The Social Security Administration Is Gutting Regional Staff and Shifting All Public Communications to X

The Social Security Administration volition nary longer beryllium communicating with the media and the nationalist done property releases and “dear colleague” letters, arsenic it shifts its nationalist connection exclusively to X, sources archer WIRED. The quality comes amid large staffing cuts astatine the agency.

“We are nary longer readying to contented property releases oregon those beloved workfellow letters to pass the media and nationalist astir programmatic and work changes,” said SSA determination commissioner Linda Kerr-Davis successful a gathering with managers earlier this week. “Instead, the bureau volition beryllium utilizing X to pass to the property and the public…so this volition go our connection mechanism.”

Previously, the bureau utilized beloved workfellow letters to prosecute with advocacy groups and third-party organizations that assistance radical entree societal information benefits. Recent letters covered everything from the agency’s caller individuality verification procedures to updates connected the accuracy of SSA decease records (“less than one-third of 1 percent are erroneously reported deaths that request to beryllium corrected,” the bureau wrote, successful opposition to what Elon Musk claims).

The letters and property releases were besides a important communications instrumentality for SSA employees, who utilized them to enactment up connected bureau news. Since SSA unit cannot motion up for societal media connected authorities computers without submitting a peculiar information request, the alteration could person antagonistic consequences connected the quality for employees to bash their jobs.

It could besides interaction radical receiving societal information benefits who trust connected the letters for accusation astir entree benefits. “Do they truly expect elder citizens volition articulation this platform?” asked 1 existent employee. “Most managers aren’t adjacent connected it. How isn’t this a struggle of interest?” Another staffer added: “This volition guarantee that the nationalist does not get the accusation they request to enactment up to date.”

The Social Security Administration did not instantly respond to a petition for remark by WIRED. Linda Kerr-Davis besides did not instantly respond to a petition for remark by WIRED.

Elon Musk, who is starring the complaint to radically trim the size of the national workforce connected behalf of President Trump, bought X (then Twitter) successful October 2022. The level has for years battled the dispersed of misinformation. After helium purchased the company, Musk fired declaration contented moderators and shifted contented moderation efforts to a crowd-sourced fact-checking instrumentality called Community Notes. In 2023, an EU authoritative warned the level was a large root of fake news, based connected a commissioned survey that reported “Twitter has the highest discoverability" of disinformation.

The determination bureau workforce volition soon beryllium chopped by astir 87 percent, sources archer WIRED. Regional bureau unit negociate IT support, argumentation questions, labour relations issues, tenable accommodations guidance, and nationalist relations. Since February, the SSA has chopped 7,000 jobs, according to the Washington Post.

Today, the bureau has 547 employees moving successful the astir twelve determination offices (previously, the fig was person to 700, but galore radical person retired, a existent worker with cognition of the staffing numbers says). After the cuts, the fig is expected to beryllium person to 70. “We cognize that you each beryllium connected these folks to negociate your beforehand line, to assistance with questions,” said Kerr-Davis, who works successful the Kansas City determination office. “I'm going to beryllium beauteous candid present successful sharing that the enactment volition beryllium beauteous minimal until we tin basal up our skinny determination office.”

Kerr-Davis acknowledged the restructuring could bounds the agency’s quality to combat fraud, a large extremity of Elon Musk’s alleged Department of Government Efficiency. “Won't losing taxable substance experts pb straight to fraud, discarded and abuse?” she asked connected the call, speechmaking a question from an SSA staffer. “And yes, I mean, we bash trust connected [their] help…Things are going to break, and they're going to interruption fast.”

On the call, Kerr-Davis sounded resigned arsenic she relayed quality of the changes. “I cognize this astir apt sounds precise for overseas to you, it did to maine arsenic well,” she said. “It’s not what we are utilized to, but we are successful antithetic times now.”

Vittoria Elliott and David Gilbert contributed reporting.