Update post status from “publish” to “trash” for half of posts

1 comment

1. Assuming you want to delete by date, here is a basic concept. You’d need to figure out when you want this to run, otherwise, as I commented above, you’ll end up with only 1 post if it runs repeatedly.

   Edit: Including parameter for a bit of safety

   <?php 
   function doomsday_device($herd_thinning) {
       if(empty($herd_thinning)) {
           return;
       }
   
       $args = array(
           'post_type' => 'post',
           'post_status' => 'publish',
           'orderby' => 'date',
           'order' => 'ASC',
           'posts_per_page' => -1
       );
   
       $loop = new WP_Query($args);
   
       if($herd_thinning > $loop->post_count) {
           return;
       }
   
       $kill_num = $loop->post_count / 2;
       $i = 0;
   
       while($loop->have_posts()) : $loop->the_post();
           if($i >= $kill_num) {
               break;
           }
           wp_trash_post($post->ID);
           $i++
       endwhile;
   }
   ?>
   

   Must stress that this is a very dangerous function. If you attempt it, please back up your database. And you’ll need to pass an integer to it that represents a total post count size that is too large for your liking, which will then allow the thinning.

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