US State Department wipes X history as older posts from Biden, Obama, and Trump’s first term disappear

Social media platform X

• US State Department deletes years of X posts, now accessible via FOIA requests only.
• Deleted posts on Biden, Obama, Trump; no public archive available
• Critics say move limits public scrutiny and historical accountability

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The US State Department is deleting years of posts from its official X accounts and will require the public to file Freedom of Information Act requests to access the removed content, according to a report by NPR. The move affects posts published before President Donald Trump’s current term and applies across multiple State Department–affiliated accounts, including those run by US embassies.

Unlike previous transitions between administrations, the deleted posts will not be preserved in a publicly accessible archive. That means content from the Biden and Obama administrations, as well as Trump’s first term, will effectively vanish from public view unless specifically requested through the FOIA process.

A State Department spokesperson confirmed the change to NPR, saying the goal is “to limit confusion on US government policy and to speak with one voice to advance the President, Secretary, and Administration’s goals and messaging.” The spokesperson added that while the department claims it will preserve records internally, the focus is now on “promoting the present” rather than maintaining public-facing historical accounts.

The spokesperson also described X as “one of our most powerful tools for advancing the America First goals,” underlining how central social media has become to the administration’s communications strategy.

The decision marks a sharp break from how federal agencies have typically handled social media transitions. In past administrations, older posts were usually archived or left online with clear demarcations between presidencies, allowing journalists, researchers, and the public to trace shifts in US foreign policy messaging over time.

The move also fits into a broader pattern of information removal under the current administration. Since returning to office, Trump has overseen the systematic purging of material from government websites. Earlier this week, the CIA unexpectedly took down its World Factbook, a widely used global reference resource that had been freely available online since 1997.

Critics argue that forcing access through FOIA requests raises the barrier to public scrutiny and historical accountability, especially for content that was previously available at the click of a button. Supporters, however, frame the move as an effort to centralise messaging and avoid policy confusion across sprawling government-run social media accounts.