Government employees, those with clean cards, teachers, and student journalists all over the US are requesting editors to delete their names from ancient news stories because they fear a backlash from the administration of President Donald Trump for views or identities that are now viewed as “politically risky.”
Some federal workers and others have asked editors to reduce their names from old news stories, according to Poynter’s Kelly McBride. These individuals are concerned that being fired from their jobs may result from their sexual orientation or positions opposed to Trump’s policies.
With the exception of international sources who are in life and death situations, Kevin Naff, the director of the Washington Blade, told the outlet that taking down reports “is not everything I’ve actually done before.”
The Washington Blade has a long record of reporting on racial discrimination against gay people. The publication is still active in the investigation of instances of harassment and discrimination. He said,” We’re going backwards.”
” The anxiety is very strong. People are afraid. They worry about losing their retirement and, you know, everything else,” he continued.
This wave of anxiety affects not just career professionals; students journalists, especially those who have ties to pro-Palestinian engagement, are also requesting their bylines remain cut out, feared by the Guardian for legal repercussions, deportation, or specialized retaliation, according to the Guardian.
Rumeysa Ozturk, a grad scholar at Tufts University who is currently being held by ICE, has heightened concerns. Ozturk is now fighting imprisonment despite no conclusive evidence linking her writing to the card withdrawal. She had written a pro-Palestinian op-ed in her school report.
Since March 8 when Columbia grad student and continuous native Mahmoud Khalil faced incarceration and deportation proceedings for participating in pro-Palestinian presentations, Ozturk joins roughly ten different academics and students detained by immigration authorities.
Editors express particular concern among foreign pupil contributors, though requests for information removal from websites today include American citizens as well.
