Washington (AFP) – A spoon emoji, a subreddit, a viral song: US federal workers are finding sweet succor in the bosom of the internet as President Donald Trump takes an ax to their jobs. Some have lost their entire income, others have been let go only to be rehired, and yet more have been teetering on the brink for weeks.
On the popular internet forum Reddit, where users, often Americans, share and rank advice and questions in communities called subreddits, a “fednews” group is among the most active — in the top one percent of subreddits with 550,000 users. With identities hidden behind usernames, employees impart suggestions and grapple with solutions as the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is run by billionaire Trump advisor Elon Musk, whittles away at the federal workforce.
“I have 0900 EST meeting today with a lawyer who specializes in Federal law and government worker rights,” one user posted. “Give me any questions you have and if don’t have it already ill try to include in my time. Just paid for one hour.” Another user simply shared a sense of despair when the unthinkable finally happened: “After being anxious for weeks, I was fired today.”
– Finding a ‘platform’ –
Helen — who like other employees AFP spoke with only wanted to use her first name for fear of retribution — runs an Instagram account with 16,000 followers called “Feds Work for You,” which includes articles, protest information and accounts from fired federal employees. Trump and Musk “have such big platforms,” said Helen, herself a federal worker, wondering “who’s going to be standing up for federal workers; we don’t have that sort of platform.”
John, a 10-year civil servant, launched a podcast on YouTube with an aim to “humanize” federal employees “so people understand that these are regular people who are just doing a public service job.” He said it was important how social media allows civil servants to share their stories while remaining anonymous: “I’m scared, right? Like, you know, they find out who I am.”
Federal employees have also rallied online around a series of hashtags, emojis and other slogans. The song “Hostile Government Takeover,” initially posted on TikTok, made it onto platforms like Spotify, including a cover by world-renowned US DJ Moby. Meanwhile, the spoon emoji has become a symbol of protest, referencing a now-famous email from Musk’s team titled “Fork in the Road,” in which government employees were given an offer to leave with eight months’ pay or risk being fired in the future.
“We need a communications campaign,” said Helen, adding: “I think a lot of people don’t know what we do, and it’s an easy target.”
© 2024 AFP
