I am sure that most of us have always suspected that our government is monitoring us through social media, personal blogs and websites, but to what degree. It is now official. Under the Social Networking Media Capability the Department of … Homeland Security is authorized to monitor publicly available online social media channels, including public blogs, websites, Facebook pages, Twitter streams, under the auspices of giving the Department of Homeland Security situational awareness of informational superiority in a rapidly evolving situation.

So it will be up to big brother, our government, to determine from what we write if that information is creating a rapidly evolving situation. How big is our audience who is listening and to what degree would they be motivated to follow the information delivered to them by the blogger, Facebook page and tweet is entirely left up to the discretion of the Department of Homeland Security. Until now, information gathered under the SNMC was used in a limited capacity; however the Department of Homeland Security has expanded this to include the regular and consistent monitoring of journalists, and their social media channels. The official purpose of tracking journalists through social media due to journalists using ”social media in real time to keep their audience situationally aware and informed,” which can assist the DHS in “ [identifying] an individual to be directly or indirectly inferred, including any information which is linked or linkable to that individual.”

As the Department of Homeland Security moves its social media monitoring of journalists into a fast paced, real-time, continual tracking system, rather than a system devised to monitor developing situations, the agency will be able to use gleaned information to push its boundaries into seeking information not available in public social media spaces. The DHS’s move to continually monitor journalists and their activities through social media will make sourcing information challenging and leave social media content potentially open to misinterpretation or leverage the intimidation of a journalist. And let’s be clear a journalist is anyone writing a blog, a Facebook page, or a Tweet and would now come under the scrutiny of big brother. Also, it is clear that they now have the power to leverage the intimidation of the author.

One must ask the question how far they can go in leveraging their intimidation. Would it be limited to removing a post from Facebook or bringing down a website or could be something even more sinister. Would the government now have a legal justification to arrest and detain the author of a blog or a post that does not meet their acceptable criteria or party line of the government elite. Unfortunately this will only make additional challenges to authors when reporting or writing on sensitive issues, issues of national security, homeland security or issues of a political nature. I wonder how long this post will stay up on Facebook or on my blog. As we fast approach the end of days information is invaluable to the safety and wellbeing of the Church. Even though God has promised to providentially care for His Church, it does not negate the fact that revealed truth must be propagated. Help spread the word.

Copyright © 2012 Rev. Daniel W. Blair – All content (blog articles) have been published in my new book: “Revelation Truth” available in our bookstore or at a bookstore near you.