Interior Department banned from Twitter after retweeting pix of 2009, 2017 inauguration crowds

Alessandra Kelley · Jan 21, 2017

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-smaller-than-usual-trump-inauguration-crowd/

In an "urgent directive" Friday, the Interior Department was ordered to shut down all of its Twitter accounts after someone at the Park Service retweeted a tweet from New York Times reporter Binyamin Appelbaum that compared aerial photos of the crowd at yestarday's inauguration to the one at President Obama's 2009 inauguration.

Interior has dozens of official Twitter accounts at its multiple offices and 10 bureaus, which include the Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey.

ElaineA · Jan 21, 2017

In case he forgets, his inaugural took place on PUBLIC land, and at public expense. Owned by We the People, paid for by We the People--except him, since he hasn't paid to maintain them for 20 years.

Fascist regime 101, Day 1. Limit information, petty retributions...

Lauram6123 · Jan 21, 2017

I wonder what happens if they just ignore the order and keep tweeting.

SWest · Jan 21, 2017

@NatlParkService seems 'active' again this morning...minus yesterday's informative split shot.

cethklein · Jan 21, 2017

I'm ok with this. Yes it was on public land but the tweet was clearly political. Now before anyone says it, yes I am aware that if the roles were reversed, Trump and his supporters would be defending the interior department. But at some point someone needs to take the high road.

ElaineA · Jan 21, 2017

Wait, you're okay with shutting down ALL of the interior dept's social media? Why? Isn't it enough to ask for that tweet to be deleted, and to take up a personnel matter on Monday when he decides to come to work? Seriously, the overkill is what I object to. Why should Yosemite not be able to tweet a snowy landscape because one tweet from the national mall offended the president?

shakeysix · Jan 21, 2017

Your high road leads to some scary places. --s6

cethklein · Jan 21, 2017

Yes until the culprit who posted the tweet is found, i am ok with shutting it down ONLY until that point.

JJ Litke · Jan 21, 2017

cethklein said:
Yes until the culprit who posted the tweet is found, i am ok with shutting it down ONLY until that point.

And this is how fascism works.

SWest · Jan 21, 2017

Here's the thing: You want to become Politician-in-Chief? Pull on some Big Boy Pants and live through people noting that you are not the Most Popular Politician-in-Chief to walk the mall. I can't picture even some of our more sensitive Fmr Potuses making any kind of deal about that sort of observation.

And the weather was bad, so if you need an excuse, excuse.

When a personal sensitivity about the size of your...inaugural crowd...makes you all SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!, things are not going to go well for the bottom or the top of the pyramid.

cethklein · Jan 21, 2017

SWest said:
Here's the thing: You want to become Politician-in-Chief? Pull on some Big Boy Pants and live through people noting that you are not the Most Popular Politician-in-Chief to walk the mall. I can't picture even some of our more sensitive Fmr Potuses making any kind of deal about that sort of observation.

And the weather was bad, so if you need an excuse, excuse.

When a personal sensitivity about the size of your...inaugural crowd...makes you all SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!, things are not going to go well for the bottom or the top of the pyramid.

Don't get me wrong, I think Trump will implode. Even his best handlers won't be able to contain him and when they try they'll be cast out as traitors. But as Trump himself has said he mainly wants to be the figurehead and get all the glory and make Pence and others do all the work. Let's hope that's one promise that he actually does keep.

shakeysix · Jan 21, 2017

I'd rather have Trump that that churchy, numb skull--s6

SWest · Jan 21, 2017

cethklein said:
...I think Trump will implode. ...

In the meantime, it is entirely in keeping with our species to point out when antisocial behavior is antisocial. Patting him on the head and giving him a cookie when he acts out repressively won't help anyone.

Having recently said farewell to a highly pro-social and politic POTUS, I'm in no mood to blink indulgently.

Alessandra Kelley · Jan 21, 2017

cethklein said:
Yes until the culprit who posted the tweet is found, i am ok with shutting it down ONLY until that point.

What, the entire Department of the Interior?

You don't think that might be something of an overreaction to a single retweet from a single Parks Department employee on a matter (crowd size) that is actually part of the Parks Department's job?

cethklein · Jan 21, 2017

Alessandra Kelley said:
What, the entire Department of the Interior?

You don't think that might be something of an overreaction to a single retweet from a single Parks Department employee on a matter (crowd size) that is actually part of the Parks Department's job?

Overreaction? Yes, it is. BUT I also realize that Trump is a professional victim. Any less of a response would give him the power to claim they're out to get him. Keep in mind that administration didn't shut down the tweeting, it seems someone at the department over them did. I suspect they knew Trump would use this against them. Yeah it isn't nice to see this but as a temporary thing it's likely the best alternative.

regdog · Jan 21, 2017

cethklein said:
Yes until the culprit who posted the tweet is found, i am ok with shutting it down ONLY until that point.

The ID helps people going to rallies such as those taking place today. You are okay with shutting down a major form of communication to help keep crowds safe. They also tweet road conditions in National Parks. You are okay with not being able to alert visitors to potential dangers such as rock slides.

cmhbob · Jan 21, 2017

Those two RT were inappropriate coming from an official account, and probably violated DoI standards. I suspect the temporary shutdown was necessary to figure out exactly who had access to the IP associated with the retweets, and to give supervisors a chance to check and delete scheduled messages. I would assume whoever sent the RT is no longer employed in a social media position for the government, and that's OK with me.

When you're acting as the official voice of a government agency, it is appropriate and reasonable to expect certain limitations on what you say in that official capacity. Had someone working for DoI or NPS retweeted those images from their personal account and been punished, I'd be raising a ruckus. But this wasn't a personal account.

Alessandra Kelley · Jan 21, 2017

cmhbob said:
Those two RT were inappropriate coming from an official account, and probably violated DoI standards. I suspect the temporary shutdown was necessary to figure out exactly who had access to the IP associated with the retweets, and to give supervisors a chance to check and delete scheduled messages. I would assume whoever sent the RT is no longer employed in a social media position for the government, and that's OK with me.

When you're acting as the official voice of a government agency, it is appropriate and reasonable to expect certain limitations on what you say in that official capacity. Had someone working for DoI or NPS retweeted those images from their personal account and been punished, I'd be raising a ruckus. But this wasn't a personal account.

This is not the closure of an individual account.

This is the closure of all of the dozens of accounts of an entire federal executive department with far-ranging responsibilities.

Furthermore, as regdog pointed out above, this has happened a day before massive nationwide demonstrations where the department's information services would be of incalculable, possibly lifesaving use.

I don't think anyone is complaining that an individual is to be punished here. The objections seem mostly to be to the seeming overreaction which affects so many more.

JJ Litke · Jan 21, 2017

Maybe some of you don't use social media enough to realize how it works. It's happened plenty of times that businesses or departments have let something slip through on Twitter. They handle that by deleting the tweet and disciplining the person responsible (to varying degrees depending on the breach). What they do NOT do is shut down entire accounts.

You are attempting to normalize the extremity of overreaction by defending it. It is most definitely not normal and not appropriate.

shakeysix · Jan 21, 2017

Overreaction, hyperbole, threats, we are going to see a lot of this in the future. Reminds me of a green substitute teacher trying to reign in a high school class out to bedevil him. --s6

Alessandra Kelley · Jan 21, 2017

The ban has been lifted.

Cmalone · Jan 21, 2017

JJ Litke said:
Maybe some of you don't use social media enough to realize how it works. It's happened plenty of times that businesses or departments have let something slip through on Twitter. They handle that by deleting the tweet and disciplining the person responsible (to varying degrees depending on the breach). What they do NOT do is shut down entire accounts.

You are attempting to normalize the extremity of overreaction by defending it. It is most definitely not normal and not appropriate.

Thank you. We need to constantly remind each other of this. I know this, yet with each new extreme, I still need the reminder.

Cobalt Jade · Jan 21, 2017

I think it was Anonymous.

ShaunHorton · Jan 21, 2017

Now I want to go tweet the image directly to Trump.

Interior Department banned from Twitter after retweeting pix of 2009, 2017 inauguration crowds

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