WaPo Claims Pentagon 'Secretly' Hired Conservative Military Influencers to Push Narratives, Colonels Accused Push Back

The Washington Post (Lean Left bias) reported on Sunday that the Pentagon "secretly" hired "several conservative military veterans with large online followings in government roles" to amplify desired narratives, though the influencers have strongly pushed back on the claim.

The Report: The Post cited "people familiar with the matter and corroborating material" and said some of those hired "have been assigned to civilian roles that could lead to changes in policy." "Neither the Pentagon nor those involved have disclosed" their roles, according to The Post, which said the news contrasts with "the Trump administration's claims that they are running the most transparent Defense Department ever." The Post says those involved include retired colonels Rob Maness, Kurt Schlichter, and Thomas Anderson. The Pentagon reportedly declined to comment on whether the salaries of the three come from taxpayer funds.

The Post's report was picked up by several mainstream news sites on the left. AllSides found coverage from The New Republic (Left), MS NOW (Left), The Bulwark (Left), The Independent (Lean Left), The Daily Beast (Left), and Military.com (Lean Left).

Pushback: Manness wrote on X, "At no time have I ever received any compensation of any kind from any government source of any kind for anything I write or have ever written on X or in any magazine or other source. The same is true for my media appearances in broadcast, cable, and digital media outlets. There are disclaimers on my websites and have been for over a decade since I am a retired officer. Those who claim otherwise defame me. The Washington Post article published about me attempts to establish a context with its subtitle that is completely fabricated, categorically false, and defames me. The article also publishes illegally obtained personally identifiable information from government data sources about me."

Washington Post reporter Dan Lamothe replied, "Since publication of this article, [the colonels] have all now acknowledged being SGE employees for the Pentagon in the past year. They did so… after the Pentagon flatly declined to comment on the issue last week ahead of publication."

In an opinion for Townhall (Right), where he is a senior columnist, Schlichter opened up by criticizing the Washington Post for spelling his name wrong and called the report a "compendium of crap." Schlichter called the headline "a lie," saying "no one was secretly installed in anything." He said the three were appointed by a senior Pentagon official to make "recommendations about the military's war colleges" and that they needed temporary special government employee status to access the proper government information and systems. He said the three – who all have significant civilian workplace experience as well – compiled a 17,500-word report that the Pentagon can take into account if it deems it necessary.

Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.