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the evidence lab · unit 05 · Case File 05

Watching the Watchers

Real surveillance programs make evidence standards more important, not less.

essential question

How can a democracy investigate threats without turning dissent into evidence of guilt?

mission 01 · +40 XP

The 4-minute briefing

not cleared

The textbook-sized gap, closed without the textbook-sized reading.

COINTELPRO was an FBI program that monitored, infiltrated, disrupted, and discredited political organizations. Targets included civil rights groups, Black activists, antiwar organizations, and others. Tactics went beyond intelligence gathering to anonymous letters, planted conflict, pressure on employers, and efforts to damage reputations. A 1971 burglary of an FBI office exposed records to the press.

The Church Committee documented intelligence abuses and helped inspire new oversight rules. This history supports a serious civil-liberties debate: governments face real security threats, but secrecy and weak oversight can make legal political activity a target. The strongest argument distinguishes documented surveillance from vague “shadow government” claims and then debates policy with evidence about power, necessity, and safeguards.

3 ideas that unlock the unit

01

Surveillance and disruption are different

Collecting information is not the same as secretly damaging organizations or relationships. The distinction matters for law and accountability.

02

Secrecy removes ordinary checks

Programs hidden from courts, Congress, and the public can expand beyond their original purpose.

03

Oversight must have tools

Rules matter only if reviewers can access records, question officials, protect whistleblowers, and impose consequences.

mission 02 · +60 XP

Chronology scramble

not cleared

Put all 4 events in order. Choose 1 for earliest and 4 for latest.

review the completed timeline
  1. 1956 · COINTELPRO beginsThe FBI launches covert action against the Communist Party and later expands targets.
  2. 1963 · King surveillance intensifiesThe FBI targets Martin Luther King Jr. with wiretaps and a campaign to discredit him.
  3. 1971 · Citizens expose FBI filesBurglars take documents from an FBI office and send them to journalists.
  4. 1975 · Church Committee hearingsThe Senate publicly investigates intelligence abuses across agencies.
mission 03 · +40 XP

Flip deck

not cleared

Tap each term to reveal the plain-English meaning. Review all 4 cards to clear the mission.

mission 04 · +50 XP

You make the call

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scenario

An agency wants to monitor a political group because one member praised violence online. The group itself organizes lawful protests.

What safeguard matters most?

Choose a move to see what it reveals. Historical decisions rarely come with perfect options.
mission 05 · +100 XP

Boss battle

not cleared

Three open-practice questions. Score 2 out of 3 to clear the boss. You can retry; graded work stays in Google Classroom.

1Which event happened first?

2Which term matches this definition: “Public disagreement with government or prevailing opinion.”

3Which claim best captures this unit?

mission 06 · +30 XP

Exit ticket

not cleared
How can a democracy investigate threats without turning dissent into evidence of guilt?
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