This is Orwellian gaslighting. These papers should no longer be viewed as authoritive keepers of the public record. Any institution that engages in this kind of memory-holing forfeits all credibility. They can no longer be trusted whatsoever.
Imagine someone who got pardoned by the state for a minor crime (so a clean criminal record) but who still had a newspaper article about them. That would be a raw deal.
Because people are prejudiced, and the newspaper article doesn't include an addendum that it should be taken with little to no value, so the impact it could have on someone's life due to people's stupidity is unwarranted.
If we lived in a perfect universe where people were thoughtful and wise I wouldn't care.
