Online presence is more important than ever to get an organization’s message out to the public and other interested parties. The United States federal government inspector generals (IG), also known as watchdog groups, should understand that these platforms can help get the message about protecting taxpayers from fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. This document provides an assessment of each of the federal IGs’ online presence as of October 18, 2025.
Methodology
- Identified IGs with official websites as part of online presence.
- Identified IGs with official Instagram, YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), and Linkedin accounts for determining online presence.
- Excluded TikTok from the assessment due to ongoing determination on its status in the United States and that its use is restricted among federal agencies.
- Based on the four social media platforms, obtained the number of followers for each of the IGs with accounts.
- Using a follower count threshold to categorize IGs into the following influencer groups: nano- (less than 10,000), micro- (10,000 to 100,000), macro- (100,001 to 1 million), and mega- (greater than 1 million). As of October 2025, recent research appears to show a consensus of the current threshold. However, this threshold is subject to change with updated threshold.
- Summarize the results of the assessment.
Results
We identified 74 IGs within the United States federal government. Each of these IGs perform audits, evaluations, and investigations of the respective parent agency.
| Agriculture | Legal Services Corporation |
| Amtrak | Library of Congress |
| Appalachian Regional Commission | National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) |
| Architect of the Capitol | National Archives & Records Administration (NARA) |
| Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) | National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) |
| Department of Commerce | National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) |
| Commodity Futures Trading Commission | National Endowment for the Humanities |
| Consumer Product Safety Commission | National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency |
| AmeriCorps | National Labor Relations Board |
| Corporation for Public Broadcasting | National Reconnaissance Office |
| Department of Defense (also known as War) | National Security Agency (NSA) |
| Defense Intelligence Agency | National Science Foundation (NSF) |
| Denali Commission | Nuclear Regulatory Commission |
| Department of Education | Office of the Intelligence Community |
| Election Assistance Commission (EAC) | Office of Personnel Management (OPM) |
| Department of Energy | Peace Corps |
| Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) | Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation |
| Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) | Railroad Retirement Board |
| Export-Import Bank of the United States | Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) |
| Farm Credit Administration | Small Business Administration (SBA) |
| Federal Communications Commission (FCC) | Smithsonian Institution |
| Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) | Social Security Administration (SSA) |
| Federal Election Commission (FEC) | Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) |
| Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) | Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) |
| Federal Labor Relations Authority | Department of State |
| Federal Maritime Commission | Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) |
| Federal Reserve Board/Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection | Department of Transportation |
| Federal Trade Commission (FTC) | Department of the Treasury |
| General Services Administration (GSA) | Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) |
| Government Accountability Office (GAO) | U.S. Agency for International Development (U.S. AID) |
| Government Printing Office (GPO) | U.S. Capitol Police |
| Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) | U.S. International Trade Commission |
| Department of Homeland Security (DHS) | U.S. Postal Service |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) | Department of Veterans Affairs |
| Department of the Interior | Committee for Purchase From the People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled (AbilityOne Program) |
| Department of Justice | Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR) |
| Department of Labor | U.S. International Development Finance Corporation |
Website Domains
All 74 IGs have a website that provides visitors, the public, and interested parties a source to find out about the past, current, and pending audits, evaluations, and investigations of the respective parent agency’s programs and funding. In addition, many of these sites include information such as 1) about us, 2) organization information, 3) updates, 4) contact information, 5) events, 6) reports, 7) audit recommendation status, and 8) media.
On Instagram, owned by Meta, eight of the 74 IGs, or 11 percent, had an account for visitors to obtain visual and audio posts about the work. For each of the Instagram accounts, we identified the account and the number of followers for each of the eight IGs. We ranked each of the IGs from largest to smallest number of Instagram followers.
| Inspector General | Followers |
| GAO | 5,537 |
| U.S. AID | 2,230 |
| HHS | 937 |
| Postal | 402 |
| Defense | 240 |
| SSA | 191 |
| GSA | 85 |
| Federal Reserve Board/Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection | 1 |
While these eight IGs have Instagram accounts, the number of followers is low and below 10,000. Some experienced in social media metrics would consider these IGs as nano influencers with followers less than 10,000. However, the low participation rate within the federal IG community does raise questions about the effectiveness of the IGs in reaching out to interested parties through Instagram.
YouTube
On YouTube, owned by Google, 18 of the 74 IGs, or 24 percent, had an account for visitors to view posts about its work. For each YouTube account, we identified the account and the number of followers for each of the 18 IGs. We ranked each of the IGs from largest to smallest number of YouTube followers.
| Inspector General | Followers |
| GAO | 6,600 |
| HHS | 5,100 |
| Justice | 1,800 |
| Veterans Affairs | 1,360 |
| SSA | 948 |
| TIGTA | 913 |
| Postal | 767 |
| NASA | 450 |
| Defense | 317 |
| HUD | 303 |
| Interior | 258 |
| State | 252 |
| FDIC | 209 |
| SIGAR | 144 |
| U.S. AID | 50 |
| Labor | 29 |
| OPM | 8 |
| SIGPR | 1 |
While 18 IGs have YouTube accounts, the follower counts are low and below 10,000. Using the follower count threshold, these IGs could be considered as nano influencers with followers less than 10,000. However, the low participation rate within the federal IG community does raise questions about the effectiveness of the IGs in reaching out to interested parties through YouTube. Given how YouTube is becoming more of source for viewership, more IGs should be using this social media platform to communicate to viewers about the work conducted.
X formerly Twitter
On X, 34 of the 74 IGs, or 46 percent, have an account for visitors to view posts related its work. For each X account, we identified the account and the number of followers for each of the 34 IGs. We ranked each of the IGs from largest to smallest number of X followers.
| Inspector General | Followers |
| SIGAR | 170,115 |
| GAO | 55,255 |
| Defense | 32,319 |
| HHS | 21,627 |
| State | 18,119 |
| Postal | 17,320 |
| SSA | 16,308 |
| DHS | 11,951 |
| Veterans Affairs | 8,246 |
| Interior | 7,702 |
| NASA | 7,386 |
| GSA | 6,752 |
| Transportation | 6,390 |
| EPA | 5,774 |
| Labor | 5,123 |
| Commerce | 4,447 |
| HUD | 4,199 |
| Federal Reserve Board/Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection | 4,157 |
| SBA | 3,207 |
| Peace Corps | 2,874 |
| Amtrak | 2,711 |
| FDIC | 2,581 |
| Energy | 2,453 |
| NSF | 1,271 |
| NSA | 1,227 |
| AmeriCorps | 1,158 |
| TIGTA | 757 |
| Smithsonian Institution | 749 |
| SIGPR | 501 |
| FCC | 392 |
| U.S. AID | 190 |
| U.S. International Development Finance Corporation | 178 |
| EEOC | 28 |
| FHFA | 2 |
34 IGs have X accounts to communicate its work to followers and other interested parties. Of the 34, only one IG has more than 100,000 followers. Specifically, SIGAR has 170,115 followers paying attention to X posts. In follower counts, SIGAR could be considered a macro influencer with followers between 100,001 to 1 million. Seven IGs could be considered micro influencers with followers between 10,000 to 100,000. The remaining 26 IGs could be considered nano influencers with less than 10,000 followers. While there were more IGs using X more than the other three social media platforms, having more involved would help strengthen the federal IG communities’ message on preventing fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement of federal programs, projects, and funds.
On Linkedin (owned by Microsoft), 21 of the 74 IGs, or 28 percent, have an account for visitors to view posts related its work. For each Linkedin account, we identified the account and the number of followers for each of the 21 IGs. We ranked each of the IGs from largest to smallest number of Linkedin followers.
| Inspector General | Followers |
| Veterans Affairs | 104,569 |
| GAO | 69,992 |
| HHS | 52,436 |
| Postal | 34,340 |
| Defense | 29,428 |
| State | 13,732 |
| SSA | 9,394 |
| U.S. AID | 7,803 |
| HUD | 7,365 |
| Interior | 6,831 |
| TIGTA | 2,715 |
| Amtrak | 2,180 |
| Federal Reserve Board/Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection | 2,130 |
| NASA | 1,778 |
| Transportation | 1,285 |
| FCC | 1,212 |
| FDIC | 978 |
| Commerce | 833 |
| Labor | 755 |
| EEOC | 164 |
| U.S. International Development Finance Corporation | 125 |
21 IGs have Linkedin accounts to communicate to followers and other interested parties. Of the 21, only one IG has more than 100,000 followers. Specifically, Veterans Affairs has 104,569 followers on the social media platform. Taking into consideration follower counts, Veterans Affairs could be considered a macro influencer with followers between 100,001 to 1 million. Five IGs could be considered micro influencers with followers between 10,000 to 100,000. The remaining 15 IGs could be considered nano influencers with less than 10,000 followers. Linkedin is an important social platform due to the number of professionals, industry groups, nonprofit, and businesses that use it. The fact that this a low participation rate and followers indicate that the IG community needs to assess its approach to using Linkedin. This platform could provide IGs with the media needed to reach key stakeholders on addressing waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement of programs, projects, and funds.
Across the Four Social Media Platforms Reviewed
A combination of the IGs’ followers from each of the four social media platforms gives an overview of the how many individuals and organizations are following these federal watchdog agencies for insight in the work performed in the United States.
| Inspector General | Followers |
| SIGAR | 170,259 |
| GAO | 137,384 |
| Veterans Affairs | 114,175 |
| HHS | 80,100 |
| Defense | 62,304 |
| Postal | 52,829 |
| State | 32,103 |
| SSA | 26,841 |
| Interior | 14,791 |
| DHS | 11,951 |
| HUD | 11,867 |
| U.S. AID | 10,273 |
| NASA | 9,614 |
| Transportation | 7,675 |
| GSA | 6,837 |
| Federal Reserve Board/Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection | 6,288 |
| Labor | 5,907 |
| EPA | 5,774 |
| Commerce | 5,280 |
| Amtrak | 4,891 |
| TIGTA | 4,385 |
| FDIC | 3,768 |
| SBA | 3,207 |
| Peace Corps | 2,874 |
| Energy | 2,453 |
| Justice | 1,800 |
| FCC | 1,604 |
| NSF | 1,271 |
| NSA | 1,227 |
| AmeriCorps | 1,158 |
| Smithsonian Institution | 749 |
| SIGPR | 502 |
| U.S. International Development Finance Corporation | 303 |
| EEOC | 192 |
| OPM | 8 |
| FHFA | 2 |
Combining each of the IGs’ follower counts across the four social media platforms provide more context into these federal agencies’ online presence. Based on the combined follower counts, three IGs have follower counts more than 100,000. These three IGs could be considered macro influencers (100,001 to 1 million). Nine IGs could be considered micro influencers with follower counts between 10,000 to 100,000. 24 IGs had follower counts less than 10,000, or considered nano influencers.
Takeaway
Social media is an important tool for organizations to use in communicating to interested parties. Each of the social media platforms reviewed can serve its purposes in getting your message out to specific target groups.
For the federal IG community, it is important to maximize the use of social media and the various platforms to help get its message out to the public and organizations. The use of social media helps better educate interested parties about the audit, evaluation, and investigative work performed to protect taxpayers and beneficiaries of federal programs. Also, social media can prove to be a useful source for accurate and complete information in minimizing fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement of federal programs, projects, and funds. The IGs can use social media to highlight positive results to help organizations adopt potential practices that can meet program objectives.
While 74 IGs have website domains, more can be done to complement these sites through the active use of social media. There is still a need for a website to allow visitors to gain more in-depth information about the IGs. Many of these websites are a repository of information that visitors can obtain for educational, business, and other areas that can prove opportunistic. Having a strong social media presence can help drive visitors to the IGs’ work. In other words, social media provides visitors with an appetizer of content that can lead them to your website for the main meal of deeper insight, information, and understanding. Investing in social media should not be an afterthought, but a vital strategy for IGs in this fast-paced information age. Because if you are telling your story, someone else will.
For more information about this white paper or listings of the IGs’ social media accounts, please contact us at info@ccompliancegroup.com.