Behind the Scenes in Private Facebook Groups for America Special Forces Vets

Carol E. Lee, reporting for NBC News:

They’re the most elite, lethally trained members of the U.S. military, widely considered the best of the best. And yet in secret Facebook groups exclusively for special operations forces that were accessed by NBC News, they share misinformation about a “stolen” 2020 election, disparaging and racist comments about America’s political leadership and even QAnon conspiracy theories.

Among the hundreds of Facebook posts NBC News reviewed from forums for current and former Rangers, Green Berets and other elite warriors: a member of a special forces group lamenting that several aides to former Vice President Mike Pence were part of a “Concerted effort by the thieves and pedophiles walking the hallowed halls of the peoples government” to undermine former President Donald Trump.

“In a just world, they would have already been taken out behind the court house and shot,” another member commented.

Without Facebook these views would still exist, but Facebook is the accelerant that gives these groups critical mass.

Update: Tess Owen, reporting for Vice last June: “The U.S. Military Has a Boogaloo Problem” — all about private Facebook groups. Facebook knows about these groups, and have for years.

★ Sunday, 18 April 2021