Writing for Bay Area Reporter about the purge of ex-gay leader Richard Cohen from the web sites of NARTH and PFOX, Bob Roehr says:

Some articles were removed entirely, while others were selectively edited to remove references to Cohen.

The tactics are reminiscent of a purge by the Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, where former allies were made enemies and liquidated, even to the point of retouching photographs to remove them.

On a previous occasion when NARTH first defended and then silently purged its site of racist content, Ex-Gay Watch stated that accountability and transparency are minimum requirements for an organization that seeks professional recognition and respect. On this occasion, NARTH resisted demands to demonstrate accountability and transparency, and succumbed to the temptations of secrecy and self-pride.

Since then, NARTH has sought to extend its ideological purges and coverups beyond the organization’s boundaries to Wikipedia.

The repetition of secret purges suggests that NARTH has yet to learn key lessons. Accountable to no one but themselves, NARTH leaders have ruined the organization’s chances of achieving professional or ethical credibility anytime in the near future.

Ex-Gay Watch was the first to report on these changes a week ago.

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