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Arizona is shaming ‘deadbeat’ dads on social media

Arizona is shaming ‘deadbeat’ dads on social media

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'Man up, and pay up.'

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Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced yesterday the state would begin publicly shaming fathers who owe child support by posting on Twitter their names, photos, and the amount of child support they owe. The Twitter account, run by the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES), has already shamed its first dad — and Ducey plans to shame a whole lot more.

"For too long, you’ve been able to remain anonymous, able to skirt your financial and legal responsibilities with no shame," Ducey said during his State of the State address on Monday. "Well here’s a new one for all the deadbeat dads out there: effective immediately, the state is going to begin posting the photos, names and money owed by these losers to social media, with the hashtag ‘#deadbeat.'”

Arizona has already shamed its first dad on Twitter

The issue dates back to a 1999 law requiring the DES to post names and photos of individuals who owe child support to its website. Ducey, who said he's referred to as the "hasthtag governor," apparently wants to take it a step further for 421 parents who owe what the state considers to be a significant amount in overdue child support, a DES spokeswoman told CNN Monday. Ducey ended the announcement with a stern ultimatum: "If you don’t want your embarrassing — unlawful — and irresponsible behavior going viral: man up, and pay up."