The Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System website, which provides various data sets and tools for tracking public health trends, now includes a note stating:
“CDC’s website is being modified to comply with President Trump’s Executive Orders.”
However, the website doesn’t explain what exactly has been changed. Key resources like methodology details and data glossaries are no longer easily accessible.
The CDC isn’t the only federal agency that altered or removed public information during President Trump’s second term.
After Trump’s inauguration on January 20, several federal websites disappeared and later reappeared with little to no explanation about the changes.
Some sites, like the Department of Justice’s database of individuals charged in connection with the January 6 Capitol attack, have been completely removed.
For data journalists, this removal and potential manipulation of federal data is deeply concerning because it restricts access to information essential for understanding the world.
So, What Exactly Is Data Journalism?
The term might confuse some, but it essentially involves using data and numbers to uncover patterns, inequities, and injustices that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Reliable data from federal, state, and local sources makes these investigations possible, helping to identify solutions to issues affecting communities in Wisconsin and beyond.
Researchers, public officials, and students also depend on these data sets to understand societal trends.
Changes to government websites during a new presidency are not unusual.
The End of Term Web Archive has preserved government website data at the end of every presidential term since 2008, collecting massive amounts of information.
However, the Trump administration took things further by removing entire data sets, particularly those related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
A striking example is the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which tracks health-related behaviors among youth and adults.
The survey provides valuable data on how race, mental health, gender identity, and sexual orientation affect health outcomes.
The data was temporarily taken offline until a court order forced the Department of Health and Human Services to restore it.
A note on the website now states:
“This page does not reflect biological reality and therefore the Administration and this Department reject it.”
Even when websites are restored, it’s unclear whether the data has been altered to align with the Trump administration’s perspective.
There’s no guarantee that other information won’t be changed or removed without warning.
Fortunately, journalists and data experts are working to preserve as much information as possible.
Organizations like Big Local News, Library Innovation Lab, Internet Archive, and the Data Rescue Project are dedicated to ensuring public access to this information.
However, these groups can only archive what’s already public—they can’t track what’s being deleted or manipulated before release.
Americans have long held different political views, and that’s normal. Healthy political debate strengthens democracy.
But growing partisanship is now fueling mistrust in the very data we rely on to understand the American story.
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