National Archives Slaps ‘Harmful Content’ Warning On ...

The National Archives Records Administration placed a “harmful content” warning on the Constitution, labeling the governing document of the United States as “harmful or difficult to view.” The warning applies to all documents across the Archives’ cataloged website, including the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence.



“NARA’s records span the history of the United States, and it is our charge to preserve and make available these historical records,” the administration said in a statement. “As a result, some of the materials presented here may reflect outdated, biased, offensive, and possibly violent views and opinions. In addition, some of the materials may relate to violent or graphic events and are preserved for their historical significance.”



The NARA, which is responsible for preserving and protecting documentation of American heritage, noted that so-called harmful historical documents could “reflect racist, sexist, ableist, misogynistic/misogynoir, and xenophobic opinions and attitudes; be discriminatory towards or exclude diverse views on sexuality, gender, religion, and more,” and “include graphic content of historical events such as violent death, medical procedures, crime, wars/terrorist acts, natural disasters and more.”



Along with committing to diversity and equity, the NARA said it would “[work] in conjunction with diverse communities, [and] seek to balance the preservation of this history with sensitivity to how these materials are presented to and perceived by users.”

by Jonathan Davis



Digital copies of Americans’ founding documents, in addition to others of historical nature in the online catalog of the National Archives, now come with “trigger warnings” to alert readers that they could contain what some consider to be “harmful language.”



The changes appear to be tied to the release, without fanfare, of a report from a National Archives racism task force that recommended the department provide “context” for all historical materials, the Daily Wire reported.



“Digital copies of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, most notably, now feature a ‘Harmful Language Alert,” which appears at the top of the page, and directs users to a National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) statement on “potentially harmful content,'” the outlet continued.



The agency does not say why the Constitution, Bill of Rights, or the Declaration were included in the warning. However, the NARA statement points to documents and historical materials as including “harmful language”