Every day, scores of US military commands reach millions with posts aimed to inform and inspire: videos of valor, motivational photos, and, yes, puppy pics.
The military has codified the rules for managing these official accounts. But sometimes these social-media pros flub it — even the four-star command responsible for the US’s nuclear weapons.
Here’s a blooper reel of some of the military’s most embarrassing and dumb social-media mistakes since 2016.
‘#Ready to drop something much, much bigger’
US Strategic Command
US Strategic Command, which oversees the US’s nuclear arsenal, ringed in 2019 with a reminder that they’re ready, at any time, to start a nuclear war.
Playing off the image of the ball dropping in New York City’s Times Square, STRATCOM’s official account posted a tweet that included a clip of a B-2 dropping bombs. The command apologized for the message.
Read more: US Strategic Command apologizes for tweeting a ‘pump up’ video about dropping nuclear bombs
#BRRRT
USAF / Senior Airman Corey Hook
In May 2018, the internet was debating whether the word heard on a short audio recording was "Yanny" or "Laurel." Then the US Air Force joined the debate, referring to a recent strike on Taliban.
"The Taliban Forces in Farah city #Afghanistan would much rather have heard #Yanny or #Laurel than the deafening #BRRRT they got courtesy of our #A10," the official US Air Force Twitter account said.
The A-10 gunship carries a fearsome 30mm cannon used to destroy buildings, shred ground vehicles, and kill insurgents. It can fire so rapidly — nearly 3,900 rounds a minute — that the sound of each bullet is indistinguishable from the previous one, blending into a thundering "BRRRT."
The US Air Force apologized for the tweet and deleted it, acknowledging it was in "poor taste."
‘I’m like really smart now’
imdb.com
In January 2018, President Donald Trump fired off a flurry a tweets defending himself in response to the headline-grabbing details in Michael Wolff’s book, "Fire and Fury."
Trump said he was "like, really smart" and "a very stable genius."
That prompted a tweet from comedian Mindy Kaling from her character in the office, with the caption: "You guys, I’m like really smart now, you don’t even know."
The US Army’s official Twitter account liked Kaling’s tweet, to which she replied: "#armystrong"
By the following day, the US Army had unliked the tweet.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- These 6 states have National Guard forces that could rival a foreign army
- Here’s everything you need to know if you want to join the US Army
- With just $60 and internet access, researchers found and tracked NATO troops and even tricked them into disobeying orders
SEE ALSO: The 27 most powerful images of the US military in 2018
Source: Business Insider – sfellman@businessinsider.com (Sam Fellman)