# How the U.S. Government Uses Social Media to Target Its Own Citizens

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/political-breakdown-683875/how-the-u-s-government-uses-social-media-to-target-its-own-citizens
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/political-breakdown-683875/how-the-u-s-government-uses-social-media-to-target-its-own-citizens.md
Podcast: [Political Breakdown](https://stenobird.com/podcast/political-breakdown-683875)
Published: 2026-04-01T01:44:00+00:00
Episode link: https://next.kqed.org/news/12078155
Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/KQINC6026813952.mp3?updated=1775008269
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/political-breakdown-683875/episodes/how-the-u-s-government-uses-social-media-to-target-its-own-citizens
Duration seconds: 1605

## Resource

The Department of Homeland Security is using social media to demonize dissenters, branding U.S. citizens as terrorists, rioters and agitators. That’s according to a Wall Street Journal investigation that found most of DHS’s assault allegations against citizens were unsubstantiated. Scott is joined by reporter Brenna Smith, a member of the investigative team that reviewed cell phone recordings and body-camera footage. In addition to the investigation’s findings, they discuss the financial, emotional and professional toll on the Americans targeted by this aggressive government campaign. Check out ⁠⁠⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠⁠⁠, delivered straight to your inbox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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## Transcript

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