US Department of Labor's 'Americans First' social media campaign draws criticism for depiction of workforce

DENVER — A recent social media campaign created by the U.S. Department of Labor is garnering a lot of criticism not only for its similarities to post-war era government propaganda, but for a narrow depiction of American workers.

Launched in September, Project Firewall is a crackdown on abuse of the H-1B visa program. On social media, the Department of Labor has turned to a particular Norman Rockwell-like style to promote hiring American citizens over foreign workers.

Each image is of almost exclusively white males, with headlines like "Build your Homeland's Future" and "Americans First."

One post features an actual Norman Rockwell painting , Freedom of Speech, from 1943. The Department of Labor headline above the artwork is: “American Jobs should go to American Workers.”

The posts