IE 11 Not Supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

North Dakota Sheriff Denies Tracking Facebook Check-Ins at Standing Rock

The Morton County Sheriff’s office denied on Monday that it was tracking Dakota Access Pipeline protesters’ Facebook “check-ins” after a social-media campaign flooded the network.

(TNS) --The Morton County Sheriff’s office denied on Monday that it was tracking Dakota Access Pipeline protesters’ Facebook “check-ins” after a social-media campaign flooded the network.

Over the weekend, thousands of people began “checking in” to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in an attempt to thwart the alleged tracking.

 

Then, after checking in, people would post a message to friends and family, making it clear exactly what they were doing. You might have seen a message like this pop up in your feed:

It’s unclear whether the social media effort originated with the protesters in North Dakota, but the sheriff denies it follows the check-ins.

Last week, the confrontation between protesters and police came to a head. Dozens were arrested as authorities in riot gear and with armored personnel carriers broke up highway barricades and a camp on pipeline developers’ property that was set up earlier in the week. Hundreds of protesters remain at the initial camp to the south.

©2016 The Seattle Times Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.