Media Center

In the Media

  • A Race Against Time

    In this compelling episode of The Female Body Politic, historian and author Lorissa Rinehart speaks with Michelle Riley, founder of the Visual Truth Matters campaign, and Cathleen Pearl, Chief Impact Officer at the Military Women’s Memorial. Together, they explore the escalating threat to women’s military history—from decades of neglect to today’s government censorship—and what’s being done to preserve these stories before they’re lost to time or erased by those in power.

    Published on July 16, 2025

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  • Exposing the Purge of History

    Captured in an unscripted moment at a D.C. protest, this on-the-spot interview features campaign founder Michelle Riley discussing the Defense Department’s photo purge, the executive order targeting museums, and why she launched the Visual Truth Matters campaign. Filmed by longtime activist documentarian Eddie Becker, the interview offers a candid look at the urgency and vision behind the growing movement to protect America’s visual history.

    Published on April 22, 2025

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  • Erasing Women's History

    This powerful article connects the erasure of military history in the past to the recent purge of images by the Department of Defense. Historian and author Lorissa Rinehart draws a striking parallel between the pioneering work of war correspondent Dickey Chapelle in the 1960s and today’s threats to preserving the stories of marginalized troops who have fought for our rights and freedoms. She concludes with a compelling call to support the Visual Truth Matters campaign.

    Published on March 27, 2025

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Visual Truth Matters in Action

Since April 2025, Visual Truth Matters founder Michelle Riley has been on the ground in D.C. and Maryland—attending rallies, protests, and public events to raise awareness about the campaign and the coordinated attack on our nation’s visual history.

From handing out flyers to having meaningful one-on-one conversations with concerned members of the public, each moment has contributed to a growing grassroots effort to defend the truth. Below are a few standout moments from the front lines.

Visual Truth Matters in Action
June 14, 2025: No Kings Protest in Baltimore
June 14, 2025: No Kings Protest in Baltimore

At the June 14th No Kings protest hosted by Indivisible Baltimore, an open mic became an unexpected turning point. With no notice and just ten minutes to prepare, Michelle Riley took the stage and delivered her first public speech on behalf of the campaign.

She spoke about the military photos that were deleted, the museum exhibits being censored, and the broader movement to sanitize American history—and how Visual Truth Matters is fighting back. And she named the stakes: rewriting history is one of the oldest tricks in the fascist playbook.

Watch the 3-minute speech here.

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June 6, 2025: Unite for Veterans Rally in Washington, D.C.
June 6, 2025: Unite for Veterans Rally in Washington, D.C.

On the 81st anniversary of D-Day, thousands of veterans, military families, and supporters gathered on the National Mall for the Unite for Veterans rally. They were there to demand what veterans deserve: jobs, benefits, and healthcare.

Michelle Riley attended the rally to stand with them, hear their stories, thank them for their service, honor the legacy of her husband's grandfather—a WWII veteran—and raise awareness about the campaign fighting to preserve our full visual record of military service.

Most of the veterans she spoke with had already heard about the DOD’s mass deletion of historic military photos. Many were appalled by the purge and saw it as a betrayal of their service—especially the targeted erasure of women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ service members. But few knew there was a campaign actively fighting back.

This photo essay captures the heart of the day—from the crowd’s passion to the signs that said what so many feel. Some of the images below were also distributed to national media outlets via the AP wire.

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Media or Partnership Inquiries?

Visual Truth Matters is leading the fight to preserve our nation’s visual history—and we’re open to collaborations that can amplify our impact.

We welcome press interviews, podcast appearances, panel discussions, speaking opportunities, and strategic partnerships with aligned organizations. Whether you’re a journalist, producer, archivist, historian, educator, activist, public figure, or campaign or organization leader, we’d be glad to connect.