schools tripled to at least 10,000 in the last academic year under new GOP state laws—up from 3,362 in the prior year.
• Iowa’s S.F.496 (July 2023) mandated removal of any K-12 materials with “sex acts,” banning classroom discussions of LGBTQ+ and gender identity, with thousands of book removals following swiftly.
• Florida’s H.B. 1069 and similar laws in Utah and Missouri led to a statutory review process requiring books be pulled from shelves while challenged.
• A Washington Post investigation found the majority of book challenges came from just 11 people in 100+ districts—often encouraged and provided scripts by conservative organizations targeting BIPOC and LGBTQ authors.
Anecdotes abound:
• Jamie Gregory, a South Carolina librarian: “This binary choice presents itself for educators—comply and remove books, or risk your job and community standing.”
• In some towns, local library boards threatened closure rather than comply with removing titles.
Despite the Trump Department of Education’s claim to have ended “Biden’s Book Ban Hoax,” the Office for Civil Rights closed 11 active cases of censorship, and the book ban coordinator position was eliminated. Critics saw this as formal abandonment of federal oversight for intellectual freedom in schools.
Voice of America and International Propaganda
The Trump administration orchestrated profound changes at Voice of America (VOA). In 2017, Congress changed the VOA’s governance to allow direct presidential appointments for its CEO, effectively ending its bipartisan independence. Trump appointees—drawn from right-wing activist backgrounds—were sent to oversee content and transition.
Investigative accounts and insider leaks allege that these shifts converted VOA into a “mouthpiece for Trump’s personal brand” reaching a global audience of 236 million. Dissenters within the agency described pressure to air pro-Trump coverage and silence criticism, a sharp break from tradition of editorial independence.
The White House further launched public attacks on VOA, accusing it of “amplifying Chinese propaganda” merely for reporting on the reopening of Wuhan after COVID-19 lockdowns—a campaign amplified by Trump’s senior social media aides, signaling that even neutral coverage was unwelcome unless it fit administration narratives.
Lawsuits as Censorship by Litigation
Trump and close allies have escalated the use of lawsuits against news organizations,