency and record preservation arose when the New York Mayor's administration deleted posts made by its predecessor from the @NYCMayor X handle, though those posts are publicly archived by the city. Trump's second-term messaging strategy has reportedly emphasized social media content as a method of governing.