Last week, footage of two ex-employees from the Elon Musk-led government agency DOGE gained widespread attention. These recordings offered a unique glimpse into the operations of DOGE and the process behind federal funding reductions.

On Friday, a federal judge mandated the deletion of the footage following a complaint lodged by the Trump administration.

Nevertheless, internet archivists and platforms such as Reddit’s r/datahoarders have already restored backups of the footage.

The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the American Historical Association (AHA), and the Modern Language Association (MLA) were the initial hosts of the testimonies from former DOGE staff members Justin Fox and Nate Cavanaugh. These testimonies were part of a legal action taken by the three organizations regarding DOGE’s funding cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

The testimonies rapidly captured public interest. Fox’s interview went viral due to segments displaying his struggle to articulate DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), even as he cited it as justification for reducing funding to certain initiatives. Programs labeled with words such as “Black” or “LGBTQ+” were earmarked for cuts, while those described as “caucasian” or “heterosexual” were exempt. Additional clips disclosed the application of ChatGPT in determining which initiatives to discontinue.

The Trump administration asserted that the online mockery of the former DOGE employees endangered their safety, with Fox experiencing harassment and threats on his life.

Judge Colleen McMahon instructed the ACLS, AHA, and MLA to “take any and all possible measures to recover” the footage from the internet.

The organizations contended it was a First Amendment matter and that the footage served the public good, encompassing testimonies from high-ranking government officials on important public topics.

The judge rejected their appeal and postponed the issue to a hearing on Tuesday. The testimonies of Fox and Cavanaugh were taken down shortly thereafter.

However, in spite of the order, numerous viral clips from the depositions persisted on social media.

Internet archivists and data hoarders had previously saved the complete videos before their withdrawal from YouTube. Since then, the testimonies have been re-uploaded to platforms like the Internet Archive. The subreddit r/datahoarders also shared torrents of the footage for local downloading.

Regardless of the judge’s ruling at the hearing, the consensus of the internet appears to have been reached. These deposition videos are likely to stay accessible online in some capacity.