"Yeah Right"
From FactBook.
From FactBook.
September 26, 2026 at 7:35 AM
"Yeah Right"
From FactBook.
From FactBook.
They closed the CIA World Factbook and deleted it entirely.
February 4, 2026 at 10:06 PM
They closed the CIA World Factbook and deleted it entirely.
New in PN: The death of the CIA Factbook and Trump's war on usefulness
"There’s nothing partisan about the CIA World Factbook, so it’s hard to imagine how allowing people to use it could impede the MAGA agenda. Unless, that is, you realize the Factbook had to go *precisely because it was useful.*"
"There’s nothing partisan about the CIA World Factbook, so it’s hard to imagine how allowing people to use it could impede the MAGA agenda. Unless, that is, you realize the Factbook had to go *precisely because it was useful.*"
The death of the CIA Factbook and Trump's war on usefulness
Wherever government does something helpful, the regime wants to kill it.
www.publicnotice.co
February 10, 2026 at 12:37 PM
New in PN: The death of the CIA Factbook and Trump's war on usefulness
"There’s nothing partisan about the CIA World Factbook, so it’s hard to imagine how allowing people to use it could impede the MAGA agenda. Unless, that is, you realize the Factbook had to go *precisely because it was useful.*"
"There’s nothing partisan about the CIA World Factbook, so it’s hard to imagine how allowing people to use it could impede the MAGA agenda. Unless, that is, you realize the Factbook had to go *precisely because it was useful.*"
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...
Spotlighting The World Factbook as We Bid a Fond Farewell
Somewhat devastating news today from the CIA: One of CIA’s oldest and most recognizable intelligence publications, The World Factbook, has sunset. There's not even a hint as to why they …
simonwillison.net
February 5, 2026 at 12:25 AM
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...
Eulogy for the CIA Factbook: The free standard for world facts is gone
Eulogy for the CIA Factbook: The free standard for world facts is gone
“Stay curious,” the CIA advised in its “fond farewell” to the Factbook.
dlvr.it
April 5, 2026 at 2:23 PM
Eulogy for the CIA Factbook: The free standard for world facts is gone
for this they took down the CIA Factbook?
July 30, 2026 at 5:18 PM
for this they took down the CIA Factbook?
Killing the CIA World Factbook might seem like small potatoes, but it was a touchstone of curated facts in a sea of disinformation.
February 5, 2026 at 5:58 AM
Killing the CIA World Factbook might seem like small potatoes, but it was a touchstone of curated facts in a sea of disinformation.
The Trump admin has shut down the CIA’s World Factbook, a country reference that for six decades has provided data on birth and death rates, major exports, and more. Long used by government officials and by researchers, educators, and journalists, the database was taken offline today.
Spotlighting The World Factbook as We Bid a Fond Farewell - CIA
www.cia.gov
February 6, 2026 at 3:51 AM
The Trump admin has shut down the CIA’s World Factbook, a country reference that for six decades has provided data on birth and death rates, major exports, and more. Long used by government officials and by researchers, educators, and journalists, the database was taken offline today.
The CIA World Factbook, a reliable source of information about the countries of the world, has been publicly available since 1997. It is now going away.
Please consider supporting @wikipedia.org and @ourworldindata.org. The world desperately needs trustworthy data.
www.cia.gov/stories/stor...
Please consider supporting @wikipedia.org and @ourworldindata.org. The world desperately needs trustworthy data.
www.cia.gov/stories/stor...
February 4, 2026 at 9:58 PM
The CIA World Factbook, a reliable source of information about the countries of the world, has been publicly available since 1997. It is now going away.
Please consider supporting @wikipedia.org and @ourworldindata.org. The world desperately needs trustworthy data.
www.cia.gov/stories/stor...
Please consider supporting @wikipedia.org and @ourworldindata.org. The world desperately needs trustworthy data.
www.cia.gov/stories/stor...
“Stay curious,” the CIA advised in its “fond farewell” to the CIA World Factbook.
Eulogy for the CIA Factbook: The free standard for world facts, long an educational staple, is gone
The Trump administration has shut down the CIA World Factbook, and there's much lamenting about the demise of a free source that many people used to check basic facts about countries.
bit.ly
April 5, 2026 at 4:28 PM
“Stay curious,” the CIA advised in its “fond farewell” to the CIA World Factbook.
Bluesky needs a website alternative to Facebook that should be called Factbook.
January 10, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Bluesky needs a website alternative to Facebook that should be called Factbook.
getting rid of the world factbook is so galactically stupid
Need some data hoarders to save the CIA's World Factbook—a definitive source on many topics—since they're now killing it www.cia.gov/stories/stor...
Spotlighting The World Factbook as We Bid a Fond Farewell - CIA
www.cia.gov
February 4, 2026 at 9:33 PM
getting rid of the world factbook is so galactically stupid
I’ve been using the CIA World Factbook online since I was a little kid. What a stupid, pointless desecration.
They closed the CIA World Factbook and deleted it entirely.
February 4, 2026 at 10:27 PM
I’ve been using the CIA World Factbook online since I was a little kid. What a stupid, pointless desecration.
This is what happens when you get rid of the CIA World Factbook.
The State Department said it takes "full responsibility" for "hastily" altering and then presenting a map of Africa at a global AIDS conference that mislabeled every single country it highlighted.
An analysis by Reuters found a watermark in the map image that suggests it was made with OpenAI.
An analysis by Reuters found a watermark in the map image that suggests it was made with OpenAI.
July 31, 2026 at 11:11 AM
This is what happens when you get rid of the CIA World Factbook.
Thanks. Here's a version from January of this year:
web.archive.org/web/20260131...
web.archive.org/web/20260131...
The World Factbook - The World Factbook
web.archive.org
February 5, 2026 at 1:31 AM
Thanks. Here's a version from January of this year:
web.archive.org/web/20260131...
web.archive.org/web/20260131...
Add the CIA World Factbook to the long and growing list of disappearing government datasets: www.cia.gov/stories/stor...
February 5, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Add the CIA World Factbook to the long and growing list of disappearing government datasets: www.cia.gov/stories/stor...
You can read a bit more about UG here: millmint.net/factbook/soc...
July 12, 2025 at 4:35 PM
You can read a bit more about UG here: millmint.net/factbook/soc...
It's true it seems, with no warning or explanation CIA simply discontinued and removed the World Factbook this week.
I imagine they'd say we have wikipedia now wo who needs it, but check the footnotes and see how many wiki entries get their data from the CIA factbook. Lots.
I imagine they'd say we have wikipedia now wo who needs it, but check the footnotes and see how many wiki entries get their data from the CIA factbook. Lots.
They closed the CIA World Factbook and deleted it entirely.
February 4, 2026 at 10:11 PM
It's true it seems, with no warning or explanation CIA simply discontinued and removed the World Factbook this week.
I imagine they'd say we have wikipedia now wo who needs it, but check the footnotes and see how many wiki entries get their data from the CIA factbook. Lots.
I imagine they'd say we have wikipedia now wo who needs it, but check the footnotes and see how many wiki entries get their data from the CIA factbook. Lots.
Femicide.
Sherele Moody from FactBook.
Sherele Moody from FactBook.
September 26, 2026 at 1:54 AM
Femicide.
Sherele Moody from FactBook.
Sherele Moody from FactBook.
CIA factbook: Russia; Muslim 10-15%. EU; Muslim 2%. USA; Muslim 0.9%.
December 27, 2025 at 9:34 AM
CIA factbook: Russia; Muslim 10-15%. EU; Muslim 2%. USA; Muslim 0.9%.
The CIA scrubbing the World Factbook from the web may not seem like a big deal in itself, but it's a symptom of something larger: the Trump administration's war on government usefulness.
My latest at Public Notice: www.publicnotice.co/p/cia-world-...
My latest at Public Notice: www.publicnotice.co/p/cia-world-...
The death of the CIA Factbook and Trump's war on usefulness
Wherever government does something helpful, the regime wants to kill it.
www.publicnotice.co
February 10, 2026 at 2:10 PM
The CIA scrubbing the World Factbook from the web may not seem like a big deal in itself, but it's a symptom of something larger: the Trump administration's war on government usefulness.
My latest at Public Notice: www.publicnotice.co/p/cia-world-...
My latest at Public Notice: www.publicnotice.co/p/cia-world-...
The Factbook survived the Cold War and became a hit online. It mixed quirky cultural notes and trivia with maps, data, and photos taken by CIA officers. But it was discontinued this week. n.pr/3Mq3Y6i
The CIA World Factbook is dead. Here's how I came to love it
The Factbook survived the Cold War and became a hit online. It mixed quirky cultural notes and trivia with maps, data, and photos taken by CIA officers. But it was discontinued this week.
n.pr
February 7, 2026 at 10:09 AM
The Factbook survived the Cold War and became a hit online. It mixed quirky cultural notes and trivia with maps, data, and photos taken by CIA officers. But it was discontinued this week. n.pr/3Mq3Y6i
Need some data hoarders to save the CIA's World Factbook—a definitive source on many topics—since they're now killing it www.cia.gov/stories/stor...
Spotlighting The World Factbook as We Bid a Fond Farewell - CIA
www.cia.gov
February 4, 2026 at 9:30 PM
Need some data hoarders to save the CIA's World Factbook—a definitive source on many topics—since they're now killing it www.cia.gov/stories/stor...
The world factbook was an invaluable resource in asylum petitions—a place where the federal government acknowledged in writing that, for example, Tibetans face systematic repression in China. I don’t like to have it vanish.
Add the CIA World Factbook to the long and growing list of disappearing government datasets: www.cia.gov/stories/stor...
February 5, 2026 at 2:42 PM
The world factbook was an invaluable resource in asylum petitions—a place where the federal government acknowledged in writing that, for example, Tibetans face systematic repression in China. I don’t like to have it vanish.