Federal health workers are expressing fear and alarm after a website called “DEI Watch List” published the photos, names and public information of a number of workers across health agencies, describing them at one point as “targets.”
It’s unclear when the website, which lists mostly Black employees who work in agencies primarily within the Department of Health and Human Services, first appeared.
“Offenses” for the workers listed on the website include working on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, donating to Democrats and using pronouns in their bios.
The website, a government worker said, is being circulated among multiple private group chats of federal health workers across agencies, as well as through social media links.
The site also reached Dr. Georges Benjamin, the executive director of the American Public Health Association, who learned about it Tuesday evening when a federal health worker sent it to him.
“This is a scare tactic to try to intimidate people who are trying to do their work and do it admirably,” Benjamin said. “It’s clear racism.”
A government worker said they found out theirs was among the names on the website Tuesday afternoon after a former co-worker sent them the link on social media.
“It’s unnerving,” said the person, who requested anonymity because of safety concerns. “My name and my picture is there, and in 2025, it’s very simple to Google and look up someone’s home address and all kinds of things that potentially put me at risk.”
“I don’t know what the intention of the list is for,” the person said. “It’s just kind of a scary place to be.”
On Tuesday evening, the site listed photos of employees and linked to further information about them under the headline “Targets.” Later Tuesday night, the headline on each page had been changed to “Dossiers.”
The site lists workers’ salaries along with what it describes as “DEI offenses,” including political donations, screenshots of social media posts, snippets from websites describing their work, or being a part of a DEI initiative that has been scrubbed from a federal website.
Benjamin suggested the acts of online harassment are criminal. “Law enforcement should look into them.”
