Faulty Sorting System Flags Pictures of Historic Enola Gay Bomber

On orders from President Donald Trump, the US military has begun a massive photo cleanout targeting content related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Over 26,000 images have been flagged so far, many being of historically significant events with seemingly no tie to DEI.

One of the flagged subjects is Enola Gay, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress that dropped the first wartime atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. It was named after the pilot’s mother, Enola Gay Tibbets. The bomber remains on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, part of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, in Virginia.

The Enola Gay’s legacy has nothing to do with DEI. However, the word “Gay” seems to be enough for the sorting system to flag all photos of the aircraft. A similar mishap occurred with images of an Army Corps of Engineers dredging project in California, reportedly because one of the engineer’s last names was “Gay”.

Sorters still have a few days to complete the directive. So far, more than 26,000 images of supposedly DEI-related content have been flagged across all military branches. The count is anticipated to near 100,000 before it is finalized.

The project came after President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring the military to bring its entire database of articles, photos, and videos into question. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth backed the decision, claiming that DEI policies thwart efficiency.

“DEI is dead. We are returning the focus of the military to merit and mission readiness,” Hegseth stated.

The initiative has also impacted significant historic military achievements. Photos of the Tuskegee Airmen, which was the first Black military pilots unit in the US, have been flagged, as well as pretty much any content related to minorities.

"We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the Department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms,” stated Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot. “In the rare cases that content is removed that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive, we instruct components accordingly."

FMI: www.defense.gov