Public 404 documents the systematic removal of federal information from government websites following the January 2025 presidential transition. Our approach is:
This project leverages a combination of traditional research methods and modern technology to track, verify, and document federal information removals:
Primary AI assistant for content analysis, research organization, and site development. Helps structure complex information and maintain consistency across documentation.
Follow: @AnthropicAI on Twitter
Cloud-based development environment for building and hosting the Public 404 website. Enables rapid iteration and collaborative development of transparency tools.
Follow: @Replit on Twitter, @replit.bsky.social on Bluesky
Primary source for comparing before/after snapshots of federal websites. Essential for documenting what content existed before removal.
Access: web.archive.org
Alternative archiving service for creating real-time snapshots of current 404 errors and missing content. Useful for capturing immediate evidence.
Access: archive.today
Official preservation project capturing federal websites during presidential transitions. Critical baseline for identifying what was removed.
Access: eotarchive.org
Academic research collective tracking federal data removals. Their systematic monitoring provides crucial verification for our claims.
Access: envirodatagov.org
Legal advocacy organization filing FOIA lawsuits and transparency challenges. Their court filings provide authoritative documentation of removals.
Access: knightcolumbia.org
Platform for filing and tracking Freedom of Information Act requests. Used to obtain official documentation of website changes and agency directives.
Access: muckrock.com
Our research process combines multiple verification methods:
We're committed to transparency about what we know and don't know:
This is a community effort. You can help by: