FOIA records show majority of park QR-code comments opposed history review
Over an eight-month period ending in January 2026, more than 35,000 visitors used the Interior Department’s QR-code reporting system at national parks. According to records obtained by The Guardian, at least 19,000 of those submissions — more than half — pushed back against the Interior Department’s park history review rather than flagging signs for removal.
The QR codes appeared at parks under Executive Order 14253, titled “Restoring truth and sanity to American history.” The notices invited visitors to report “any signs or other information that are negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes and other natural features.”
The order instructed park rangers to review all signs, brochures, books and films for content that “inappropriately disparages” Americans by suggesting that the United States was “inherently racist, sexist or oppressive.” The order has resulted in dozens of sign removals across the national park system, most of them related to slavery, Indigenous history and the climate crisis.
The Sierra Club and the National Parks Conservation Association filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the comments, and The Guardian reviewed the trove of responses after the request was granted.
The Guardian’s analysis found that at least 19,000 of the submissions — more than half — expressed either support for the parks or opposition to the Interior Department’s park history review. The outlet identified several recurring themes in those responses, which The Guardian published as part of its “Deleted data” series.
The Guardian’s review also found that many visitors used the QR-code system to register their disagreement with the campaign itself rather than to flag content for removal. The Trump administration’s effort to revise historical interpretation at national parks and federal lands has been underway for roughly a year and a half, according to The Guardian.