Massive Archive of Iraq War Lies Disappeared from "Center for Public Integrity"
“OOPS! That Page Can't Be Found.”
UPDATE 3/22/23: Thanks to your support and inquiries, CPI has finally responded. The dataset is back online and available for download on GitHub.
UPDATE 3/23/23: I asked CPI if they plan to make the database viewable & searchable through their own website as it was back in 2008. CPI tells me, “We don’t have a plan to do that currently.”
The George W. Bush administration’s lies that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and links to the 9/11 terrorists led to the needless deaths of up to a million people. Remembering the details of this deadly deception is crucial to prevent such tragedies from repeating. Unfortunately, the largest public archive of the Bush administration’s false statements leading up to the Iraq War has disappeared. “OOPS!”
In January 2008, the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) provided a valuable public service: it compiled and maintained a searchable database of 935 false statements on Iraq made by President George W. Bush and his top officials. The database of public statements drew from interviews, articles, speeches, and government reports from a period of two years, beginning Sept 11, 2001.
Sadly, the historic archive appears to have fallen into the memory hole. It’s unclear what day the dataset vanished but according to a February 2021 update on CPI’s website, it is unavailable “because of technical issues”. I first asked CPI in May 2022 if they could explain what exactly happened and if there is any plan to bring back the archive. Last month, I followed up over the phone and email with still no response.
If this was the result of an accident, one would hope CPI would fix the issue. Although, it has been over two years now, and CPI has not announced any plans to restore the archive.
How long before they come for the Wayback Machine?
(checks watch)
Please email these people and ask them what's up with this? Do this on all their social media. It's the least we can do.