Back in November we noted that the Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) had announced plans to move their servers to Canada out of fear of censorship under the new Trump administration, saying "on November 9th in America, we woke up to a new administration promising radical change." The decision struck us as somewhat odd at the time given the website's seemingly innocuous content.
That said, the decision is becoming much more clear with today's announcement that the company will launch a "Trump Archive" with 520 hours of Trump-specific video including 700 televised speech and intereviews from the 2015/2016 campaign cycle. And wouldn't you know it, many of the videos in the archive will come with convenient "fact checks." Per The Hill:
The Trump Archive houses more than 520 hours of video of the president-elect, including more than 700 televised speeches, interviews and debates, according to an announcement on the Internet Archive’s website.
More than 500 of the Trump videos link to fact checks evaluating the veracity of the televised statement.
In the announcement, Nancy Watzman, the managing editor of the Internet Archive’s television section, said that the archive is inviting journalists and researchers to help suggest additions to the online Trump library.
Yes, and we're sure the "fact checks" will be completely "fact based."
Perhaps the Internet Archive could have their fact checkers provide a quick assessment of the following video...we're sure it's completely accurate but just would like a second opinion.
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For those who missed it, here is what we previously wrote about Wayback's move to Canada.
Before November 8th a whole host of celebrities vowed to leave the United States if Trump won the presidency (see "These Are The Celebrities Who Vowed To Leave America If Trump Wins"). As far as we know, George Lopez is the only one to subsequently confirm that he will actually be leaving the country despite numerous offers of free private planes and chefs to Lena Dunham to follow through on her pledge...unfortunately she still hasn't taken the bait.
That said, it looks as though Trump's victory has claimed one other defector: The Wayback Machine. The webpage archiving site has announced that after waking up on November 9th "to a new administration promising radical change" they have decided to move their operations to Canada.
So this year, we have set a new goal: to create a copy of Internet Archive’s digital collections in another country. We are building the Internet Archive of Canada because, to quote our friends at LOCKSS, “lots of copies keep stuff safe.” This project will cost millions. So this is the one time of the year I will ask you: please make a tax-deductible donation to help make sure the Internet Archive lasts forever.
On November 9th in America, we woke up to a new administration promising radical change. It was a firm reminder that institutions like ours, built for the long-term, need to design for change.
For us, it means keeping our cultural materials safe, private and perpetually accessible. It means preparing for a Web that may face greater restrictions.
It means serving patrons in a world in which government surveillance is not going away; indeed it looks like it will increase.
Of course, the announcement also came with a plea for donations:
You may not know this, but your support for the Internet Archive makes more than 3 million e-books available for free to millions of Open Library patrons around the world.
Your support has fueled the work of journalists who used our Political TV Ad Archive in their fact-checking of candidates’ claims.
It keeps the Wayback Machine going, saving 300 million Web pages each week, so no one will ever be able to change the past just because there is no digital record of it. The Web needs a memory, the ability to look back.
If you find our work has been useful to you, please take a minute to donate whatever you can afford today. Help ensure the Internet Archive lasts forever. I promise you—It will be money well spent.
But don't worry, we're sure this isn't just another Jill Steinesque fundraising scam to take advantage of disaffected Hillary supporters who will give money to almost anyone who opposes Trump....so go ahead and donate away young snowflakes.