Data manipulation within the US Federal Government [1]
Government datasets modified without notice.
We gathered metadata from the US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, and Veterans Affairs database harvest sources [... ] that were modified between Jan 20 and March 25, 2025.
We found that 114 (49%) of the 232 included datasets were substantially altered.
SOME CHANGES
- “Social determinants of health” to “non
medical factors”
- “Gender” to “sex”
- “female details” column deleted
The agencies involved have not issued any statements confirming or explaining these changes [...]
Despite Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr's (Department of Health and Humana Services) calls for “radical transparency”, unlogged data manipulation moves away from meaningful transparency.
Only 15 (13%) of the 114 altered datasets logged or otherwise indicated that the change had occurred.
[1] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01249-8/fulltext
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