Latest news with #Malachowski
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Fact Check: US Air Force removed, then restored, article about first female Thunderbird pilot
Claim: The United States Air Force removed a webpage about Col. Nicole Malachowski, a 21-year veteran and the first woman to fly with the Air Force's Thunderbirds demonstration team. Rating: Context: The page has since been restored to the Air Force website, with the organization citing the temporary removal as part of its efforts to "comply with Defense Department directives while honoring our Air Force history." In mid-April 2025, a rumor circulated online that an article celebrating U.S. Air Force Col. Nicole Malachowski — the first woman to fly for the Thunderbirds, the Air Force's storied air demonstration team — was removed due to President Donald Trump's administration's ongoing initiative to purge government websites of what it perceives as diversity, equity and inclusion content. According to the Air Force, the Thunderbirds perform flyovers and demonstrations at events such as air shows and sporting events "for people all around the world to display the pride, precision and professionalism the U.S. Air Force represents." The claim circulated in online forums like Reddit and social media platforms such as Facebook (archived) and Bluesky (archived), while also being picked up by news media outlets. Snopes readers also reached out to learn more about the veracity of the claim. Seymour Johnson AFB leadership is deleting articles about the first female Air Force Thunderbird pilot. They say it is being done in accordance with the President's anti-DEI inAirForce In short, the claim that the Air Force removed a webpage about Malachowski is true, according to an email from the public affairs office of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, where she once held the position of commander. However, officials said via email that "digital content related to Col. (ret) Malachowski's career, including the story posted to the 4 FW website, is currently being restored across all Air Force platforms following clarifying guidance from higher headquarters." The specific webpage in question was an article titled "A life in flight for first woman 'Thunderbirds' pilot," originally published March 19, 2013. The article described Malachowski's career, including joining the Air Force in 1996, her "1,600 flying hours, including 185 hours of combat time in Operation Deliberate Forge and Operation Iraqi Freedom," her assignment to the Thunderbirds in 2005 and ultimately becoming "commander of the 333rd Fighter Squadron at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base." Beginning April 16, 2025, reports surfaced that the feature no longer appeared on the Air Force website. Instead, "DEI" was added to the URL string and led to a "404 — page not found" error. That "DEI" version of the URL (archived) no longer displays the "404" message shown in the screenshot below. In some instances, it redirects to the original article, while for other users it points to an alternate version of the page that is identical aside from "DEI" placed in front of the headline. Meanwhile, the original URL (which does not include the "DEI" addition) is displaying properly (archived) as cited by the Air Force in its statement above. (United States Air Force) The Air Force appeared to initially delete the page as a result of the Trump administration's attempt to remove what it perceives as DEI efforts in the government and branches of the military. "We continue to review all content under our purview to comply with Defense Department directives while honoring our Air Force history," a spokesperson for Seymour Johnson Air Force Base said via email. Prior to the reinstatement of the article, Malachowski spoke via email of the dangers she believed were evident in the Air Force's actions: "If we are willing to censor the stories of service members and veterans, what else are we willing to censor? This sets a very dangerous precedent and this kind of censorship erodes democracy." After the retired pilot made appearances on CNN and CBS to address the situation and the Air Force restored the page, Malachowski followed up via direct message on Instagram to offer a new comment. "It appears the Air Force decided to reinstate my articles this morning after getting pressure from journalist[s]," she said. "Well, that is nice, [but] it is not enough. There are tens of thousands of other articles, posts, photos, and videos of countless other service members and veterans that need to be restored … They must not stop with just restoring my story. They must restore every service member and veteran[']s story." Malachowski's temporary erasure from a government website is becoming a familiar pattern in the early months of Trump's second term in the Oval Office. Official government pages have purged a variety of historical information on the grounds that it fell into the opaque parameters of what the administration views as DEI, including erasing stories of other service members like a Black Medal of Honor recipient and a Black female Army officer who died in combat. The deletion of such articles was not limited to service members and veterans. Snopes also covered the temporary deletion of content pertaining to historical figures such as Jackie Robinson and Harriet Tubman as well as events like the Holocaust. - YouTube. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025. ---. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025. ---. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025. Horbacewicz, Sarah. Colorado Air Force Veteran's Article Restored after Initial Removal under New DEI Policies - CBS Colorado. 20 Apr. 2025, "The Pentagon's DEI Purge: Officials Describe a Scramble to Remove and Then Restore Online Content." AP News, 22 Mar. 2025,
Hindustan Times
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Who is Col. Nicole Malachowski? First female Thunderbird pilot and the Air Force DEI content removal controversy
The U.S. Air Force has republished articles about Colonel Nicole Malachowski, the first woman to fly with the elite Thunderbirds demonstration team. The articles were taken down earlier this month in compliance with directives from the Trump administration to "eliminate" content related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). They are now once again available to the public. It remains unclear whether other content taken down under the same directives has also been restored. 'The U.S. Air Force salutes Col. Malachowski's service as a leader, warfighter and pilot. Digital content related to her career is currently being restored across all Air Force platforms. We continue to review all content under our purview to comply with Defense Department directives while honoring our history,' an Air Force spokesperson told FOX21 News. Nicole Malachowski, a Colorado native, broke major stereotypical barriers in 2005 when she joined the Thunderbirds, the Air Force's premier air squadron, paving the way for future female pilots to join elite squadrons of USAF. She has served 21 years as a female fighter pilot. The USAF's website had numerous articles celebrating her military career, which was later scrubbed when the Trump administration came in. "I can't believe that something like this is happening in the country whose uniform I wore," Malachowski told 9NEWS. 'For us to turn around and say you're good enough to serve but not good enough to be remembered is a complete slap in the face.' The Donald Trump administration has been vehemently pushing to remove diversity-focused content from major sources and has already received a lot of backlash for the same in recent months. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs aim to ensure fair treatment and representation for people of all backgrounds, particularly in workplaces like the military. These initiatives address systemic biases and create opportunities for underrepresented groups, such as women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals. In the military, DEI efforts have included recruiting campaigns targeting diverse communities, bias training, and highlighting role models like Malachowski to inspire future service members. However, the Trump administration ordered federal agencies, including the military, to eliminate DEI programs in 2024, calling them 'divisive' and a distraction from 'core missions.'
CBS News
20-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Colorado Air Force veteran's article restored after initial removal under new DEI policies
After first sharing her story with CBS News Colorado last month and then national news outlets, an article documenting the career of Nicole Malachowski, the first female U.S. Air Force Thunderbird pilot, is back online. Many links to her other stories, however, still can't be opened, alongside thousands of other veteran stories taken down last month following the Department of Defense's new policy ending diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. "It's not about restoring a singular article. It's not about one service member or veteran's story. This is a much larger issue," Malachowski said. Earlier this year, President Trump signed an executive order "ending radical and wasteful" government DEI programs . Last month, the Department of Defense followed those directives from the White House and, in the DOD's own memo, moved to remove anything that promoted diversity, equity, and inclusion from websites and social media platforms. That also included some records of war heroes and historical firsts, like Malachowski's. Mr. Trump, supporting the implementation at a public event earlier this year, said, "we are a country that's based now on merit for success, merit. If you're good at what you do, you're going to go places." But after Malachowski's story gained national media attention, some of her service career milestones were put back online. "The Air Force did, in fact, restore one of these articles, which certainly was a surprise. But what's important to note is that it restored a singular article. The rest of these articles are still showing 'page 404 not found,'" Malachowski said, referring to a common webpage error message. The Air Force shared a statement with CNN saying, "the U.S. Air Force salutes Col. Malachowski's service as a leader, warfighter, and pilot. Digital content related to her career is currently being restored across all Air Force platforms." The statement went on to say, "we continue to review all content under our purview to comply with Defense Department directives while honoring our history." "I don't think we should stop putting the pressure on until every single one of those articles is restored," Malachowski said. Some pages previously taken down have been restored, including documenting known veteran, civil rights leader, and baseball icon Jackie Robinson . But many others are still down, including some acknowledging the first black military pilots, the Tuskegee Airmen. "At the end of the day, [the policy] is saying to all of these veterans whose stories have been erased, thank you for your service. It was good, but it's not good enough to be remembered," Malachowski said.
CBS News
18-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Colorado veteran concerned about losing career milestones after DEI executive order
After the Trump administration directed agencies to scrub websites of topics related to diversity equity and inclusion, some veterans are sharing their frustration as it relates to historical events and military firsts. Shortly after taking office, President Trump signed an executive order "ending radical and wasteful" government DEI programs . The order includes federal agencies, contractors, and programs or organizations who receive federal funding. In late February, the Department of Defense followed those directives and sent out a memo directing, that starting March 5, its organizations should remove anything that promotes DEI from websites and social media platforms. That can include articles, videos and social media posts that mention gender and race, and it has already impacted online records of military firsts and historical events. Now, one Colorado veteran says she feels betrayed and feels as though her history is being erased. Alongside a decades-long career in service, which included times in combat, Nicole Malachowski was also the first female to pilot the Thunderbirds . She is now reflecting on her career as she watches many of the records get taken down, including a flight in 2006. "I'm on the autograph line after I have flown and there was a 12-year-old gal looking up at me, you know, as if I had hung the moon right? And it wasn't about me, it was that in me she saw her dreams could become reality," Malachowski said. Years later, Malachowski said that girl is now serving as a major and combat aviator in the Air Force. "It became very clear to me that it means something to see someone who looks like you succeeding," Malachowski said. But if you look for records of many of those moments now, if you can find the links, Malachowski showed us the trouble you may run into. "Let's look at this one, A life in flight for the first woman Thunderbirds pilot, the 404 page not found," Malachowski said. And those broken links follow that DOD memo, scrubbing mentions of diversity equity and inclusion from online platforms. President Trump celebrates the idea, sharing in a previous public event, "We are a country that's based now on merit for success, merit. If you're good at what you do you're going to go places," he said. But Malachowski worries those places could be limited as a result, explaining, "There was indeed a time in our history when women were not allowed to serve in the military. There was indeed a time in our history when Black Americans were not allowed to serve in our military. And we have to remember that past so that we don't repeat that past," she said. And this Women's History Month, instead of texts acknowledging the barriers she broke that Malachowski says she typically receives, she's getting apology emails as those acknowledgements are taken down. "It's bigger than just my story being erased. It's bigger than just my friend's story being erased. It's about censorship, and censorship is not okay, and censorship has no place in America," she said. The memo did also say that anything taken down from DOD websites and social media platforms must be archived according to current records policies. Meanwhile, Malachowski is saving any article and video she can find while they're accessible.
