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Afnews Media

Jan 19, 2020

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The US National Archives has apologised for altering a photo of the 2017 Women's March, including blurring signs critical of President Donald Trump.

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The agency, which describes itself as the country's record keeper, said it "made a mistake".

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Changes to the photo, first reported by The Washington Post, included removing the president's name from a sign that read "God Hates Trump".

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The National Archives said it had removed the altered image.

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In a statement shared on social media, the agency said it had "always been completely committed to preserving our archival holdings, without alteration."

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"This photo is not an archival record held by the National Archives, but one we licensed to use as a promotional graphic. Nonetheless, we were wrong to alter the image," it said.

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It added that the photo would be replaced "as soon as possible" with the unaltered image, and pledged to "immediately start a thorough review of our exhibit policies and procedures so that this does not happen again."

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The apology came as crowds gathered across the US on Saturday for the fourth annual women's march.

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The photo, taken by Getty Images photographer Mario Tama, shows a huge crowd of people gathering in Washington for the 2017 Women's March, which took place the day after Mr Trump's inauguration.

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Many of those taking part are seen holding protest signs, some with references to the US president.

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While using the image as a "promotional graphic" for an exhibit on the 19th Amendment, The Washington Post reported that the National Archives had blurred signs critical of Mr Trump and those that referenced women's anatomy.

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Alterations included removing the president's name from a sign that read "Trump & GOP — Hands Off Women", and blurring out the word "vagina", the newspaper reported.

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In a statement to the Washington Post, spokeswoman Miriam Kleiman said the National Archives, as a "non-partisan, non-political federal agency", had blurred the president's name "so as not to engage in current political controversy".

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The decision to blur references to women's genitals was made because the words could be perceived as inappropriate to students and young people visiting the museum, it said.

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The American Civil Liberties Union hit out at the move to alter the image, saying: "The government can't airbrush history or erase women's bodies from it. It is the job of the National Archives to document history, not alter it to serve the president's ego."

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