Editors note, February 5, 10:30 am ET: On February 5, Gwynne Wilcox filed a lawsuit challenging her firing by Trump, setting up a vehicle the Supreme Courts Republican majority could use to fully implement the unitary executive theory and potentially give Trump full control over the Federal Reserve. The story below was originally published February 3.

Billionaire Elon Musk and his band of young Silicon Valley engineers have gained access to IT systems controlling critical functions of the federal government, from the Treasury Department to the Small Business Administration.The problem is no one outside of the Trump administration really knows what Musk and his team at the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planning to do with that access. In the name of uncovering fat to trim, they now have the personal information of millions of Americans stored in government databases at their fingertips and newfound influence over key parts of the federal bureaucracy long controlled by nonpartisan career officials. Its clear Musk has exceptional access to government data, but its still not clear how much he can do with it. Most saliently, watchdogs and Democratic lawmakers suspect that Musks endgame is not just visibility into the payments the government is making, but also control over them. This is all part of the cloud of confusion surrounding DOGE. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Monday that Musk is operating in his capacity as a non-Senate-confirmed special government employee, a category of employee that is typically brought on for a period of less than a year, hired for their expertise, and subject to less stringent conflicts-of-interest rules than other federal officials. Leavitt offered no further details on what Musk working on, though she claimed he is abiding by all applicable federal laws.That claim will be subject to legal scrutiny.The litigation arm of Public Citizen, a left-leaning consumer rights advocacy group, sued the Trump administration Monday on behalf of workers whose personal information is stored in Treasury Department databases, alleging that officials broke privacy laws in giving DOGE access. Other groups have raised similar privacy concerns about databases at other federal agencies to which Musks team has sought access.Adam Schwartz, privacy litigation director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights advocacy group, said that reports of DOGE staff obtaining extraordinary access to government databases that contain sensitive personal information about millions of Americans marks a huge departure from privacy and security norms.Legal safeguards must be strictly enforced, he said. EFF is deeply concerned and learning all we can.Watchdog groups are also demanding more transparency into why DOGE is seeking access to these government IT systems in the first place, given their sensitivity and the host of potential conflicts of interest Musk brings given his stakes in Tesla and SpaceX. One fear is that DOGE could use its newfound access to the federal governments payment system to slash the budget without Congresss approval.The Treasury Department wrote in a letter to Congress on Tuesday that Musk has read-only access to the payment system at least for now. But if he were to gain operational control of it, Noah Bookbinder, executive director of the government oversight group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said he is skeptical that Musk will use that access just to perform regular maintenance and do troubleshooting on tech problems.Musk and his team have rapidly sought to gain access to the IT systems of various government agencies and offices in recent days, including at least the Treasury, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and the Small Business Administration (SBA). Last week, Treasurys acting Deputy Secretary David Lebryk resigned after DOGE requested and was granted access to the Treasurys payment systems, which handle sensitive payments including to Social Security and Medicare customers. DOGE also reportedly locked career civil servants out of OPMs computer systems, which contain the personal data of millions of federal employees and contractors. Federal employees sought a temporary restraining order Tuesday to shut down a private server that DOGE had connected to OPMs network to scrape sensitive employee information.SBA employees were also informed Monday that DOGE would be granted access to all SBA systems, including HR, contracts, and payments systems. The agency has supported over 100,000 financings to small businesses in the last year alone. Musk and his team have yet to publicly announce what they intend to do with all of that data, however, and that makes ethics watchdogs extremely nervous.Just from an accountability perspective, there is so much we dont know about whats going on, said Don Moynihan, a public policy professor at the University of Michigan and co-director of the Better Government Lab, which identifies technological solutions in government to improve social safety net access. Were relying on these leaked reports, rather than someone going in front of Congress and explaining in detail what it is that these people are actually doing and why its not a security risk.Why Musks attempts to penetrate government IT are so concerningMusk and his teams efforts to control IT systems across the government raise concerns about privacy and conflicts of interest. They may also give Musk, a partisan political appointee, the ability to interfere in the management of the federal budget set by Congress. Current and former government employees sued the Trump administration on Monday claiming that it violated privacy laws in allowing their data to be disclosed to Musk and his team. Federal laws protect sensitive personal and financial information from improper disclosure and misuse, including by barring disclosure to individuals who lack a lawful and legitimate need for it, the complaint states. The scale of the intrusion into individuals privacy is massive and unprecedented.The same concerns may apply to other federal agencies IT systems that DOGE has sought to access. The SBA, for example, keeps records of business owners and the health of their businesses. Musk, as a business owner, also has the potential to privately profit from that kind of information: It is really concerning to have someone with this scope of business interest, between Tesla SpaceX and X all of these things would benefit from the information hes gleaning, said Lindsay Owens, executive director of Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive advocacy group focused on economic policy. Perhaps most concerningly, however, Musks access to Treasury payment systems could give him undue influence over the federal budget at a time when there is a looming debt-ceiling crisis. The now-departed Lebryk and his team of nonpartisan career Treasury officials typically determine when the government is at risk of default by carefully tracking the payment system. Any disruption to that system could put the country at greater risk of defaulting on our debt, which could trigger a global financial crisis, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) warned Tuesday in a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Bessent tried to quell lawmakers concerns in a private meeting with the GOP conference on Monday, before later assuring Congress publicly that Musk has only read-only access to the payment system. But if Musk were to gain operational access, that may give him the tools to cancel payments unilaterally essentially, circumventing Congress and its power to set the federal budget. Especially after courts have ruled against President Donald Trumps attempts to freeze congressionally approved federal grants, using the Treasury payments system might be an attractive, if legally questionable workaround to control the flow of federal funds.Trump has tried to tamp down fears about how Musk could abuse his powers at DOGE: Elon cant do and wont do anything without our approval, he told reporters Monday. If there was something that didnt have my okay, Id let you know about it really fast.But that offers little assurance to watchdog groups, who say that Congress should ask Musk and his team to testify in an open forum about what theyre doing and why. Sens. Warren and Ron Wyden (D-OR) have asked the Government Accountability Office to open an inquiry into the decision to give Musks team access to the Treasury payment systems. You have this unelected, very powerful, very wealthy person potentially exerting great control over the government, Bookbinder, from the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said. People should know whats happening, how its happening, why, and have real transparency.See More:

Civilization 7 makes big changes to the series, and while they won't appeal to everyone, I found them to be a great way to keep me engaged from Turn 1 to Turn 1000Tech18:00, 05 Feb 2025It's hard not to think Civ 7 looks fantasticIve been playing Civilization games, in both single and multiplayer formats, for around two decades. In all of that time rewriting history books, I can probably count on one or two hands how many games Ive actually finished.Thats not a sleight on the series itself, but its to Civilization 7s credit that I not only finished a game, but it was so good I missed the review embargo (which is why youre reading this two days late).Its not a perfect revamp of the long-running series, but Civilization 7 is so full of interesting decisions that I found something exciting in almost every one of my hundreds of turns.Civilization 7 is so good I almost forgot to write my reviewCivilization is a series all about choice, both at the micro and macro levels. Starting out with a settler, youll choose where to found a city to call home. From there youll choose what unit to build first.On the other end of the scale, all of those decisions feed into choosing which kind of ruler do you want to be. Will you antagonise and attack your contemporaries, or look to woo them through trade?Those goalposts have been in play since the series began life in the nineties, and as fantastic as every entrant has been, theres always a point where players inevitably feel boxed in by their choices a few dozen turns in.Civilization 7 marks a serious shakeup of that well-worn format, and its changes touch the early, mid, and late game. Early choices are relatively binary, but help set the template of your playstyle, whether you prefer any of the 4 'Xs' synonymous with the genre; exploration, expansion, exploitation and extermination.Cultural victories still require you to build landmarksEarly choices will help you decide whether youre going to meet the people of the world by filling out your map, or assimilate them into your growing empire. Or, you know, attack and ask questions later.The biggest change, however, is the Ages System. There are three of these Ages in the game at present (although it sounds like theres room for more with DLC ), and they help shake things up in major ways.Having a plague leave cities as ghost towns in a little macabre, and dropping a ton of barbarian invaders on your nascent nation is certainly on the unfair side, but thats kind of the point to put obstacles in your path that lead to widespread changes in your rulership.This helps a multiplayer lobby stay relatively close in power level, while still offering bonuses for being the first to progress and also manages to ensure you never feel as though youre going through the motions as you may have done in Civilization 6 or prior.Its not a perfect system. Longtime Civ players will be disappointed to see units change vastly from one Act to the next, so you wont be able to guard your space rocket launch with a bunch of spearmen, but it kept me engaged throughout an entire match.Influence is a key new currency to understandWhile Civilization has experimented with rulers that have dual nationalities in recent years, Civilization 7 makes the surprising choice to divorce rulers and nations entirely.Want Catherine The Great at the head of the Roman Empire? Sure, its possible. Each leader has its own unique boost to their civilization, while each nation has its own, too.Whereas in Civ 6 you could have bonuses that wouldnt come into play until after hours of play, Civ 7s switch-up means you can get your playstyle going earlier than ever, like leveraging the Persians ability to buff infantry through attacking to help build a solid foundation for an extermination win, and while Xerxes matches up nicely for that style, Confucius might help your cities grow back home while the war is going on.The Ages system won't be for everyone, but I found it kept me engaged throughoutThis puts a greater emphasis not only on the single choice of ruler and civ but how the two play together.To complete many of the diplomatic actions in Civ 7, youll need to accrue influence which can be spent to kick off trade talks or open borders with neighbouring nations, or used to wear down opponents in a war.This means youll always want to have eyes on your opponents, and their interactions with other nations. If theyre spending a lot of time negotiating trade routes or getting chummy, theres a good chance theyre building alliances that may not benefit you in the long run.Remember, folks, snakes dont hiss they tell everyone Benjamin Franklin is doing a great job in his war against you.The satisfaction of knowing all of this came from a single settler is immeasurableAs with any Civilization title, theres at least some small part of me that feels like the game will grow into being even more life-consuming than it already is, but that means some things could definitely be shored up.The menus are clear, and the game looks fantastic, but theres a lack of tooltips while the glossary does the heavy lifting. That helps keep things very clean while playing, but can make it feel like some of the deeper systems are buried somewhat.Its also peculiar that, despite some games in the series building towards near-future technology, Civilization 7s final age (Modern) actually caps out with space rocket launches.Heres hoping a fourth age helps add to the game, but its also jarring that the series cheekiest ruler, Gandhi, is nowhere to be found. Hes the stuff of legend in prior games, dropping nukes with reckless abandon, but hes simply not here at launch which is a shame.Civilization 7 will likely grow to be the game I spend the most time with this year, but even sans Gandi its a polished, slick 4X strategy game that continues to lineage of prior games while offering brave changes for veterans.Article continues belowReviewed on PC. Review code provided by the publisher.

Nintendo has revealed that Pokemon Legends Z-A and Metroid Prime 4 are coming to the original Switch first, and aren't currently planned for Switch 2 outside of backwards compatibilityTech16:05, 05 Feb 2025What will we be playing on Switch 2?Nintendo's next console is the Switch 2, and the wait for more information on the handheld/home console hybrid is only going to get worse as we count down to April 2.Still, at least EA has suggested it'll more enthusiastically support the console, but what about Nintendo? While we know the system will have backward compatibility and Switch 2 exclusives, but the only game we've seen is a fresh new Mario Kart that remains untitled.That's led to rampant speculation about how the whole launch lineup will look after Switch 1 launched with one of the greatest games ever in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but Nintendo has confirmed two games that aren't likely to be launch titles.We've only seen a short teaser for Pokemon Legends Z-A (so this isn't it!)(Image: Nintendo)As per VGC, Nintendo has reaffirmed that both Pokemon Legends Z-A and Metroid Prime 4, arguably the two biggest titles it still has to release at present outside of Switch 2 and Mario Kart, are still planned for the first console.After relative silence about Pokemon Legends Z-A outside of a short teaser trailer, fans had assumed Nintendo would be preparing it for the second Switch, especially after Scarlet and Violet had plenty of issues on the original console.Metroid Prime 4, on the other hand, was shown off again in 2024 and looked so good we were convinced the first Switch wouldn't be able to run it.Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa explained that both games are slated to arrive this year for the 2017 system and that the company plans to continue supporting the hardware for as long as there is demand.Earlier this week, we reported that one analyst suggested Nintendo had "overestimated" demand for the console as it enters its eighth year on the market, and that Switch 2 "can't come soon enough".For more on Switch 2, be sure to check out this bizarrely plausible release date theory, as well as how to jump the queue and preorder in the UK.Article continues belowFor the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.

Nintendo Switch 2 price will be affordable for consumers says execAdam StarkeyPublished February 5, 2025 5:55pmUpdated February 5, 2025 5:55pm Could it be cheaper than expected? (YouTube)Nintendos president has discussed some of the factors involved in the Switch 2 price, as he rules out a reduction for the original console.One of the big unknowns around the Switch 2 is the consoles price, which is expected to be revealed during a Nintendo Direct on April 2, 2025.That hasnt stopped speculation around what the cost will be though, with rumours ranging from 300 to 450. For context, the original Switch costs 259.99 and the OLED model costs 309.99, so theres a strong chance itll be more expensive than those.While we still dont have any concrete details, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has discussed some of the considerations around the consoles pricing, and hinted that it might be more affordable than many expect.Speaking during a Q&A, as part of Nintendos Q3 earnings call, Furukawa was asked if the company had changed its stance on what they consider an acceptable price point for consoles although while they talked about various economic factors they didnt mention anything about US tariffs.In his answer (as translated by Google from the Japanese Q&A), Furukawa cites inflation in Japan and the exchange rate as being considerably different since the Switch launched in 2017.However, he also notes that Nintendo has to consider the affordability that consumers expect from Nintendo products which is a promising sign that the increase wont be too astronomical.Its bad news though for anyone hoping for a price cut for the original Switch, when the next console does launch, as Furukawa notes there are no plans to change the price of Nintendo Switch hardware.More TrendingWhile theres a possibility that Furukawa is simply being coy, theres perhaps little reason for Nintendo to drop the Switch price with games like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokmon Legends: Z-A still on the horizon.Nintendo has, however, cut its financial forecasts in recent months, after Switch sales last year fell below expectations, so its possible a price cut could happen if those games (and any other future titles) fail to give the system another boost.Aside from the price, the other big question around the Switch 2 is when it will launch, with some insiders suggesting it could be June. But officially theres no indication other than sometime this year. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is still coming to Switch this year (Nintendo)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

WWE 2K25 hands-on preview: Intergender wrestling, backstage brawls and moreAlistair McGeorgePublished February 5, 2025 5:00pm We got hands-on with WWE 2K25 (2K/Metro)2Ks efforts with last years game were admirable but with The Bloodline taking centre stage, its time to get ready for WWE 2K25.Developer Visual Concepts has continued to take great strides since the self-enforced hiatus after WWE 2K20 was quite rightly slated, and now the present and future of WWE gaming looks bright.This week, GameCentral got to spend a few hours getting hands-on with a preview version of this years new game, with a selection of its extensive roster and a few different match types.From Showcase and Backstage Brawls to Royal Rumbles and Underground (more on the latter this weekend), there was a lot to get to grips with.As we fired up our first match, we overheard a couple of other journalists commenting on how fluid the action was, and they were spot on. From the get-go, its clear there are little tweaks to make everything feel smoother and more exciting.Heres what we made of the early version, which comes a few weeks before review copies will be made available.WWE 2K25 gameplay and graphics chain wrestling, barricade dives and more Gameplay has been enhanced (2K/Metro)As well as feeling fluid, the game looks sharp too, with the bruising, blood, and sweat system (with elements like this becoming more visible as the matches go on) adding to the immersion. During one match, Jade Cargill hit Natalya (controlled by us) with Jaded and there was immediate bruising on her cheek.Reversals and dodges being mapped to the same button makes everything flow better, while the return of chain wrestling looks to be a fun addition. Its activated by holding the grapple button in certain one-on-one matches, with the left stick used to battle against your opponent to switch holds, push against the ropes, attack and more.Barricade dives have been hyped by 2K for this game, and they work well , with the option to tiptoe along the barrier before you jump. It makes the arena feel like a living and breathing representation of WWE, just like having the Logan Pauls Prime Energy Hydration Station as an interactive area and weapon. Chain wrestling is a welcome return with plenty of scope (2K/Metro) Barricade dives add another element (2K/Metro) Keep an eye out for new weapons and interactive objects (2K/Metro)The AI feels smarter and 2K has told us that the sliders used to determine how the AI plays as certain wrestlers has been extended this year, where the frequency of certain moves (and when they get performed in a match) can be determined in the Create a Moveset area.All the back and forth of matches appears a touch better, even on the default settings (even if it felt a little easy at times), while weight detection works better, with Lyra Valkyria struggling against someone like Nia Jax. Meanwhile, the addition of a new Giant weight class should add another welcome dimension.Also new this year is intergender wrestling, which does exactly what it says on the tin, as superstars of either gender can face each other in every match. This allows for surprise Royal Rumble entrants, dream matches, and the Rhea Ripley versus Dominik Mysterio bout everyones waiting for. The sweat and bruising system looks crisper than ever (2K/Metro) Something tells us Rhea Ripley versus Dominik Mysterio will be a frequent match for players (2K/Metro)To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a webbrowser thatsupports HTML5videoUp NextThe only limit here is blood and bruising not appearing in this mode (for obvious reasons), while the game will note the makeup of the match when it comes to run-ins which means you wouldnt get a male superstar interfering in an all-womens match or vice versa. In turn, this means intergender wrestling wont be forced on anyone who doesnt want to play it.This year, WWE 2K25 also allows you to control the third person camera during entrances, allowing you to zoom in and out while using the right stick to go 360 degrees around the superstar. This can also be used in matches, might take some getting used to but seems a fun option.Backstage Brawls: WWE Archive and the NXT Parking Lot The WWE Archive is full of Easter eggs (2K/Metro)There are two new Backstage Brawl areas to this years game, which bring a welcome hint of silliness to the game: the WWE Archive and NXT Parking Lot.As any wrestling fan knows, the latter is the most dangerous area in wrestling and thats represented here with doors, trash cans, traffic cones, cars and an interactive ambulance, all available to be used to punish your opponent.We even found a sheet of glass positioned over four chairs, which would be wonderful to see introduced if 2K decide to build up last years weapons, like light tubes, for more of a Deathmatch vibe. The NXT Parking Lot area lives up to its dangerous reputation (2K/Metro) We could have spent hours just exploring this area (2K/Metro)The WWE Archive should be very popular with fans, and during a chat with media this week, the team have teased upwards of 60 Easter eggs littered across the area. We wont spoil them all here, but expect nods to late legend Bray Wyatt, Elias, The Undertaker, Bret Hart and more.If you look hard enough, you can even find the SmackDown fist all well say here is fans of 2002s WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth should keep in mind that almost everything is interactive.Showcase Mode Bloodline Dynasty Showcase feels refreshed by the new approach (2K/Metro)Last but not least, we also got to grips with this years rethought Showcase mode, which is focused on The Bloodline and sees some changes to other iterations.This time round, matches are split into three types, allowing you to relive history, change it, or play out dream matches bringing stars from the past into the modern world.In the preview, we got to play this involved Nia Jax against Lyra Valkyria in the final of last years Queen of the Ring tournament; Roman Reigns against Seth Rollins in a bid to correct the result of the 2022 Royal Rumble grudge match; and The Wild Samoans against the Dudley Boyz in a Tables Match. Paul Heyman makes everything feel significant (2K/Metro)Paul Heyman as narrator adds so much, and even the development team admitted they were in awe watching him do his thing, with the usual pre-match history lessons becoming living and breathing promos in the Wisemans hands.In terms of the gameplay for the Showcase mode, SlingShot technology is a thing of the past, with the action taking place solely in the game. Cut scenes are still there, but during the match, theyre blending into the CG action, rather than trying to move between the game and old footage.More TrendingThis means commentary is also back for Showcase, and all across the game 2K has decided to stick with its three-man booth of Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Byron Saxton which, while not an accurate representation of WWE TV, still works as a familiar broadcast team. Dream matches are part of this years Showcase (2K/Metro)Objectives keep the matches fun and allow for extra unlockables (arenas, MyFaction cards, and new superstars and attires were all there from what we could see), with the introduction of timed objectives adding a new challenging element.Its a departure from the past, but a heap of fun, and itll be intriguing to see what other matches and superstars make the cut, with this mode going far beyond Roman Reigns and the immediate Bloodline faction.WWE 2K25 will be released on March 14, with the deluxe editions launching a week earlier on March 7.Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. 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Warner Bros. Discovery has done something good for a change. Over the past month, its uploaded 30 different movies of varying quality to YouTube. You can watch them right now for free. Theres no catch. Its a strange move from a company that has seemed aggressively anti-art since CEO David Zaslav consolidated Discovery and WarnerMedia into one company in 2021. This is the company that shelved the completed Batgirl movie and Coyote vs Acme. I have a small hope that, once Warner Bros. banks the tax savings it got from not releasing those pictures, we may one day see them dumped onto YouTube. Heres the full playlist. Its a grab-bag. Warner Bros. Discovery is in control of multiple YouTube channels and has been uploading these movies onto them over the past few weeks. You can watch Marlon Brandos Mutiny on the Bounty in all its glory then watch Jeremy Irons chew scenery in the awful 2000s Dungeons & Dragons. I havent seen Waiting for Guffman since I was a teenager. Its here. Ive never gotten around to watching David Byrnes True Stories but Ive always wanted to. Now the barrier to entry is gone.The list is full of cinematic masterpieces, obscure cult cinema, and absolute trash. Its an uncurated list of cinema, a weird dumping ground of stuff that Warner Bros. must not think much of. William Friedkin had a god-tier run of films in the 1970s. He put out The French Connection, The Exorcist, and ended with Sorcerer. As his career wandered in the 1980s he put out a weird movie starring Chevy Chase, Gregory Hines, and Sigourney Weaver about arms dealers called Deal of the Century. Its supposed to be awful. Now I can watch it how god intended: in 20-minute segments over the course of a week on YouTube while I eat lunch.Most of these movies are not on Max, the companys premier streaming service. Some of them can be purchased or rented on YouTube or Amazon and others, like True Stories, have fancy Criterion releases. Some of them are obscure gems, some are total crap, and some Ive never heard of. Its a strange list and this feels like some kind of an experiment. Warner Bros. is a 100-year-old movie studio with a back catalog filled with an uncountable number of films. The studio has long tried to capitalize on that back catalog without breaking the bank. In 2009 it launched something called the Warner Archive Collection. For a few years, the Archive would print DVDs and Blu-rays on demand for consumers if they ordered them. Rather than do large pressings of obscure films or low-demand films and shove them in a warehouse, theyd just make one for you if you wanted it. Five years later, the Archive got into streaming. It went through several iterations over the years and, for a time, even let people download video files directly from the archive. But that all got shut down when Zaslav took over. Most, but not all, of the catalog moved to Max.Now, it appears, some of it is on YouTube. Its a place where abandoned media can live without Warner paying hosting fees. Its also getting revenue from the views and some of these movies have been watched hundreds of thousands of times already. Mr. Nice Guy, a 1997 Jackie Chan vehicle, has 15 million views. The revenue on that isnt nothing.

By Matt Novak Published February 5, 2025 | Comments (0) | Flickr / Official White House Photo by Joiyce N. Boghosian Every federal agency in the U.S. is currently trying to figure out how to purge forbidden words from documents posted online, in a desperate attempt to comply with President Donald Trumps executive order to purge DEI from every facet of American life. And nowhere is that effort more bizarre than the National Science Foundation, which is currently combing through websites and research papers for a long list of words that include female, disability, and LGBT, among a host of others. The review comes in response to a memo sent out Jan. 29 from the Office of Personnel Management, written by acting director Charles Ezell. Every agency has interpreted the memo a little differently, but at NSF theyve compiled a list of words that need to be found which will initiate a review to see if its allowed. According to the Washington Post, a word like women appearing will get the content flagged, but it will need to be manually reviewed to determine if the context of the word is related to a forbidden topic under the anti-DEI order. Trump and his fellow fascists use terms like DEI to describe anything they dont like, which means that the word women is on the forbidden list while men doesnt initiate a review. Straight white men are seen through the MAGA worldview as the default human and thus wouldnt be suspicious and in need of a review. Any other type of identity is inherently suspect. Some of the terms that are getting flagged are particularly eyebrow-raising in light of the Nazi salutes that Trump supporters have been giving since he took office. For example, the term hate speech will get a paper at NSF flagged for further review. Redefining terms like hate speech is obviously part of the fascist project.Darby Saxbe, a professor at the University of Southern California tweeted the list of banned words on Monday., including a decision tree she says had been sent to all program officers at NSF. A decision tree being distributed to program officers at NSF to comply with Donald Trumps fascist purge of forbidden words. Image: NSF Forbidden keywords that initiate a review at NSF, according to Saxbe: activism activists advocacy advocate advocates barrier barriers biased biased toward biases biases towards bipoc black and latinx community diversity community equity cultural differences cultural heritage culturally responsive disabilities disability discriminated discrimination discriminatory diverse backgrounds diverse communities diverse community diverse group diverse groups diversified diversify diversifying diversity and inclusion diversity equity enhance the diversity enhancing diversity equal opportunity equality equitable equity ethnicity excluded female females fostering inclusivity gender gender diversity genders hate speech excluded female females fostering inclusivity gender gender diversity genders hate speech hispanic minority historically implicit bias implicit biases inclusion inclusive inclusiveness inclusivity increase diversity increase the diversity indigenous community inequalities inequality inequitable inequities institutional Igbt marginalize marginalized minorities minority multicultural polarization political prejudice privileges promoting diversity race and ethnicity racial racial diversity racial inequality racial justice racially racism sense of belonging sexual preferences social justice sociocultural socioeconomic status stereotypes systemic trauma under appreciated under represented under served underrepresentation underrepresented underserved undervalued victim women women and underrepresented Again, this isnt just happening at NSF. As Gizmodo reported last week, CDC is also purging its websites and reports of forbidden words. All of this is happening while billionaire Elon Musk, an unelected representative of Trumps government, is ransacking his way through the federal bureaucracy, gaining access to highly sensitive data with basically no one to stop him. Its still not clear what happens on the other side of all this. But when theyre flagging words like women and trauma, less than three weeks in, it cant be good.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Passant Rabie Published February 5, 2025 By Lucas Ropek Published February 5, 2025 By Matt Novak Published February 4, 2025 By Todd Feathers Published February 4, 2025 By Passant Rabie Published February 4, 2025 By Matt Novak Published February 4, 2025