2 months ago
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PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Almost $1 billion in reported savings was removed from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) website. The figures disappeared overnight on Tuesday, including a significant $367 million cut related to a contract with the Acacia Center for Justice.
👥 Who’s Involved: The Department of Government Efficiency, fronted by Elon Musk.
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📍 Where & When: The removal occurred online from the DOGE website on Tuesday.
💬 Key Quote: Elon Musk described the efforts at DOGE as “a revolution,” emphasizing the role of the department in identifying inefficiencies.
⚠️ Impact: This incident contributes to a pattern of altering and removing savings figures on DOGE’s part. It raises questions about the accuracy of the savings reported and the reliability of projected savings, which have been reduced from $1 trillion to $150 billion.
IN FULL:
Elon Musk is at the center of an incident involving the disappearance of nearly $1 billion in declared savings by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Overnight on Tuesday, these savings figures were removed from DOGE’s website, including a significant $367 million cut dealing with services for unaccompanied illegal immigrant minors by the Acacia Center for Justice.
This revelation continues a pattern where DOGE’s previously claimed savings undergo adjustments or removal due to inaccuracies. The National Pulse previously reported that Musk, in his role with DOGE, informed the Trump White House during a cabinet meeting that the projected savings figures have been decreased from an estimated $1 trillion to a new figure of $150 billion. Musk’s responsibility includes identifying inefficiencies within federal agencies and departments to help reduce overall government spending.
The technology billionaire and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla has said his approach to DOGE’s efforts is akin to “a revolution,” giving the appearance that the agency is seeking significant cuts and radical reform to address the bloated government bureaucracy However, the recent adjustments point to discrepancies that challenge DOGE’s reporting credibility and necessitate scrutiny regarding the accuracy of declared savings.
Reports indicate that over 600 grants that were allegedly reduced or cut by DOGE have been removed from the agency website over the last month, with a bulk of the removals occurring Tuesday night. Even more troubling, a number of the cuts claimed by DOGE appear to have been to programs that had their funding reduced or zeroed out prior to 2025, with some having been ended during Trump’s first term in office. DOGE’s data issues raise concerns about whether Musk and his agency are giving President Trump and the American people the most accurate picture of their efforts to reduce government waste, fraud, and abuse.
PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Wikipedia editors extensively revised Vice President J.D. Vance’s page during the 2024 presidential campaign and its aftermath, significantly increasing negative content.
👥 Who’s Involved: Vice President J.D. Vance, Wikipedia editors, President Donald J. Trump, MRC Free Speech America, and various media outlets.
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📍 Where & When: United States, particularly Ohio; focus periods include Vance’s campaign announcements in 2021 and 2024.
💬 Key Quote: “Wikipedia editors flooded Vance’s page with 883 edits during the GOP vice presidential sweepstakes in the lead-up to Vance’s debut at the Republican National Convention—far more activity than the mere 500 edits made in a five-year span from March 2017 through May 2022,” the MRC report notes.
⚠️ Impact: During critical political phases, Vance’s public image was reshaped with heightened negativity.
IN FULL:
A recent examination of edits made to the Wikipedia page for Vice President J.D. Vance reveals that the online, open-source encyclopedia’s editors made substantial edits amplifying negative content during and after his selection as President Donald J. Trump‘s running mate. The research, published by MRC Free Speech America, found that in the months leading up to Vance being tapped as Trump’s vice presidential nominee at the 2024 Republican National Convention (RNC), his Wikipedia page saw nearly double the number of edits made compared to the cumulative total over the five years prior.
“Wikipedia editors flooded Vance’s page with 883 edits during the GOP vice presidential sweepstakes in the lead-up to Vance’s debut at the Republican National Convention—far more activity than the mere 500 edits made in a five-year span from March 2017 through May 2022—signaling a clear attempt to negatively reshape his public image,” MRC states, noting: “This mass editing began soon after legacy media floated Vance as a possible Trump running mate.”
The edits made to Vance’s entry on the free online encyclopedia almost uniformly use partisan-style talking points to highlight allegedly negative aspects of the Vice President’s background. Instead of a viewpoint-neutral source of information on Vance, his Wikipedia page essentially became a dumping point for Democratic Party talking points and opposition research. This effectively allowed the corporate media to use Wikipedia’s perceived ‘legitimacy’ as a fig leaf to cover their laundering of a partisan Democrat narrative.
Despite Vance having on multiple occasions stated his opinion of President Trump had changed significantly after 2016, Wikipedia editors altered the Vice President’s page to amplify his nearly decade-old criticisms of the America First leader while downplaying his subsequent support for Trump’s policies and leadership. The edits, mostly occurring before Vance was formally announced as the vice presidential nominee, appear to have been intended to undermine his chances of being named as Trump’s running mate.
Additionally, the editors are accused of presenting Vance’s nonprofit work regarding the opioid crisis in a negative light, suggesting ties to Big Pharma. This was further compounded by contentious portrayals of his acclaimed book Hillbilly Elegy, which Wikipedia did not emphasize prior to his entry into national politics.
The findings published by MRC mirror a pattern found with other Trump administration officials. Previously, the media watchdog group found that Wikipedia editors made similar partisan interventions with the page entries for Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, and Kash Patel. The National Pulse previously reported that Wikipedia’s cofounder, Larry Sanger, warned that the massive open-source online encyclopedia is likely ideologically corrupted due to the efforts of its former chief executive, Katherine Maher. Maher led the Wikimedia Foundation, which oversees the online resource, before she was hired as the CEO of NPR.
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