Federal health professionals are expressing anxiety and terror after a website known as DEI Watch List made public the names, photographs, and personal information of several employees from various health agencies, characterizing them as targets at one point.
The website’s launch date is unknown, however it features a list of predominately Black personnel who work for agencies mainly inside the Department of Health and Human Services.
Using pronouns in their profiles, contributing to Democratic causes, and working on diversity, equity, and inclusion projects are among the offenses committed by the employees featured on the website.
According to a government employee, the webpage is being shared via social media connections and several private group chats of federal health officials from several agencies.
Dr. Georges Benjamin, the executive director of the American Public Health Association, was also made aware of the website Tuesday night after receiving a link from a government health worker.
Benjamin added that this is a scare tactic used to try to intimidate those who are trying to do their work well. It’s obviously racist.
After a former coworker shared the link on social media, a government employee said they discovered their name was one of the names on the page Tuesday afternoon.
The individual, who asked to remain anonymous due to safety concerns, described it as unsettling. In 2025, it’s very easy to Google someone’s home address and other details that could put me in danger, and my name and photo are there.
“I’m not sure what the list’s purpose is,” the individual stated. Simply said, it’s a frightening place.
Under the banner “Targets,” the website featured images of staff members along with links to additional details on them on Tuesday night. Each page’s headline was modified to “Dossiers” later on Tuesday night.
Along with employee wages, the website details what it claims are DEI crimes, such as political donations, social media post screenshots, excerpts from websites detailing their work, or participation in a DEI effort that has been removed from a federal website.
According to Benjamin, harassing someone online is illegal. They should be investigated by law enforcement.
Someone who works for a federal health department called Psychological Warfare but isn’t on the list. According to this individual, several federal health personnel are going crazy because the link is making the rounds in their private group chat.
According to the worker, it’s difficult to determine if it poses a real threat. I don’t know anything about the parent association or the entity involved in this. Right now, they are simply paranoid.
The website is an initiative of the American Accountability Foundation, according to a disclaimer at the bottom. It is a conservative watchdog organization.
The group has already produced a list of this kind. According to the New York Post at the time, it gave a list of military personnel whose names it believed were overly focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion to Pete Hegseth, who was then the nominee for defense secretary, in December.
Requests for response from HHS and the American Accountability Foundation were not immediately answered.
The webpage is the result of two weeks of bruising public health workers. Workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claim that the Department of Health and Human Services has sent them threatening letters ordering them to stop any research, jobs, or activities related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. They also claim that they have been told to report coworkers who do not follow the directives. HHS is in charge of the National Institutes of Health and the CDC, among other federal health agencies.
It’s an aggressive tone. There are dire repercussions if we disobey. A CDC doctor who was not authorized to speak to press stated, “It’s asking us to report co-workers who aren’t complying.” There is a great deal of worry and terror.
One of the memos, which NBC News examined, instructed staff to go over all agency job descriptions and notify any employees whose job descriptions involve promoting or instilling gender ideology that they would be placed on paid administrative leave with immediate effect.
According to employees, the outcome is paranoia.
I am aware of individuals who were placed on administrative leave for alleged violations pertaining to these unclear memos. According to another CDC doctor, “people are thinking that if I put one foot wrong, I’m just going to be fired.”
In one instance, a coworkers’ potluck luncheon was abruptly called off out of concern that it would be interpreted as a means of fostering ethnic diversity.
Employees in public health stated that they are still dedicated to their work in spite of the abuse.
Who will take my place if I depart? According to a CDC doctor. Who will be carrying out the public health work if I am replaced and enough of us depart?