WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency engaged in “covert propaganda” and violated federal law when it blitzed social media to urge the public to back an Obama administration rule intended to better protect the nation’s streams and surface waters, congressional auditors concluded in a legal ruling released Monday.
The ruling by the Government Accountability Office drew a bright line for federal agencies experimenting with social media about the perils of going too far to push a cause. Federal laws prohibit agencies from engaging in lobbying and propaganda.
An EPA official disputed the finding. “We use social media tools just like all organizations to stay connected and inform people across the country,” Liz Purchia, an agency spokeswoman, said in a statement. “At no point did the EPA encourage the public to contact Congress or any state legislature.”