Heather Cox Richardson's Posts Disappear from Facebook

This is a reminder that we all need to migrate to other platforms, and find each other there before it's too late.

I’ve been conflicted about remaining on Facebook ever since Mark Zuckerberg bowed down to Trump — donating $1 million to the inauguration, appearing prominently on the inauguration platform, announcing the end of fact-checking posts, and all the rest. But I have remained on Facebook because it has become the “town square” for so many communities that are important to me. Leaving Facebook would be like regressing to the pre-internet days and would make it much more difficult to remain connected to many friends, family members, acquaintances, colleagues, neighbors, artists, performers, writers, pundits and other community members.

But reading a post today (on Facebook no less) about how Heather Cox Richardson’s most recent posts have simply disappeared from Facebook really shook me. As I write this on April 1, 2025, the latest post on HCR’s Facebook page is from March 26, although she has posted every night since then.

If anyone out there doesn’t already know, Heather Cox Richardson is a Professor of American History at Boston College. In September 2019, she began posting daily synopses on Facebook about the first impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump. She later migrated to Substack and started her daily newsletter, “Letters From an American,” which currently has more than two million subscribers. During the pandemic, her daily letters kept me sane. Now, during Trump 2.0, that is even more true. She is taking it upon herself to document the history we are living, which is vitally important as we cannot rely on the major media to do so.

“This isn’t about one post. This is about the infrastructure of truth itself…. There will be no notification when history is deleted.”

So check out the post below. I didn’t take their word for it, however. I went to HCR’s Facebook page myself, and confirmed that indeed, her most recent “Letters” are missing, although I received them via email, since I subscribe to her Substack newsletter. I recommend that you subscribe, too, if you don’t do so already. She is one of the few reliable analysts of the demise of American democracy, and we cannot let the likes of Facebook suppress her voice. And for now at least, I am finding Substack to be a good source of other good analysts of news and politics, so please take a further look for other voices on that platform.

https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=fear%20and%20loathing%20closer%20to%20the%20edge

In case this Facebook post also disappears, below is the full text:

Fear and Loathing: Closer to the Edge

SOMETHING ISN’T RIGHT

On March 31, 2025, one of the most trusted historians in America watched her own words disappear from the internet. Heather Cox Richardson confirmed that two of her Facebook posts were no longer visible — not just to her followers, but to herself and her husband.

“Hi Folks: my two posts from last night have disappeared for many of us, including me and Buddy, but appear to be here for others. I’m trying to figure it out but if anyone has any ideas, do let me know in the comments. Eager to see if this post shows up.”

Then, in a follow-up:

“OK, this is now gone for me, as well.”

Not flagged. Not disputed. Not taken down with explanation. Just gone — silently, and without warning. This is what erasure looks like in the age of algorithmic control.

USERS CONFIRM THE SILENCE

Across the platform, her readers confirmed what she feared: the posts were no longer on her wall:

“Seeing this but no other posts, not even on your wall.”

“No posts after March 26. Gone.”

“I can’t see anything on her page past March 26.”

The rhythm of her voice — so consistent, so reliable — had been broken. Not by choice. Not by glitch. By force.

Heather Cox Richardson’s reply?

“Oh, this is SO not good….”

THE POSTS THAT VANISHED

One of the missing posts dealt with allegations that senior members of Donald Trump’s administration had discussed military strikes on Yemen over unsecured channels. It was already spreading fast — more than 130,000 likes, 60,000 shares — before it disappeared.

That matters. Because this is not a celebrity being muted. This is a historian documenting power. And that history — our history — is now being selectively hidden.

This isn’t content moderation. This is strategic memory loss.

HER MESSAGE: GET OFF FACEBOOK

Richardson, sounding the alarm as best she could, urged readers to escape the platform altogether:

“Please remember you can get these letters from Substack at Letters from an American, and can sign up to get them by email there, too. No paywall, and all free.”

Her Substack:

THIS IS NOT A DRILL

If Facebook can make the voice of a presidential historian vanish — not just from your feed, but from her own timeline — then what else is being filtered? What else is being buried? What else are we being kept from seeing?

This isn’t about one post. This is about the infrastructure of truth itself.

And the scariest part?

There will be no notification when history is deleted.

Only silence.