FCC 'Regularly Issues' Propaganda Tweets, Unlike Other Agencies, Says TPI's Chief
The FCC doesn't use tweets to provide helpful information to consumers, but "regularly issues" tweets that can be considered "propaganda," said Technology Policy Institute President Scott Wallsten in a blog post. Wallsten said the FCC topped DOJ, the Federal Energy…
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Regulatory Commission, FTC and SEC when it came to such tweets after conducting a "back-of-the-envelope" review of each agency's 200 most recent tweets. "Of the 200 tweets from September 2, 2016 through October 3, 2016, I count 33 propaganda, as opposed to informational, tweets. The other agencies had no propaganda tweets," he wrote Thursday, in a post that TPI drew attention to the next day in a blast email. Wallsten said he considered a tweet propaganda if "clearly advocating for new rules or a particular point of view not part of an existing rule, rather than providing information, announcing speeches or events, or otherwise presenting facts." Some may argue, he said, an agency chair should use social media to promote his own agenda. "But perhaps the chair should use his own account for policy advocacy, rather than equating himself with the agency," Wallsten added. The FCC didn't comment.