The directive affects dozens of official accounts, from the main State Department feed to embassy accounts around the world. Years of announcements, policy statements, and diplomatic communications will vanish from public view.

The justification remains unclear. State Department officials have not explained why historical posts—many documenting official US positions, travel warnings, and foreign policy initiatives—need to be deleted rather than simply archived.

For historians and researchers, the deletion represents a significant loss. X posts have become primary sources for understanding diplomatic communications in real time. The Biden administration statements on Ukraine, China policy debates, and countless other moments will be erased.

The move follows a broader pattern of the Trump administration distancing itself from predecessor policies. But deleting records goes further than disagreement—it removes evidence of what the government said and did.