Doge's HR Email Spammed with 'Bee Movie' Script

Elon Musk's Directive to Federal Employees Sparks Online Backlash

Recently, Elon Musk, owner of the X platform (acquired for $44 billion), polled his followers regarding a potential requirement for federal employees. The proposal involved these employees submitting a weekly list of five accomplishments to his team.

Implementation of the New Policy

The poll yielded a majority 'yes' vote, exceeding 70%, prompting Musk to enact the change. Consequently, federal employees received a communication from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) over the weekend.

This email requested the submission of their weekly accomplishment reports by 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday.

Musk's Statement and Potential Consequences

Musk announced the initiative on X, referencing instructions from former President Donald Trump. He stated, “Consistent with [President Donald Trump’s] instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week.”

A failure to respond to the request, Musk declared, would be considered a resignation.

Online Resistance and Spam Campaigns

Given the large number of federal employees and the leak of the email address associated with the DOGE team, social media users have begun organizing a response.

Individuals on platforms like Reddit, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky are encouraging each other to flood the email address with irrelevant content.

Precedents for Online Protest

This tactic of overwhelming systems with disruptive submissions is not new. It has been utilized in response to controversial online forms and publicly available email addresses.

For example, an anti-trans “snitch form” in Missouri was taken offline after being inundated with the entire script of the “Bee Movie” – a popular internet meme.

Similar responses occurred with a Texas state inbox tracking gender marker changes and an anti-trans bathroom complaint form in Utah.

The Role of Online Communities

These online protests often originate within specific communities, such as the K-pop fandom.

In 2020, following the death of George Floyd, Dallas police requested video submissions of illegal protest activity. Instead, fans of Korean artists like BTS flooded the police department’s app with unrelated fancam videos.

Historical Context: Targeting DEI Programs

Detractors of former President Trump have employed similar strategies since the beginning of his administration.

Dedicated email accounts were established to solicit reports of noncompliance with executive orders aimed at dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

Employees faced threats of unspecified “adverse consequences” for withholding information regarding efforts to conceal the link between DEI initiatives and government contracts.

New Email Infrastructure and Security Concerns

While the OPM is an established agency, the specific email addresses used for this initiative are newly created.

In January, a test email was sent to all government workers to assess the functionality of a new mass communication system.

This action led to a class-action lawsuit filed by two whistleblowers, alleging that the creation of this new email server without adhering to established security protocols violates federal privacy law.

Past Security Breaches at OPM

These security protocols are crucial, considering the OPM experienced a significant data breach in 2015.

Sensitive data from security clearance background checks – including Social Security numbers of 21.5 million individuals and biometric data from 1.1 million – was compromised.

Musk’s DOGE team has been granted substantial access to government systems with limited opposition.

Potential Limitations of the Spam Campaign

The effectiveness of the mass spam campaign remains uncertain.

Since individuals without .gov email addresses cannot send messages to the system, Musk’s team may be able to filter incoming emails accordingly.

Alternatively, the inbox could become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of submissions, potentially exceeding the data capacity of the server.

Continued Resistance

Despite the potential for futility, those opposing Musk’s policies remain undeterred, recognizing the simplicity of actions like copying and pasting the “Bee Movie” script into an email.