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https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Media/Images/igphoto/2002060253/. Paul Tibbetts in Front of the Enola Gay." U.S. Air Force, https://www.af.mil/News/Photos/igphoto/2000593150/.
Some information was removed based on a keyword search.
We guess it’s just a matter of time until the late U.S.
Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black has his name changed in American history books to Hugo White.
On Thursday, The Associated Press reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is being a good little boy by carrying out his boss’s cartoonishly evil desire to annihilate any traces of diversity, equity and inclusion — more commonly known as DEI — from the United States.
The AP noted that some of the images slated for deletion were still visible as of Thursday.
Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.
"Ending Illegal Discrimination And Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity." The White House, 22 Jan. 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-illegal-discrimination-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity/. As such, we cannot independently confirm that the AP's database is entirely correct.
However, a spokesperson for the Air Force confirmed to Snopes that information was removed from its website based on a keyword search as part of its effort to curb DEI.
The Air Force did not respond to our query about whether "gay" was one such keyword.
It is possible that any anti-DEI purge would flag the word "gay" in a database and that Enola Gay images were removed for that reason. The original source for such a claim was an AP story that relied on anonymous officials to confirm the details.
An anonymous official who spoke to the outlet did mention that it’s not clear if the database has been finalized. In the rare cases that content is removed that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive, we instruct components accordingly."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said: "DEI is dead.
The overly broad net cast by the Defense Department is quite similar to what the Trump administration did last month to the Internal Revenue Service.
While trying to root out any potential DEI references in the Internal Revenue Manuals, unrelated content was deleted, like references to the “inclusion” of a taxpayer’s identification number on a form.
At the time, MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow described the move as “willy-nilly control-F deleting anything” textually linked to DEI.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
Images of "Enola Gay," the aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in Japan are among those targeted by the U.S.
military in an initiative to eliminate content related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
They are among a number of photos unrelated to DEI that have been mistakenly flagged, including those from an Army Corps of Engineers dredging project in California, seemingly because an engineer in the image had the last name "Gay."
Why It Matters
The military is set to remove thousands of photos and online posts in the DEI purge following an executive order issued by President Donald Trump.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has defended the move, arguing that DEI initiatives undermine military cohesion and operational effectiveness.
What to Know
The executive order mandating the removal of DEI-related content required all military branches to review years of archived material, including website postings, photos, news articles and videos.
If the materials could not be reviewed by the deadline, they were to be "temporarily removed from public display" until further assessment.
A Marine Corps official stated that all flagged images within their database had either been removed or would be removed soon.
However, the process has been slow because of limited personnel numbers.
This person added that it’s unclear whether the database of flagged images is final.
Much of the material that does fall under Hegseth’s initiative celebrates heritage or relates to contributions to the military by women and minorities. You can't make up how dumb they are."
While some pictures of the Enola Gay aircraft were removed from the U.S.
Air Force and Department of Defense website, other photographs remained on the sites, though reports state they were "flagged" for removal. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.
"Col. Then post their snarky responses online — which you can read, laugh and cry about, too, by scrolling down.
1990s culture wars: We’re cancelling the Enola Gay exhibit bc veterans and historians can’t agree whether we should celebrate its role in ending WWII or critically assess the decision to use nuclear weapons2020s culture wars: We’re cancelling the Enola Gay bc “gay” is a no-no word
— Nicole Hemmer (@pastpunditry.bsky.social)2025-03-07T03:32:39.568Z
I knew it would be dumb, I didn’t think it would be forbidden Enola Gay dumb.
— Schooley (@schooley.bsky.social)2025-03-07T04:27:29.609Z
so those so-called brilliant DOGE kids are just keyword searching?
Soon after this article was published, the spokesperson added, "I was able to confirm that the content related to Enola Gay was identified for review, but not removed. It’s also unclear from the AP’s report if artificial intelligence was involved in determining which images were flagged.
Some of the selections for deletion are concerning.
LOL
— Joe Flood (@joeflood.bsky.social)2025-03-07T13:22:43.766Z
They prayed away the Enola Gay?
— Don Kronenberger (@donkronenberger.bsky.social)2025-03-07T03:42:29.550Z
is your enola even gay, bro
— Electric Chimp (@electricchimp.bsky.social)2025-03-07T03:54:41.752Z
In Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s quest to nix all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) content, some photos on the department’s website and online posts appear to be marked for deletion just because they include the word “gay”—regardless of what the context is.
One such case, the Associated Pressreported Thursday, is a photograph of the Enola Gay, a World War II aircraft from which an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan in August 1945.
Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.
Updates
March 11, 2025: This article was updated to include an additional statement from the U.S. Air Force.
By Nur Ibrahim
Nur Nasreen Ibrahim is a reporter with experience working in television, international news coverage, fact checking, and creative writing.
Individuals are encouraged to bring content they believe was erroneously removed to Public Affairs' attention for review.
The spokesperson would not specify on the record what categories or keywords violated the anti-DEI order. We are returning the focus of the military to merit and mission readiness."
What's Next
Military branches are continuing to review content, but officials have acknowledged that inconsistencies in archival procedures may make it difficult to recover deleted materials.
Some historians and military experts have raised concerns that the removals could lead to the loss of important records documenting the evolution of the armed forces.
This article uses reporting by The Associated Press.
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What we know about U.S.
military's anti-DEI purge of WWII Enola Gay aircraft photos
According to news reports, the Pentagon flagged files because of the word "gay."
Published March 10, 2025
Updated March 11, 2025Article 8 of 15 in Collection
In March 2025, following U.S.
President Donald Trump's orders to remove all diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from federal agencies, The Associated Press reported the Pentagon was purging images from its sites that violated the order. If we validate the content does not meet the EO requirement for removal, we will repost it. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.
"Boeing B-29 'Enola Gay.'" National Museum of the U.S.
Air Force, https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/Photos/igphoto/2000548758/. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/07/military-images-trump-dei.
Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.
"War Heroes and Military Firsts Are among 26,000 Images Flagged for Removal in Pentagon's DEI Purge." AP News, 7 Mar. 2025, https://apnews.com/article/dei-purge-images-pentagon-diversity-women-black-8efcfaec909954f4a24bad0d49c78074. Then cry. The Marine Corps has only one civilian employee handling the removals, and an estimated 1,600 military-related social media accounts remain under review.
The removal effort has sparked confusion, as some images appear to have been marked for deletion because their filenames contain the word "gay," including those of service members with that last name and the Enola Gay, the Boeing B-29 aircraft that dropped the first atomic bomb in combat during World War II.
The vast majority of the Pentagon purge targets women and minorities and it also removes a large number of posts that mention various commemorative months—such as those for Black and Hispanic people and women.
Images of historically significant military achievements or personnel, such as the Tuskegee Airmen and the first female Marine Corps infantry graduates, have been flagged for removal.
And a photo of Army Corps biologists was on the list, seemingly because it mentioned they were recording data about fish—including their weight, size, hatchery and gender.
What People Are Saying
Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot confirmed the removals: "We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the Department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms.