"Transparency is core to our mission. We've created a website that allows the public to be citizen watchdogs"– @JusticeOIG:
PandemicOversight.gov

$5T in spending.
@JusticeOIG But this @COVID_Oversight report notes @USTreasury & @SBAgov officials kept PPP loan data secret until a court ordered transparency! pandemicoversight.gov/media/file/pan…
Takeaway: @ProPublica & FOIA informed Americans when @WhiteHouse45 censored info: projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/ba… #opengov #ddj
Our system for reporting pandemic relief is broken, says @lizhempowicz

Data collection that doesn't work.
Data gaps.

This is what @USASpending was supposed to fix.

It's not an accident that @stevenmnuchin1
went around it, & tried to hide waste, fraud, & corruption in secret.
We didn't do what Congress did with the Recovery Act, where we gave whistleblower protections to recipients, says @lizhempowicz. (Key lesson learned.)

"Whistleblowers "should never be retaliated against or threatened"–@JusticeOIG agrees.

But @POTUS45 politicized whistleblowing.
Shoutout to @OversightGov & @POGOwatchdog's COVID-19 relief tracker: covidtracker.pogo.org #OpenGov

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More from @digiphile

18 Oct
Madame Secretary, it appears @POTUS isn't taking the gathering threat an anti-democratic, far-right movement poses seriously, if any
@WhiteHouse staff see voting rights as just another issue: theatlantic.com/politics/archi… Election subversion is an existential risk to liberal democracy
For over 4 years, @waltshaub warned of the risks of corruption if @POTUS45 didn’t disclose & divest.

The most corrupt administration in history realized those fears & concerns.

@POTUS @VP @WHCOS should be listening as he now warns of an existential threat to American democracy
In the 19th century, Republicans enacted a civil rights act, 14th, & 15th Amendments without Democrats.
In 2021, an anti-democratic party seeks to deny voting rights & subvert elections.
A union divided cannot stand.
A democracy unprotected will not endure
Image
Read 7 tweets
8 Oct
Early yet, but I hope we see this @potus @vp @whitehouse @PressSec @statedept @usaid @StateDRL hailing the @NobelPrize going to journalists, drawing a contrast with authoritarians who undermine #PressFreedom by calling the press enemies & spies, & lying about how journalism works
There’s @USAmbUN on the #NobelPeacePrize2021. There is sure to be pushback (nuanced & bad faith) on US government record on #pressfreedom (use of the Espionage Act & response to @JKhashoggi’s murder) if the @WhiteHouse speaks out, but hailing this moment is important, @SecBlinken
A beautiful, true statement about @mariaressa & #DmitryMuratov & the America by @WHAAsstSecty, whether tweeted en Español, or English.
Read 6 tweets
5 Oct
When @Facebook added a civic integrity @policy & team, it created an insoluble structural conflict with far-right, authoritarian regimes.

This wasn't an acute problem in the USA until 2016, when FB helped elect a corrupt, far-right autocrat who lies like a fish breathes water.
Limiting the reach of toxic BS about a stolen election or conspiracy theories designed to undermine democracy or public health is a core function of a civic integrity @policy, as is inoculating people with facts
e-pluribusunum.org/2021/01/26/why…
Ban accounts if they incite offline violence
“We need to focus more on how the platforms can enable an extremist minority to foment harm & not on how the average person might be brainwashed by a piece of content"- @BrendanNyhan …saging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/template/oakv2… Ergo, limit reach of QAnon, Trump's lies, Russian anti-vaxx BS, etc.
Read 8 tweets
5 Oct
Just pointing out the fact that a whistleblower does not have to have firsthand experience with the criminal conduct, fraud, waste, or abuses of power that they file a complaint on:
You nay recall this came up in Congress, regarding @POTUS45's corruption.
@POTUS45 In a statement, @Facebook doubled down on trying to undermine the credibility of @FrancesHaugen, instead of refuting the core facts of the whistleblower complaints she filed with the SEC, which cite the company's own internal research: Downright Trumpian.
🚭@finkd posted a note he sent to all @facebook staff: facebook.com/4/posts/101139…
Zuckerberg says “coverage” (@WSJ!) misrepresents & mischaracterizes internal research, & that it’s “just not true” that Facebook prioritizes profits over safety & well being.

How about over democracy?
Read 4 tweets
4 Oct
I just came back online & found @Facebook is offline, & it's not just for me: downforeveryoneorjustme.com/facebook

@Instagram, too.
That's going to release an immense cognitive surplus, boost to productivity, & based on what we've learned, may be a net positive for the world.

#KeepItOff?
@Facebook @instagram Still need to learn more about the root caus (BGP config error? ) but it's fair to observe how shutdowns, outages, & blackouts reveal single points of failure, particularly in centralized systems.
@Facebook @instagram Reports of wider technical disruption at @Facebook proper could reflect a more widespread issue than public access.
Read 7 tweets
29 Sep
The US government requires government-funded & controlled outlets like @RT_America to register with @TheJusticeDept as foreign agents.
@Twitter & @YouTube label them.
In Germany, YouTube went further, suspending 2 RT channels for spreading medical misinfo:
theguardian.com/technology/202…
Now Russia is threatening to block @YouTube entirely unless it restores the 2 RT channels:

washingtonpost.com/world/2021/09/…

Frustrated that @washingtonpost put “misinformation” in quotes.

It reports clips with “misleading info” about “unproven COVID-19 treatments were on RT channels.
At a meta level, it’s fascinating to see @RFERL report on RT & the escalating conflict between Russia, and US tech companies: rferl.org/a/youtube-dele…
RFERL noted the US & EU have “accused Russia of spreading false info about COVID-19 & vaccines” — without confirming that truth.
Read 8 tweets

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