Air Force Releases 'Counter-Blog' Marching Orders

Air Force Releases 'Counter-Blog' Marching Orders

blog.wired.com

Bloggers: If you suddenly find Air Force officers leaving barbed comments after one of your posts, don't be surprised. They're just following the service's new "counter-blogging" flow chart. In a twelve-point plan, put together by the emerging technology division of the Air Force's public affairs arm, airmen are given guidance on how to handle "trolls," "ragers" -- and even well-informed online writers, too. It's all part of an Air Force push to "counter the people out there in the blogosphere who have negative opinions about the U.S. government and the Air Force," Captain David Faggard says.

Over the last couple of years, the armed forces have tried, in fits and starts, to connect more with bloggers. The Army and the Office of the Secretary of Defense now hold regular "bloggers' roundatbles" with generals, colonels, and key civilian leaders. The Navy invited a group of bloggers to embed with them on a humanitarian mission to Central and South America, last summer. Military blogger Michael Yon recently traveled to Afghanistan with Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

In contrast, the Air Force has largely kept the blogosphere at arms' length. Most of the sites are banned from Air Force networks. And the service has mostly stayed away from the Pentagon's blog outreach efforts. Captain Faggard, who's become the Air Force Public Affairs Agency's designated social media guru, has made strides in shifting that attitude. The air service now has a Twitter feed, a blog of its own -- and marching orders, for how to comment on other sites. "We're trying to get people to understand that they can do this," he tells Danger Room.

The flow chart lays out a range of possible responses to a blog post. Airmen can offer a "factual and well-cited response [that] is not factually erroneous, a rant or rage, bashing or negative in nature." They can "let the post stand -- no response." Or they cancan "fix the facts," offering up fresh perspective. No matter what, the chart says, airmen should "disclose your Air Force connection," "respond in a tone that reflects high on the rich heritage of the Air Force," and "focus on the most-used sites related to the Air Force."

Despite the chart's sometimes-stiff language, former military spokesman Steven Field says he's "a fan." Field, who's been occasionally critical of the armed services' blog outreach efforts, tells Danger Room: "I've always thought that a military-like process would be a good bridge to connect the services with the blogosphere. There's a field manual for everything in the military, so this flow-chart presents online communications in a DoD [Department of Defense] friendly format."

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.history.army.mil
www.beaufortonline.com

I know many on ATS will read this article and breath "conspiracy" into it, but I wanted to be the first to put a positive spin on it before someone else got a hold of the information. While I do believe there are conspiracies worthy of attention, the hate I see being directed toward our military is not warranted, and completely unfounded.

I, for one, am glad that at least one of our military branches is reaching out to counter the misinformation and anger that is running rampant. These men and women are our friends, family, and neighbors....they're not no-faced demons without a conscious, and many times (or MOST of the time, rather), they take the fall for things that aren't their fault, or are silent victims of propaganda. They are honorable men and women who have nothing but the best intentions for the free people of this country and the freedoms of oppressed people abroad.

All too often, I see hate and anger aimed directly at our military personnel, without any consideration as to their integrity, intelligence, or intentions. So I'm glad to see "permission" being granted for our personnel to come out and RESPECTFULLY correct misinformation. Most civilians have no idea that they are trained to AVOID confrontations at all costs, especially politically motivated ones. While this helps in preventing a bad P.R. nightmare, it also upholds the strong moral codes that they took oaths to live and defend.

See the related links to see what our military men and women (and Marines) pledge when they raise their right hands. I am still in awe as to how and when it became "uncool" to be the good guy and stand up for what is right. When were the righteous made out to be evil and the evil perceived to be righteous? These are our modern day "knights"....the defenders of justice....the righteous few who are not afraid to pledge their priorities, (for the Marines, it's God first, country second, corps third, then family), and give their lives for something greater than themselves.

I think it's past time that those of us who know better, start standing up a little more firmer, and respectfully, for the ones who are innocently crucified in order to make the evil in the world look less evil....evil-sympathizers, as I call them. People are constantly ripping on the media about propaganda and political agendas, which I happen to agree....yet, they believe everything they say about the military. You can't believe just half of what they say, and leave the other half behind. As a country, we need to desperately move past the idea that if they give biased news presentations about one thing, then NOTHING can be completely trusted from them, to include their views on our military and what's been represented to us regarding the war, (the facts of which would shock most Americans, because it's NOT what the media has portrayed.) I believe that our media is our own worst enemy, and what better way to divide us from within, than to turn us against our own defense system, leaving us vulnerable to far worse dangers?

Well, for what it's worth....Semper Fideles (always faithful)

blog.wired.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Originally posted by emeraldzeus
I, for one, am glad that at least one of our military branches is reaching out to counter the misinformation and anger that is running rampant.

Really?

What about this thread?

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I can appreciate that you would like to see the positive side of our military and indeed there are some positives to focus on.

But the military has been shown to use the media, in effect, to spread misinformation.

I really don't care what kind of smile they are employing to get me to agree with them; they lie and they are good at it.

Already being discussed here:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I believe the topics are two different topics, as an ex airman myself...

The Air Force and Government are two different things, and they arent spreading disinfo. As many of you will disagree with, the Military isn't what you think it is.

However i would like to ask all readers this...

Who of you has never lied to protect another?
Who of you has never lied?
Who of you here is capable of leading and protecting an entire country, state or large groups of people.

I know for a fact that the U.S. Government has protected its people from mass murders, terrorist attacks, and other events that they will never know anything about. There is some corruption in Government, no doubt, but you cannot link two and two because your sociopathic and ignorant...

my 2 cents

First off I highly respect the people I know who have served our country . Many friends and relatives have served . Most are very honorable people .

On the other hand I disagree with what they are asked to do at times. The politicians and political handlers who send these men and women off to do their duty is not always is in our best interests of our country or its citizens .

I feel the use of blogging to repair a image of an armed service branch and its members is nothing sinister about it . Unless the blogging is used to present untrue things as facts or to covertly push a political agenda .

There is a fine line here . The act of defense of a branch and the service men and women is great . But this same system of defense can easily be converted to an another propaganda method . With improper usage truth could be buried under propaganda and public opinion silenced or swayed by the propaganda. And further extension of this program could allow these groups identify people who they feel are anti government and target them for ridicule or forward there blog names to one of the alphabet soup agencys for further investigation.

Like Valhall say's

I don't pay taxes to buy lies!

These dark knights you talk of, are these the same that through the puppy over the cliff?? Are they the same that work with the police to suppress our rights?

I'll believe that they are defenders of US the people they are suppose to defend when I see them stand up for us, not cracking our heads with riot batons, disobeying their governments illegal orders and locking up those that are responsible.

They are breaking the law just by wandering our streets with weapons. They shouldn't be policing their own nation. What they're doing on the web is also breaking the law. Invasion of privacy...



That's when I will really trust the military. Speaking as an 26yr vet....

[edit on 9-1-2009 by AllTiedTogether]

Just disable your comments on your blogs randomly, that would be one easy way to fluster them, especially on posts relevant to their agendas.

reply to post by jerico65


It is NOT the same topic. First of all, the member who started that thread only linked to an image, not an article. A search for the same topic I was posting on did not reveal this thread, or any other. Perhaps it is because I'm not entertaining the conspiracy theory?

Second, the name of the other thread is of an opinion....I named this thread to coincide with the name of the article. No one else has posted this article.

Third, the other thread is anti-military/anti-government all the way. Mine is positive in nature.

As far as military analysts go (to the other person who mentioned another thread), I will state my opinion with objectivity. It's a good thing you all don't run our justice system, otherwise people would be condemned and guilty before they were tried. PBS is not an innocent network either, and it's owners have their dirty little political fingers in the pie as well. Six of one, half dozen of the other....the information is only as good as its source, and I would highly question their motives for doing so. I'm not saying that those retired military personnel weren't offered jobs as favors, or whatever, but I'm saying that everything in that report is here-say. No proof, and certainly not objective or unbiased.

Now, let me make it clear....I don't side with ANYONE except our active duty folks. But let's say a country with one of the world's most powerful military's has problems keeping it's spoiled children (the media) from creating discord in it's own back yard....wouldn't the natural defense be to organize a expert team to dispel propaganda? Not saying the Pentagon is innocent....I'm just saying that they'll likely play the same exact game the media is playing.

Here's one for you.....all these networks....they're all owned by a select few who have their fingers in the military pie. Don't believe me? Follow the paperwork and the money trail! Now, why on earth have they hated the Bush administration so much, you ask? Is it possible that the same people who own these networks, also own stocks/shares in companies that bid for military contracts? Hmmmm....so those that vote for certain presidents, are ensured certain "payback".....those networks who have to live through a presidency which they didn't vote for, well, they make darn sure the American public hates them by the end of their term.

Follow the money folks, it's not hard. This goes way, WAY beyond republican and democrat issues.

Semantics.

That Wired article is referenced in the other thread.

Breaking? I think not.

I am exhausted by all of the duplicate threads on the board lately. For the love of mike, use the search people!

emeraldzeus is one of the airmen been spoken of in this article. I can see a few of his buddies in this too.

Reminds me of a fellow named Yukon. You guys might know him. Alaska, Very active, Very irritating, very obvious. Just like the OP.

reply to post by kosmicjack


If the mods want to remove this, then fine. However, I ran a search, and this article didn't come up, nor did the other thread.

This article is brand new....so "breaking news" certainly fit the description for me. If it doesn't, then pray tell, what does? Mods, if you want to take it off, then it's fine by me. I'm still fairly new here. It wasn't my intention to repeat info, even if the article was new.

If I was referenced in another thread, I certainly don't know about it....I don't have "buddies" here, and I am not an airman.

This is just another propaganda campaign by the Pentagon. Period. We know you lie, we know you commit crimes, and we know that you sprinkle your BS with glitter so that it may shine.

reply to post by emeraldzeus


I don't think you are an airman, the search doesn't always work and your thread title is way better than the other.

*peace*

Originally posted by emeraldzeus
It is NOT the same topic. First of all, the member who started that thread only linked to an image, not an article. A search for the same topic I was posting on did not reveal this thread, or any other. Perhaps it is because I'm not entertaining the conspiracy theory?

Second, the name of the other thread is of an opinion....I named this thread to coincide with the name of the article. No one else has posted this article.

Third, the other thread is anti-military/anti-government all the way. Mine is positive in nature.

Easy, biscuit. You're getting excited over nothing.

If you had actually read the other ATS thread that I linked, you'd have seen your exact same article on the first post, second page.

being posted inside of a post is not the same as the material of the topic post, clearly the OP has posted an entirely different topic jericho, contribute please.

I dont know who the other poster was but you Sir are paranoid and should seek medical attention... i do not know nor am I connected to anyone in this entire forum... so seriously... just because two people believe similar things does not make them of the same origin or group or other things.

I dont know about you but If the Military has anything positive to contribute then by all means they have the right to do so. I dont know what it is with the paranoia in this country but it has gone way up. I have also noticed a lot of ATS inhabitants are slightly paranoid, and some majorly paranoid, I wonder if any of this is in connection to the internet usage, radiation from screens, absense of social life, or other characteristics related to being around a computer too much.

but anyways. again... A lot of people have said horrible things about the military and make up lies, in this day and age the INTERNET is the new battleground, I believe the U.S. has a right to protect its intrests, they arent controlling forums they are adding to them, people still have their civil rights and will remain in touch with them. Sooo... Again...

CONTRIBUTE TO THE TOPIC PLEASE.

reply to post by rjmelter

CONTRIBUTE TO THE TOPIC PLEASE.

I believe that everyone making any kind of derogatory statement about the military provided ample validation for the statement or it was understood by the majority. I think they "Contributed" greatly as they prevent a slanting of the threads that appears more and more these days....

Rgds

reply to post by rjmelter


"I believe the topics are two different topics, as an ex airman myself... "

The Flowchart told you to say that.

That is why you used it as your opening line - just as the flowchart recommends you should...

You are playing for the wrong team.

Semper Fi

reply to post by Exuberant1


I agree, he is playing for the wrong team...

Part of the problem is that their accts are monitored and they can't say what they really want to say or they get cut off. The military expects them to do this on their own time probably, which would add to the stress of the family. but defend the military they will, no matter what... that is till a son or daughter is targeted for making comments on blogs.... Part of their protocol is to report to HQ anything they deem suspicious and .... doesn't matter what they call it, you know that comments like this and others similar are being sent to someone with IPs linked etc... If this sounds far fetched then consider this... who started the Internet? The U.S. Military....

This is an InfoWar....