Pentagon secretly hiring military influencers in social media push – WaPo

The Pentagon has secretly hired conservative military veterans with a large social media following for undisclosed government roles, The Washington Post reported on Sunday. The influencers have promoted US War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s views while attacking critics of the Trump administration, the newspaper claimed.

The report comes amid President Donald Trump’s push to eliminate what his administration calls “woke” ideology from the military and his longstanding clashes with mainstream media.

According to the Post, those hired include retired Air Force Colonel Rob Maness and retired Army Colonels Kurt Schlichter and Thomas Anderson. Some of their assignments could influence policy, the newspaper claims, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.

All three have reportedly received official civilian email accounts and been assigned to the office of Pentagon personnel chief Anthony Tata. His team has been tasked with addressing “culture-war issues,” including reviewing military colleges for “woke” ideology, according to the Post.

The newspaper goes on to cite a late August dispute involving conservative influencer Jennica Pounds as an example of the Pentagon’s social media efforts.