The Government Is Now Deciding What History Museums Can Display
Earlier this month, the Smithsonian just removed any mention of Trump’s impeachments from its presidential history exhibit. Those two impeachments that happened? The ones we all lived through just a few years ago? Gone from the museum display.
They claim it’s temporary. Something about formatting. Sure.
This is happening because the Trump administration is conducting what they call a “comprehensive internal review” of Smithsonian museums to make sure exhibits “celebrate American exceptionalism” and remove “divisive or partisan narratives.” Those are their actual words. They put them in a letter.
I keep thinking about that impeachment display getting yanked. Not some controversial interpretation of the Civil War or debate about the founding fathers. Just… facts. Recent facts. Trump was impeached twice. First president that ever happened to. And now visitors to the National Museum of American History won’t see that information because someone decided acknowledging it doesn’t count as celebrating American exceptionalism.
Related Knowledge Center: Democracy and politics
News organizations are scrambling to find a coverage approach that adequately informs the American public about the country’s slide from democracy to authoritarian rule.
Related Knowledge Center: Free speech and public protest
The First Amendment is facing challenging times: Crackdowns on campus protests prompted both-sides claims of intolerance. Attempts to head off dangerous health misinformation have been characterized as violations of free speech. Donald Trump is publicly punishing news outlets that deviate from his administration’s version of events while privately suing some outlets into submission.
The White House vs. the press | Voiceless America
Related Knowledge Center: Information integrity
In an increasingly fractured media landscape, truth has been a casualty in the public discussion. Coverage has been warped by the business needs of struggling news organizations, and a significant segment of the public relies on bad-faith outlets that are little more than propagandists. While fact-checking has become routine, some organizations are exploring other ways to combat the trends. And misinformation spewed by AI-driven chatbots has become more of a feature than simply a bug.
Fact-checking and its detractors