Today, Explained: Episode Summary – "Breaking the Internet"

Release Date: February 19, 2025
Hosts: Sean Ramisvir and Noel King
Network: Vox Media Podcast Network

Introduction: A Tumultuous Start to Trump's Return

In the episode titled "Breaking the Internet," hosts Sean Ramisvir and Noel King delve into the intricate issues surrounding the recent actions of President Donald Trump in his first month back in office. They explore a range of topics from pardons and executive orders to international relations and the pervasive influence of Elon Musk. However, the centerpiece of this episode is the alarming trend of disappearing government web pages, a phenomenon intertwined with what experts call digital decay or link rot.

Sean Ramisvir [00:00]: "President Donald Trump has been back in office for one month and what a year it's been. We've covered a lot of Trump, but today explained this past month, from pardons to executive orders to Greenland to Guantanamo to tariffs to Maha to Elon and Elon and even more Elon."

Trump Administration's Impact on Government Websites

The episode opens with a stark revelation from Addie Robertson, senior editor at The Verge, highlighting the Trump administration's efforts to purge government websites of specific content.

Addie Robertson [00:23]: "DEI would have ruined our country and now it's dead. I think DEI is dead. So they wanna scrub the website. That's okay."

Sean Ramisvir elaborates on the broader issue of government web pages disappearing, noting that this is part of a larger problem affecting the Internet's integrity.

Sean Ramisvir [00:31]: "Government web pages are disappearing. Sometimes they come back, sometimes they don't. And it's part of a greater problem we have online."

The discussion details how Trump's executive orders have led to the removal of content related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), gender definitions, climate change, and reproductive rights. Addie Robertson explains the ideological motivations behind these removals.

Addie Robertson [02:29]: "The idea that there are only two genders. We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit based."

Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been actively scrubbing information to comply with these directives, resulting in essential data becoming inaccessible.

Mark Graham [03:21]: "The Trump administration has taken away reproductive rights.gov from the federal website. They also have scrubbed federal websites for any search of abortion."

This mass purging of information not only affects public access but also disrupts the functionality of websites that rely on this data for various operations.

Understanding Link Rot and Digital Decay

Transitioning from the specific actions of the Trump administration, the hosts and guests discuss the broader issue of link rot, also known as digital decay. This phenomenon refers to the gradual disappearance or alteration of web pages, leading to broken links and lost information.

Addie Robertson [08:28]: "A 2013 Harvard study, for example, found that half the hyperlinks in Supreme Court cases, today's equivalent of footnotes, are broken, a phenomenon known as link rot."

Sean Ramisvir probes into the reasons behind web pages disappearing, ranging from intentional removal by website owners to the fragility of personal web servers.

Sean Ramisvir [08:15]: "Why do web pages disappear?"

The discussion highlights how even reputable institutions like GeoCities, Yahoo, and news sites like Gawker have succumbed to link rot, resulting in the loss of significant online content.

Addie Robertson points out the economic factors exacerbating link rot, such as search engine optimization strategies that prioritize fresh content over archival information, leading to older, valuable pages being removed.

Unnamed Analyst [09:36]: "Search engine optimization, where Google rewards pages... for example, cnet... removed a bunch of its older articles because it wanted to appear in Google search results more highly."

Moreover, commercialization of the Internet has led to the "cannibalization" of archival content, where recognized websites are resurrected with AI-generated articles that dilute or erase original information.

Unnamed Analyst [11:07]: "There are also incidents where just the URL of it, the link that points to that information changes, and so it's harder to find."

The Role of the Wayback Machine in Preserving Digital History

A significant portion of the episode features an insightful interview with Mark Graham, the director of the Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive. Graham discusses the critical role of the Wayback Machine in combating link rot by archiving vast amounts of web data.

Mark Graham [16:15]: "Hi, my name is Mark Graham and I am the director of the Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive, which is a not-for-profit that has been preserving the web since 1996."

Graham recounts instances where the Wayback Machine has been instrumental in retrieving lost information, such as when MTV News was abruptly shut down. The Internet Archive's proactive archiving ensures that even when websites go offline or their content is removed, historical data remains accessible.

Mark Graham [16:35]: "We were like, oh my God, you guys got it all. Pretty much, yeah. And they said, well, people say, well what did you do? What did you do when it went down? You must have. I say, we didn't do anything when it went down because we've been doing our job all along."

When discussing government websites, Graham emphasizes the increased challenges posed by the current administration's sweeping removals. He acknowledges the essential services of the National Archives and Records Administration but underscores the Internet Archive's vital role in contemporary web preservation.

Mark Graham [21:28]: "We're still in the early stages of this administration. But yeah, I'd say on the face of it, you're right."

Graham also addresses the sustainability of archiving efforts, highlighting that while donations and institutional support are crucial, the ever-expanding nature of the Internet presents ongoing challenges.

Mark Graham [23:52]: "Support for this show comes from ADT...."
(Note: This is a sponsor message and is omitted from content summary.)

Implications for the Future of Information Preservation

The episode concludes with reflections on the broader implications of link rot and the preservation of digital history. The hosts consider how the loss of even fleeting web pages, such as a CDC page on bird flu that existed for minutes, can hinder our understanding of significant events and trends.

Unnamed Host [24:56]: "If you're looking at Wikipedia and there's a dead link that no longer provides the information it used to, we're losing part of the story, right?"

Additionally, the comparison to historical documentation, like Martin Luther's pamphlets, underscores the critical need for robust archiving practices to ensure that future generations have access to authentic records of our digital age.

Conclusion: The Fragility of the Internet and the Quest for Preservation

"Breaking the Internet" poignantly captures the precarious state of digital information in the face of political agendas and technological vulnerabilities. Through detailed discussions and expert insights, the episode illuminates the urgent need for comprehensive archiving solutions to safeguard our collective online heritage against the relentless tide of link rot and digital decay.

For those interested in exploring preserved web pages, the Wayback Machine remains an invaluable resource, continually striving to archive the ever-evolving landscape of the Internet.

Sean Ramisvir [16:31]: "Check out the Wayback Machine at web.archive.org."

Notable Quotes:

• Addie Robertson [02:35]: "DEI would have ruined our country and now it's dead. I think DEI is dead."

• Addie Robertson [08:28]: "A 2013 Harvard study, for example, found that half the hyperlinks in Supreme Court cases, today's equivalent of footnotes, are broken, a phenomenon known as link rot."

• Mark Graham [21:28]: "We're still in the early stages of this administration. But yeah, I'd say on the face of it, you're right."

Further Resources:

• Wayback Machine: web.archive.org
• Internet Archive: archive.org

Produced by Amanda Llewellyn with contributions from Laura Bullard, Jolie Myers, Andrea Christensdotter, and Patrick Boyd.