The Pentagon has engaged military veterans and conservative figures to support the political initiatives of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as reported by the Washington Post on Sunday.
Among those influencers are retired Air Force Colonel Rob Maness, retired Army Colonel and Townhall columnist Kurt Schlichter, and another retired Army Colonel known as Cynical Publius. The report highlights that Maness and Schlichter had official government email addresses just a week prior to the publication, with a “.civ” suffix indicating their civilian roles.
Earlier in the year, Anderson was included in Department of War records with a similar “.civ” email address, but he wasn’t listed when the article came out. All three individuals were reportedly connected to Anthony Tata’s office, the undersecretary of war for personnel and readiness. The Washington Post noted that some of these influencers were placed in civilian roles that might influence policy changes.
Maness boasts over 135,000 followers on X, Schlichter has close to 620,000, while Anderson’s Cynical Publius account has over 320,000 followers.
The matter of social media influencers who don’t disclose their governmental connections or ties to various lobbies has gained attention lately. For instance, MAGA influencer Jennica Pounds, known as DataRepublican, was identified as a special government employee after alleging a government official tried to entice her into leaking classified information. She admitted to working for the Pentagon since July, following her stint with the press corps.
Anderson stated that the Department of War reached out to him after he published an article for the conservative site American Greatness. His piece, titled “Making the War Colleges Great Again,” caught the interest of Pentagon officials, leading to his involvement in a task force focused on senior service colleges.
He expressed his belief in serving the country, clarifying he had never received any compensation from any government source for his writings, and insisted any contrary claims are defamatory.
Schlichter addressed the issues in a Townhall column, asserting that he, Maness, and Anderson were hired to evaluate the military’s war colleges and suggest improvements based on their extensive experience. He emphasized that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) wasn’t the main goal, but rather how to prepare future military leaders for modern warfare challenges.
Schlichter continued to clarify that their responsibilities did not include social media activities, debunking claims that they were paid to promote issues publicly. They conducted site visits, interviews, and reviews of educational materials to develop their report, contrary to the notion of a “secret” operation.
Following the Washington Post’s claims, X users brought attention to past statements by Anderson criticizing influencers involved in the Trump administration during the release of the Epstein binders.
He once remarked, “As soon as you allow yourself to be fed privileged information from the government, you cease to be independent.” This comment hints at the complexities of maintaining integrity in the media landscape.
The Daily Caller reached out to the Department of War for additional comment.
