Revamped White House website features hidden message for coders

It seems that the White House has a few tricks up its sleeve – or rather, on its website.

On Twitter, web users have been discussing a secret message hidden in the source code of the official White House web page. Joe Biden’s administration appears to have hidden a secret message aimed at curious coders, seemingly reaching out to potential new recruits.

“If you’re reading this, we need your help building back better,” reads the secret message hidden in the source code of the official White House website, discovered by a host of Twitter users.

The @USDS did a fantastic job with the updates to the @WhiteHouse website. Love dark mode and the toggle to make the font size larger. Plus, the call to action in the HTML source code fills my heart with joy. pic.twitter.com/TFai6BXVGq
— Eric Ritter (@EricRitter) January 21, 2021

The secret phrase isn’t visible directly on the White House website, but can be seen by anyone who looks at the source code of the page. To do that, simply open the White House website, right-click on the homepage, then select “View page source” to show the page’s HTML source code.

The secret sentence is visible on the ninth line and is written in green – a good way of attracting the attention of experienced or budding coders who might want to work for the US government.

A link to the website of the US Digital Service is also featured just next to the secret message, inviting tech-savvy users to pay the website a visit. Launched in 2014 by the Barack Obama administration, the website currently mentions recruiting people with an interest in technology, without detailing exactly which positions might be available. Coincidentally or not, the website now features a banner mentioning a “high volume of applications”.

Taken up by Joe Biden’s teams after the 46th US president took office on Jan 20, the White House website has been overhauled. The new interface includes a dark mode, a Spanish-language version and an option for upping text size in just one click. Such features are driven by an open desire to make the website more accessible and to reach out to a greater number of US citizens.