Government leaders must be held accountable. That’s supposed to be the job of the mainstream media. But somewhere along the line, this changed. Many journalists employed by traditional corporate media started to twist facts to drive home a particular narrative. Others began disguising their own opinions as news. And some just stopped doing any real investigations altogether—choosing to protect our elected officials and government bureaucrats from any sort of real accountability.
Now, with fewer people trusting in the mainstream media, our nation has seen a rise in independent news media. We have a great one right here in Arizona called AZ Free News that has shown it is willing to do real research and investigation into what is happening in our state. And their latest investigative report shows exactly why independent journalism is critical for the future of our state and nation…
Government officials throughout our country are in deep need of some education on the First Amendment. And the latest ones are currently serving in the Town of Gilbert right here in Arizona.
Last week, AZ Free News released an investigative report on Gilbert’s Office of Digital Government (ODG) and its Orwellian monitoring of employees’ online speech. For over a decade, the ODG, which is made up of approximately a dozen employees, has been working to ensure that Gilbert’s 30 official digital accounts—along with the personal online posts of all Town of Gilbert employees—align with a progressive, liberal agenda. And how much do you think this is costing taxpayers in Gilbert? Over $1.1 million each year in salary alone, with Chief Digital Officer Dana Berchman making over $200,000 annually.
When asked about the allegations in the investigative report, the town responded that it “will not tolerate divisive, offensive or culturally insensitive posts from employees purporting to represent the Town.” That’s interesting. Who decides what’s divisive, offensive, or culturally insensitive? The employees within the ODG? Dana Berchman herself?
Big Brother is alive and well in one Arizona town, where an entire department of city employees is paid to monitor the online speech of employees and elected officials — as well as control all government communications online — to enforce conformity with a progressive political agenda.
Though it may sound like a fictional invention of Orwellian fashion, there’s a real place in Arizona where that occurs. It’s an arrangement unlike any other in the state and, by all indicators, the first of its kind in the nation. It’s the Office of Digital Government (ODG) in the town of Gilbert.
At the helm is Dana Berchman, chief digital officer. For over a decade, Berchman has overseen an average of 10-12 employees who ensure that the 30 official government accounts—along with personal online postings of government-affiliated individuals—fall in line with a liberal political outlook: Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+ ideologies, and the like.
For their work, ODG employees are amply compensated. Their annual salaries range from over $82,000 to nearly $138,000; only two of the employees make slightly under that range, earning well over $60,000. Berchman receives the highest salary by far: over $200,800 annually.
There were also two employees that left ODG within the 2023 fiscal year: their salaries amounted to about $188,300. Including those positions, all ODG salaries amount to over $1.15 million.
Public records revealed that under Berchman, ODG contacts various departmental leadership about employees’ online speech if it runs counter to progressive ideals or appears to be critical of their department. Leadership is then expected to confront employees about their speech.
Over the last few years of marked social political upheaval due to George Floyd’s death, the 2020 election, and the COVID-19 pandemic, ODG permitted public displays of support for issues like Black Lives Matter (BLM), vaccines, and mask-wearing, but sought out discipline for those whose speech was or appeared to be the least bit critical of those stances — or ODG.
Following George Floyd’s death, ODG led a unified response across all Gilbert departments to show solidarity with BLM: “blackout” posts, a video statement from the mayor, and pictures of first responders bending the knee to BLM protesters.
One former employee that we spoke with on the condition of anonymity said that they left their job in part due to ODG’s control over the other departments.
“When I worked there, they were pushing the chiefs of police and fire to be more liberal. Then there’s those emails about how excited they were about getting the chief to kneel to BLM,” said the former employee.
That former employee added that anything a department wanted to put out on social media had to receive ODG’s complete approval.
“It was difficult to get anything accomplished,” said the former employee. “Everything was so tightly managed. People on the ground there were upset because they couldn’t do anything.”
That could explain the delay in communications on the arguably biggest development to hit Gilbert in decades, one that has now made national headlines: the Gilbert Goons.
Independent investigative efforts by reporters indicated that similar teen-involved assaults in the East Valley go back as early as December 2022; Gilbert police initially claimed that they only discovered a pattern and the term “Gilbert Goons” last month, but later noted that victims referenced their assailants’ association with the violent group.
Other issues have sparked more immediate attention from Gilbert leadership. Public records revealed that departmental leadership would entertain ODG’s complaints about certain employees’ online speech to which they objected, such as a show of support for first responders.
In an August 2020 email obtained through public records, Berchman notified Gilbert Fire Department (GFD) leadership that one of their fire trucks drove by and turned on sirens to support Back the Blue protesters.
The implication was that GFD leadership would instruct its employees to not engage in similar behavior in the future, as they have regarding the displays of thin blue line flags symbolizing support for police. Gilbert fire and police leadership instructed personnel to not fly those flags due to their controversial message related to George Floyd’s death and the BLM riots.
Several days after Berchman’s complaint, Police Chief Michael Soelberg and then-Fire Chief Jim Jobusch issued a joint email and video to their employees directing them to not “choose sides” publicly concerning Black Lives Matter or Blue Lives Matter protests.
“Given the intensity of the debate and strong personal feelings some have about these gatherings, [we] thought it would be prudent to put out a consistent message to the members of both of our departments,” read a joint email notifying personnel of the video.
“We need to be aware not to choose sides and to not leave the perception that we’re choosing sides during large gatherings,” said Jobusch in the video.
Records also revealed that ODG would spend business hours documenting the nitty gritty of Gilbert employees’ social media activity, even down to when they “liked” posts critical of ODG. In another 2020 incident, ODG issued a post to the town’s Twitter (now X) page celebrating itself for winning an award. In an internal messaging group between team members, ODG discussed one employee who “liked” another local’s comment criticizing ODG as a “bloated team of Insta posters” funded by taxpayers.
“Yeah [this individual] has had a few bad tweets and likes the past 24 hours,” one ODG employee wrote in a group message.
Gilbert Digital is humbled to receive @GovernmentSM's 2020 Social Media Team of the Year Award! 🎉
2020 has been a challenging year, but your likes, shares and feedback (yes all of the feedback 😉) has made it all worth it. Thank you, #GilbertAZ!
The same day of the Jan. 6 breach at the Capitol, Berchman sent an internal group message tasking her employees with hunting down and tracking the personal social media posts of one town employee critical of them. In that same conversation, Berchman alluded that she maintained a dossier of other town employees’ social media posts.
“Do you all have a folder or compilation of all of [this employee’s] tweets? Or posts?” asked Berchman. “I just looked in my social media files and I had most of these [posts other ODG members sent]. It makes me sick to look at these [posts] especially TODAY.”
Yet, Berchman’s personal social media often delves into the political. Her posts over the years openly declared her support of Democratic candidates and progressive issues such as abortion, gun control, and same-sex marriage.
“A bunch of old white guys? Not interested,” wrote Berchman, in response to former President Trump’s potential cabinet selections.
“Today I feel hope, joy, and relief. To those who thought it couldn’t be that bad — it was worse than I ever imagined,” said Berchman on President Joe Biden’s inauguration day. “Watching the past four years and particularly the last one and explaining to my children the things they’ve seen and heard. Never again.”
Today I feel hope, joy & relief. To those who thought it couldn’t be that bad – it was worse than I ever imagined. Watching the past four years & particularly the last one & explaining to my children the things they’ve seen & heard. Never again. ❤️#InaugurationDay
“Every single word of this – especially ‘coming to grips with the reality that millions voted for a man so obviously willing to burn our democracy down for his own ego,’” said Berchman.
Every single word of this – especially “coming to grips with the reality that millions voted for a man so obviously willing to burn our democracy down for his own ego.” https://t.co/avvIOULMH8
Berchman reposted controversial tweets from then-presidential candidate Joe Biden urging people to vote out then-President Donald Trump, then a post from Biden announcing a mask mandate. Berchman also shared a post blaming parents for school shutdowns over COVID-19 case spikes.
Berchman was behind the new town logo that stoked controversy last year, with many left dissatisfied with the end product of a two-year process. Both Mayor Brigette Peterson and council noted they were kept out of the process for developing the logo, with Peterson receiving resistance from town manager Patrick Banger: a common pattern for ODG.
Public records revealed that those town employees who criticized the logo were the subject of ODG documentation and internal messaging.
This appeared to be a frequent exercise for Berchman and her ODG members, though relatively new for the department.
ODG didn’t exist until 2012, when Banger came up with the idea for the department: the first of its kind in the nation. Banger credited former Democratic New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his media empire for coming up with the idea. The year before, Bloomberg hired the nation’s first chief digital officer, Rachel Haot, and together they crafted the nation’s first digital roadmap.
“One of the things that I’d been doing for quite some time is following what Mayor Bloomberg was doing in New York,” said Banger in an early episode of the town’s now-defunct podcast, Government Gone Digital.
Haot’s oversight of online governmental communications resembled the centralized approach that ODG has undertaken. Haot identified her team as the authority on what was published online across city departments, in one interview using Hurricane Sandy as an example.
“24/7 we were working to ensure that all of those channels were working in lockstep,” said Haot. “Say the public housing agency had a new update they needed to get out to their constituents — we had a streamlined process to make sure the information was accurate and could get out there as soon as possible.”
Bloomberg is the liberal billionaire behind the nonprofit Bloomberg Philanthropies. What Works Cities (WWC) is a project of the nonprofit; Gilbert joined them in 2017. WWC’s Results for America awarded ODG in 2020 for public communications that facilitated community trust during COVID-19. Then-WWC Executive Director Simone Brody remarked that ODG exemplified the ideal approach for government communications.
“This recognition honors her life by celebrating cities like Gilbert that exemplify how governments and residents can collaborate to build a better future for us all.”
The following year, 2021, Brody became the senior advisor of Biden’s American Rescue Plan Implementation Team. The primary focus of the team was to ensure the trillions in federal relief funds were issued equitably, not equally.
Banger hired Berchman, a Gilbert native, in 2012. Like his inspiration, Berchman launched her career in New York, where she interned for Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign before working for MTV and then MSNBC.
By 2017, ODG had gained significant control over which departments could have social media platforms and what they could share. In the town’s podcast, Berchman explained that ODG had centralized oversight but would give “social media ambassadors” the ability to post and share.
“We don’t just give every [department] a Facebook account because they want one. Who’s going to run it? What are you going to put there? Are you going to have someone monitor it 24/7?” said Berchman.
It wasn’t until 2019 that ODG revoked that limited autonomy and fully took over communications for every department. Berchman discussed the plan in the town’s podcast, in an episode that described the approach as “building the city of the future.”
“We are going to have a truly centralized communications team, we’re going to have people embedded in the other departments: parks and recreation, police, and fire, which is what’s really unique about this, I think, and economic development,” said Berchman. “It is important for us to be streamlined, all on message together, all on brand.”
We are so excited to open our Police Department PIO position. The PIO will be a key member of the Police Department and Town of Gilbert. To learn more about these positions check out @GovGoneDigital podcast (Episode 67) on iTunes. @GilbertPolice@GilbertYourTownhttps://t.co/w5LXz0acaZ
Public records indicate that 2019 was also the year that ODG began ramping up oversight of employee’s personal social media content.
Kelsey Perry — then ODG’s community engagement coordinator, now a public information officer — sent an internal message that August flagging the personal Instagram story of a town employee that “could be deemed culturally insensitive.” The video was passed on from ODG leadership to that employee’s superiors.
In a recent interview, Berchman alluded to her limiting input to those who agree with her perspective, calling those who have grievances “pitchfork people” that didn’t qualify as the average Gilbert resident.
“Let other people come in, invite them in and let them tell you what they think about what you’re doing,” said Berchman. “Not people that show up at council meetings or, I say, the pitchfork people that have a grievance, but the average person who’s busy living their lives.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
A major U.S. Border Patrol sector’s social media communication about the ongoing crisis on the ground has gone dark.
Last week, John R. Modlin, the Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector, posted to “X” that his sector’s “social media accounts will be paused until further notice in light of the ongoing migration surge.” Chief Modlin expressed his appreciation for viewers’ “understanding and continued support during this challenging time.”
NEW: The Border Patrol’s Tucson sector has “paused” its social media accounts due to “an ongoing migration surge” pic.twitter.com/NiBwI6qSdG
The post from Chief Modlin garnered significant attention – and subsequent outrage – as individuals opined on the reasons for the stoppage of the flow of weekly information from this sector on these accounts. Chief Modlin appeared to delete his post later, adding an update, writing, “Apologies for my earlier hastily written statement. To be clear, it is my intention to remain transparent.”
Apologies for my earlier hastily written statement. To be clear, it is my intention to remain transparent. pic.twitter.com/mktMFT8S5U
Chief Modlin explained that “in light of the ongoing migration surge, all Tucson Sector Border Patrol social media accounts will be temporarily reduced to maximize our available staffing in support of our current operational challenges. At this time, all available personnel are needed to address the unprecedented flow. The social media team will return once the situation permits.”
In light of the ongoing migration surge, all Tucson Sector Border Patrol social media accounts will be temporarily reduced to maximize our available staffing in support of our current operational challenges.
The CBP leader did reveal that his sector would “continue to post our Week in Review statistics, demonstrating the continued efforts of our agents and staff.”
We will continue to post our Week in Review statistics, demonstrating the continued efforts of our agents and staff.
The Tucson Border Sector has long been one of the nation’s most dangerous along the U.S.-Mexico boundary due to the proliferation of deadly drugs (such as fentanyl) and ‘gotaways.’ However, in the latter half of this year, this sliver of the border has become the busiest sector in more ways, attracting tens of thousands of individuals who are apprehended by agents. Chief Modlin’s regular posts on the work Tucson agents have done to triage the happenings on the ground have been extremely instructive for outsiders and stakeholders to understand the breadth of the crisis that continues to be exploited and exponentially grow with each passing month.
In the first month of Fiscal Year 2024, October, this sector reported over 55,000 encounters of illegal immigrants, which was a 140.8% increase over the previous year’s numbers for that month (22,938). Tucson Sector Officials recorded almost 374,000 arrests during the recently completed fiscal year.
These numbers, already significantly high for a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border, do not represent the number of ‘gotaways’ escaping detection and making their way around the interior of America’s homeland. Nor do these figures fill in another major gap of the border crisis, which is the rampant drug smuggling that occurs all throughout the border – but especially in the Tucson sector. Drug cartels and smugglers occupy the time of border agents with thousands of arrests per day, while running drugs and ‘gotaways’ through other unmanned corridors. These dangerous factors of the porous border continue to haunt law enforcement at all levels as they attempt to do everything they can to protect innocent men, women, and children from harm.
The skyrocketing numbers from the Tucson sector make it all the more important for government officials and agents on the ground to be as transparent as possible about the handling of this crisis.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The legislative session may be over for the duration of the year in Arizona, but lawmakers are still working on behalf of their constituents.
On Thursday, Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma “announced the creation of a new Ad Hoc Committee on Oversight, Accountability, and Big Tech to learn about emerging legal and constitutional issues surrounding censorship by government officials and social media interference, big tech manipulation of internet platforms, and the use of artificial intelligence.”
✅FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE✅ New Interim Ad Hoc Committee on Oversight, Accountability, and Big Tech Will Examine Government Censorship and Conduct of State Executive Officials.
Freshman Republican Representative Alexander Kolodin was appointed by the Speaker to lead the interim committee as its chair. Speaker Toma also named Representative Neal Carter to the panel. At least one Democrat is expected to be added in the near future.
Kolodin released the following statement in conjunction with the announcement, saying, “Fighting for the First Amendment is an American’s highest calling. With this new committee, I am excited to have the opportunity to do so on behalf of the people of Arizona.”
According to the news release from the Arizona House of Representatives, “the Committee will hold its first public meeting on September 5, 2023, at the State Capitol to hear from leading experts in the fields of focus and to learn more about how potential legislation should be crafted to protect Arizonans’ constitutional rights, including their rights to free speech guaranteed by the U.S. and Arizona Constitutions. The Committee will also explore the proper role of state officials and conduct relevant investigations to ensure that executive officers are fulfilling their constitutional duties.”
The announcement about this new committee follows a report earlier that day from Arizona Capitol Oversight, which released government emails from then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs’ Office, showing that she (and at least two staffers) sent communications to Twitter Support in hopes of the social media platform taking restrictive actions against other accounts with dissenting or unfavorable rhetoric. The Office was also requesting similar actions from the Center for Internet Security and Facebook on other posts.
🚨 Today Arizona Capitol Oversight is releasing exclusive emails from @KatieHobbs' office
Among many attempts to plead with social media platforms to censor opposing viewpoints, Hobbs’ Office took aim at one November 2020 Facebook post from Senator-elect Kelly Townsend over an election-related post, calling it “misinformation” in the subject line and transmitting screenshots and links of the lawmaker’s account. Facebook refused to remove the post, but the reviewers did place a banner below the post that linked to the platform’s Voting Information Center.
Arizona Capitol Oversight concluded its exclusive report by stating that “a number of items within the 100+ pages of emails obtained are auto-generated responses from social media companies confirming that they had received complaints and takedown requests from Hobbs’s government office. The specific demands made by Hobbs and her staff in those complaints/requests – likely submitted to Facebook and Twitter through a back-end portal – are unknown… for now.”
Arizona Republicans were quick to react to the breaking news about the Hobbs’ emails. Former Republican nominee for Attorney General in 2022, Abe Hamadeh, tweeted, “Katie Hobbs utter disregard for the rule of law didn’t just start with censorship. She withheld evidence from the court – and then sought sanctions against me for daring to contest the closest race in AZ history with 9,000 uncounted ballots. This is corruption & an abuse of power.”
Katie Hobbs utter disregard for the rule of law didn’t just start with censorship. She withheld evidence from the court — and then sought sanctions against me for daring to contest the closest race in AZ history with 9,000 uncounted ballots. This is corruption & an abuse of power https://t.co/nQXIPyx3C4
Kari Lake, the Republican’s nominee for Governor in 2022, said, “HUGE: Official emails EXPOSE Katie Hobbs’ corruption in the 2022 election. Not only did she run her own election, but she was actively using her office to CENSOR Kari Lake & the AZGOP. Hobbs attempted to silence our movement to manipulate the outcome of an election. She needs to be held accountable for it.”
HUGE: Official emails EXPOSE @KatieHobbs’ corruption in the 2022 election.
Not only did she run her own election, but she was actively using her office to CENSOR @KariLake & the @AZGOP
Hobbs attempted to silence our movement to manipulate the outcome of an election.
