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FACT BRIEF

Is the USPS monitoring social media posts?

Friday, April 23, 2021
By Gus Fisher
YES

The law-enforcement arm of the postal service has been monitoring social media for “inflammatory material” and sharing information with the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies, according to Yahoo News. Yahoo published a March 16, 2021, “Situational Awareness Bulletin” describing a Facebook group, “WorldWideDemonstration,” planning a protest for March 20.

The surveillance effort is known as the Internet Covert Operations Program, and is run by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service—“the primary law enforcement, crime prevention, and security arm of the U.S. Postal Service,” officials told Yahoo News. The agency employs 1,289 officers who enforce laws concerning the postal system, according to a 2019 report. These officers “carry firearms, make arrests, execute federal search warrants, and serve subpoenas.”

This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
United States Postal Inspection Service Situational Awareness Bulletin, March 16, 2021 (shared by Yahoo News)
Yahoo News The Postal Service is running a ‘covert operations program’ that monitors Americans’ social media posts
United States Postal Inspection Service Annual report for fiscal year 2019
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.