Drawing by Nathaniel St. Clair

Elon Musk’s DOGE has taken a particularly keen interest in Social Security – and not in a good way. Musk called the program a Ponzi Scheme and has made wildly false allegations about fraud. Nonetheless, DOGE is actively working inside the Social Security Administration, to the deep frustration of current and former staffers.

According to recent media reports, Social Security will no longer allow certain banking changes to be made over the phone, and will require some beneficiaries to visit regional offices – while the administration also seeks to cut jobs and close some field offices.

It goes without saying that Musk’s misleading rhetoric is alarming. But it’s even more alarming that someone purveying such blatant misinformation is effectively in charge of Social Security’s day-to-day operations.

WIth that in mind, here are five things that Musk hopes you don’t already know about Social Security.

1. There is No Serious ‘Fraud’ Problem with Social Security

To put it plainly – millions of dead people aren’t getting Social Security checks. This Musk claim was easily debunked; unfortunately, that did not prevent Donald Trump from repeating it on numerous occasions.

Beyond this falsehood, there is no other evidence that the system has a substantial problem with fraud. In 2024, an inspector general report found that there had been $71 billion in improper payments over a seven-year-period; about one-third of those payments were recovered. This amounts to roughly

© CounterPunch