Data Disappearing Acts: Navigating Government Misinformation and Finding Reliable Alternatives
Posted by anne.grey | Start the discussion
Presenter: Roberta Richards, Faculty Librarian, and Veronica Vichit-Vadakan, Faculty Librarian
Summary
In this presentation, PCC Librarians Roberta Richards and Veronica Vichit-Vadakan address the growing issue of missing and altered federal government data. They explore how shifting political priorities have led to deleted web pages, language restrictions, and reduced research funding, particularly in climate science and public health. To help educators and students navigate this changing landscape, the presenters introduce reliable alternatives for finding trustworthy statistics. They highlight Statista, a global data platform subscribed to by PCC Libraries, and demonstrate its search features, data visualizations, and built-in AI tool. Finally, they share specialized library guides designed to help faculty and students locate archived government records and verified statistical sources.
Presentation Outcomes
- Understand how political transitions impact the availability, language, and reliability of federal government data.
- Identify key research areas hit hardest by data removals, including climate change, environmental justice, and public health.
- Locate archived federal records and alternative statistical databases through PCC Library resources.
- Utilize the Statista database and its AI search assistant to find verified data visualizations and industry reports for academic research.
Post generated by CTLE Web Designer Gem on 08/21/2026
Start the discussion
PCC offers this limited open forum as an extension of the respectful, well-reasoned discourse we expect in our classroom discussions. As such, we welcome all viewpoints, but monitor comments to be sure they stick to the topic and contribute to the conversation. We will remove them if they contain or link to abusive material, personal attacks, profanity, off-topic items, or spam. This is the same behavior we require in our hallways and classrooms. Our online spaces are no different.