The Associated Press on Thursday published a report suggesting that various military branches are removing images and other references to women, racial minorities, and members of the LGBTQ community to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the federal government.
The report claims that among the images flagged for removal from the internet.
References to a World War II Medal of Honor recipient, the Enola Gay aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan and the first women to pass Marine infantry training are among the tens of thousands of photos and online posts marked for deletion as the Defense Department works to purge diversity, equity and inclusion content, according to a database obtained by The Associated Press.
The database, which was confirmed by U.S. officials and published by AP, includes more than 26,000 images that have been flagged for removal across every military branch. But the eventual total could be much higher.
An anonymous source allegedly told The Associated Press that this effort “could delete as many as 100,000 images or posts in total, when considering social media pages and other websites that are also being culled for DEI content.”
However, the individual indicated that it is not certain whether the database of flagged content had been finalized, according to the AP.
The vast majority of the Pentagon purge targets women and minorities, including notable milestones made in the military. And it also removes a large number of posts that mention various commemorative months — such as those for Black and Hispanic people and women.
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The report noted that “photos seemed to be flagged for removal simply because their file included the word “gay.” This included the name of the aircraft and individuals with the last name “Gay.”
The AP went on to suggest that photos of the Tuskegee Airmen might be targeted for deletion. The Trump administration has referred to these actions, as well as others carried out by other federal agencies as “malicious compliance” aimed at making it appear as if the president wants to erase minorities, women, and LGBTQ members from historical records.
At first glance, the report might lead people to believe that the Trump administration is indeed acting in a biased manner against those who are not straight White males. In fact, that is probably the authors’ intent.
But there is nothing in Trump’s executive orders that mandates the removal of these images or historical stories. His orders were directed at DEI initiatives that supposedly prioritize identity over merit. Moreover, it is important to note that the anonymous source indicated that the database has not been finalized, suggesting that these images will remain on the websites.
A similar story occurred in late February when the Art Museum of the Americas, which is funded by the U.S. government, canceled two shows featuring Black and LGBTQ artists out of concern of running afoul of the Trump administration’s policies.
I can understand that with any executive order, there is the potential for misinterpretation when it comes to applying the policy. But this story, along with several others, seems like overkill, which lends credibility to the administration’s contention that they are examples of malicious compliance. It seems the people involved are going overboard in applying the policy to make it appear as if the White House is acting in a discriminatory manner.
Of course, left-leaning news outlets like the AP are all too willing to help these people promote these narratives because they are upset about the push to diminish the influence of DEI in government and other institutions.
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