The lifecycle of an internet controversy: How a proposal to remove Welcome Park’s William Penn statue was derailed online
A look into how the National Park Service's proposal to update Welcome Park and remove the William Penn statute was derailed within 72 hours thanks to a series of tweets.
A proposed plan to rehabilitate Philadelphia’s Welcome Park was reversed within 72 hours of its announcement.
The pitch to remove a statue of William Penn, the founder of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, sparked a wave of outrage that ultimately led to the National Park Service withdrawing its proposition.
The plan ended the same way it started: through a set of tweets.
This is a look at how X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) shaped the fate of Welcome Park in a matter of days.
» READ MORE: William Penn statue will not be removed from Welcome Park, says National Park Service in sudden reversal
Friday, Jan. 5: The Independence National Historical Park account tweeted a link to a news release announcing the proposed plans
The news release announced a proposal to rehabilitate Welcome Park — a park commemorating the founding of Pennsylvania on the land where Penn once lived — and make visiting a more inclusive experience.
The National Park Service, which did not immediately return a request for comment, aims to rehabilitate the park for America’s 250th birthday celebration in 2026. The park, located on Second Street between Chestnut and Walnut Streets, has fallen into disrepair with rows of broken granite floor. Patrons also say it lacks adequate seating.
The proposal included a new planted buffer and the addition of a ceremonial gathering space with circular benches.
It also mentioned removing the Penn statue and the model of his Slate Roof House and not reinstalling them.
The park has also been the site of some resentment among Indigenous groups. John Penn, William Penn’s grandson, gave its plot to the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations from the Iroquois Confederacy) in 1755. In a recent trip to the park to reconnect with tribal land located there, six women from the Iroquois Confederacy said they felt anything but welcomed by the lack of grass, trees, or water.
“I felt it had been choked and that it wasn’t a true representation of the original intentions of the space,” Louise McDonald (Native name Wa’kerakátste), a Mohawk Bear Clan Mother from Akwesasne, N.Y., told The Inquirer in 2020. “It just seemed to be purposely buried with a cover-up narrative. There certainly seems to be a feeling of erasure intended to remove any spirit that would imply that we were once there.”
The NPS cited discussions with Indigenous nation members to expand how Philadelphia’s Native American history is told.
The agency invited the public to submit feedback on the proposal starting Monday. Over the weekend, its initial tweet was viewed about a million times.
Saturday, Jan. 6: NPS tweet began making waves
It’s hard to say exactly whose tweet sparked the weekend’s firestorm of outcry.
But several tweets from high-profile conservative X accounts, including @TimOnPoint — who has 18,000 followers — and local conservative personality Jack Posobiec — who has more than 2 million followers — criticizing NPS’ proposal began making waves Saturday.
Sunday morning, Jan. 7: Conservative media began writing about the proposal
West Virginia-based columnist and Fox News contributor David Marcus reposted the park service’s original tweet along with commentary Sunday morning,
Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York also tweeted about the proposal.
“I first learned about the proposal just a few minutes before [posting], when I saw a tweet retweeting a post from the Independence NPS account linking to the Jan. 5 press release,” York told The Inquirer on Tuesday. He read the release before tweeting to his more than half a million followers with a link to the NPS. “I wrote a tweet and linked to the Park Service[s] release, and that was it.”
York and others’ tweets led to articles — among the first from media outlets local and beyond — about the Penn statue’s proposed removal in mostly conservative outlets including the Post Millennial and Breitbart.
Sunday afternoon, Jan. 7: Local politicians began tweeting about the proposal
That day, local politicians — including state Sen. Scott Martin (R., Lancaster) — began reacting to the news and public outcry.
“I can confirm Senator Martin first heard about the proposal on Twitter shortly after the news broke, so it’s certainly fair to say that the platform played a outsized role in the swift reversal of this policy,” a spokesperson for Senator Martin said.
Monday evening, Jan. 8: National Park Service withdrew proposal
Monday was supposed to mark the beginning of the 14-day public feedback period for the proposal. Instead, the agency announced on Twitter it was withdrawing the plan altogether.
Internet archives show the project was listed on the park service’s website for public comment Monday morning before being removed.
“No changes to the William Penn statue are planned,” the National Park Service posted in a tweet. In a news release accompanying, NPS said the plan was “released prematurely and had not been subject to a complete internal agency review.”
On X, Gov. Josh Shapiro reposted the announcement.
“I’m pleased Welcome Park will remain the rightful home of this William Penn statute,” he wrote.
Rich Zeoli of 1210 WPHT talk radio, who had previously promoted a Fox News appearance to discuss the proposal, said on X the segment was bumped because of the plan’s withdrawal.
Within the replies of Shapiro’s tweet, many celebrated — including the owner of the platform that housed most of the proposal’s outcry: Elon Musk.
Responding to Shapiro’s tweet about the National Park Service withdrawing its pitch, Musk wrote, “Yay!”