In defiance of an executive order that wiped reams of data from U.S. government websites, volunteers are reversing the "act of official vandalism" and ensuring open access to censored climate, LGBTQ+ and health stats.

Scores of activists are working to safeguard and then make public data they had archived for safe-keeping after President Donald Trump's administration targeted "gender ideology extremism" and environmental policies with deletion.

"We're moving past the initial phase and approaching the next: ensuring that there's public access to everything that we have preserved," data scientist Jonathan Gilmour said via video call.