Government workers, green card holders, teachers, and student journalists across the US are asking editors to remove their names from old news stories, fearing backlash from President Donald Trump’s administration for views or identities now considered “politically risky.”
According to Poynter’s Kelly McBride, some government employees and others have asked journalists to remove their names from old news stories. These individuals are concerned that documented evidence of their sexual identity or positions opposing Trump’s policies could make them vulnerable to employment termination.
Kevin Naff, who serves as the editor of the Washington Blade, told the outlet that taking down stories “is not something I’ve ever done before with the exception of foreign sources who are facing life and death situations.”
The Washington Blade has a long history of reporting on governmental discrimination against gay employees. Currently, the publication continues its role in recording instances of intimidation and discrimination. “We’re going backwards,” he stated.
“The fear is really intense. People are scared. They’re scared to lose their pensions and, you know, all of that,” he added.
This wave of anxiety is not limited to career professionals, student journalists, especially those with ties to pro-Palestinian activism, are also asking for their bylines to be removed, fearing legal consequences, deportation, or professional retaliation, the Guardian reported.
The case of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University graduate student currently in ICE detention, has intensified fears. Ozturk had written a pro-Palestinian op-ed in her campus paper and is now fighting deportation despite no official evidence tying her writing to the visa revocation.
Ozturk joins approximately ten other academics and students detained by immigration officials since March 8, when Columbia graduate student and permanent resident Mahmoud Khalil faced arrest and deportation proceedings for participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
Editors note particular concern among international student contributors, though requests for content removal due to fear of consequences now extend to American citizens as well.

Pakistan’s Gold medallist Arshad Nadeem.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Pakistan’s Olympic gold-winning javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem’s Instagram account has been blocked in India owing to a “legal request” in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.

Users attempting to access Nadeem’s Instagram page from India are met with the message: “Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content.”

Twenty-six people, mostly tourists, were killed and several were injured when terrorists opened fire at a meadow near the popular tourist town of Pahalgam in south Kashmir on April 22. The government has since cracked down on Pakistani social media accounts that have large following in India.

Earlier this week, several Pakistani YouTube channels were also restricted in India for “disseminating provocative and communally sensitive content, false and misleading narratives and misinformation against India, its Army and security agencies”.

Also Read | Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem declines Neeraj Chopra’s invite to compete in NC Classic javelin event

Former cricketers Shoaib Akhtar, Basit Ali, and Shahid Afridi were among those whose YouTube accounts were withheld. Interestingly, while their YouTube content is no longer accessible, their Instagram accounts remain available, unlike Nadeem’s.

The Instagram accounts of current Pakistan cricketers, including Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheed Afridi are also accessible.

Other prominent Pakistani celebrities, including actors Mahira Khan and Ali Zafar, have also seen their Instagram accounts blocked in India.

Nadeem, who won gold at the Paris Olympics after upstaging Indian superstar Neeraj Chopra, had been invited by the latter to participate in the inaugural NC Classic javelin event scheduled for May 24 in Bengaluru.

However, he declined the invitation, citing prior commitments.

As India and Pakistan grapple with renewed tensions after the deadly Pahalgam terror attack, a video of Pakistani Senator Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan making provocative remarks in Pakistan parliament has gone viral, fuelling diplomatic ire and social media outrage.
In a fiery speech delivered in Pakistan’s Upper House on April 29, the senator declared, “The first brick of the new Babri mosque in Ayodhya will be laid by Pakistan Army soldiers, and the first azaan will be given by Army Chief Asim Munir himself.”
The comments, invoking the Babri mosque demolished in 1992, came as part of a broader tirade laced with religious and militaristic rhetoric. Palwasha Khan, a member of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and deputy information secretary, suggested that the path was being laid for a “Muslim government, specifically a Pakistani Muslim government, in the Indian subcontinent.”
“There is no doubt, this enmity is not with Pakistan or Pakistanis; this is enmity against Muslims and against Islam,” she said.
Watch video-

Issuing a direct threat to India, she warned, “The Senate of Pakistan must send a message, if any hand reaches toward us, then the symbol of their power, the Red Fort of Delhi, will witness a bloodshed that its walls have never seen, and its ramparts will testify to it for centuries to come.”
Khan, who represents Sindh in the Senate and previously served in the National Assembly from 2008 to 2013, emphasized that Pakistanis were not weak. “We are not wearing bangles,” she said.
Quoting late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, she added, “We have guns, we have arms, we have trees—and if the enemy tries anything, we will hang their corpses from our trees.”
Despite the hostile language, she claimed to have no quarrel with Indian citizens. “But let me be clear: we have no enmity with the people of India.”
Khan also attempted to draw religious divides within the Indian armed forces, asserting, “The Sikh army will not attack Pakistan because it’s the land of Guru Nanak for them.”
She went on to praise Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, who is a designated terrorist under Indian law. “I want to salute Sikh leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, who courageously declared that no Indian soldier will be allowed to cross into Pakistan from Indian Punjab.”
Ending her speech with a call to arms, the senator proclaimed, “Our army is not just six or seven lakh soldiers, we have 250 million people who, when the time comes, will stand shoulder to shoulder with our armed forces and become soldiers themselves, God willing.”
The speech has since circulated widely on social media platforms, drawing sharp reactions amid the already strained ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.