Only 0.1 percent of the comments submitted through a QR code system asking national park visitors to report park signage that “inappropriately disparages Americans past or living” were used for that purpose, according to an analysis from the Center for Western Priorities. Instead, the comments demonstrated opposition to the erasure of information at national parks, showed support and appreciation for national parks and their staff, and made jokes about the government’s efforts to have visitors flag signs for removal.
The QR codes were put up at national parks across the country following President Trump’s executive order “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” and the subsequent Secretarial Order 3431. The latter directed Park Service staff to post QR code signs at every park unit asking visitors to report interpretive content that failed to “emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes and other natural features.”
In May 2026, the Interior Department released 35,700 comments submitted through the QR code system in response to a FOIA request by KOAA News 5. The Center for Western Priorities then analyzed the full dataset to understand how the public actually used the form and found that almost no one used it as the Trump administration intended.
The analysis found that the comments included mostly general support for protecting national parks, arguments for the preservation of history, general opposition to the secretarial order and the form itself, reviews of visits to national parks, opposition to Trump and Burgum, and an array of jokes and trolling. A negligible number of comments, about 0.1 percent, actually reported signage or supported the removal of signage.
“These comments pass the vibe check with flying colors. Americans support our parks and the stories they tell, and they aren’t happy about the Trump administration’s efforts to rewrite history,” said Lilly Bock-Brownstein, who conducted the analysis at the Center for Western Priorities. “Instead of helping Trump censor our national parks, visitors used the comment form to tell the Trump administration to respect our parks or get lost.”
Out of the 35,700 total submissions, just 47 comments flagged a sign for removal or showed broad support for the removal of signs. However, of those 47, only 14 used the form in the way the Trump administration likely intended — calling for removal of content they considered too biased toward Indigenous peoples, people of color, climate science, or LGBTQ history.
Nearly 10,000 of the comments (about 28 percent) expressed general opposition to the order. For example, one comment from Gateway Arch National Park stated, “I do not appreciate the portrayal of America that this very feedback sign connotes. That our federal government can’t tolerate any semblance of ‘negative’ aspects of our history so that we can grow and learn from the mistakes of our past concerns me greatly. Our very ability to be responsive and adaptive is an example of the moral beauty of our country and this sign is the opposite of that.”
Another 15 percent defended historical accuracy, with one commenter at Frederick Douglass National Historic Site writing, “I applaud the National Parks Service staff — especially the public historians, exhibit designers, and archivists — who have put together truthful and informative displays about one of our greatest national heroes: Frederick Douglass!”
More than 600 comments included off-topic comments, jokes, or spam, with one visitor at Big Thicket National Preserve lamenting the absence of exhibits about bigfoot in the park’s visitor center.
National parks in California saw the most comments, with a total of 1,617 statewide. Colorado wasn’t far behind, with 1,418 total comments.
New York saw the most comments in support of the removal of signage, though there were only four comments submitted for the purpose. Two comments were submitted at Stonewall National Monument, which is dedicated to LGBTQ+ issues and history, and the other two comments came from Women’s Rights National Historical Park.
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