The White House's secret weapon on Twitter is a 24-year-old staffer named Jessica Allen.
Officially called the "media monitor," Allen keeps a close eye on journalists' tweets and sends out alerts to administration aides if anything is off, Yahoo News reported.
Allen's mass emails to flag tweets for various reasons go to more than 80 Obama aides, who in turn call or email the reporters who are covering the president.
While she doesn't flag personal comments, Allen looks for tweets that could be considered "inaccurate, incomplete or unfair" by the administration. Along with emails about breaking news, Allen can easily send hundreds of missives each day.
The number amps up when President Obama speaks to the media. Allen, who worked as press intern for Obama's re-election campaign during her senior year at Northwestern University, sometimes sends 10 to 12 emails with five or six tweets apiece just to round up Twitter comments about the president's opening statement.
The White House generally doesn't respond in the public forum of Twitter, with aides instead picking up the phone or sending an email directly to the reporter. When the administration does engage, it's generally because a Republican official is part of the exchange, the White House needs to emphasize a point or the administration could be politically benefited by escalating an exchange, Democratic officials told Yahoo News.
As a mostly public space, journalists' tweets are often considered to be part of their work. Twitter is also intended to be a place for open discussion, something that makes it a prime political tool.
"When you see, say, [White House senior adviser Dan] Pfeiffer engaging on Twitter, those are the times that he does want it escalated," a Democratic operative told Yahoo News. "It's a medium that's designed for argument."
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