U.S. Military: “Liking” Some Social Media Posts Could Be “Extremist Activity”

The U.S. Army issued new rules on Wednesday, explaining what it considers extremist activity among service members, which includes liking certain social media posts.

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“Engaging in electronic and cyber activities regarding extremist activities, or groups
that support extremist activities-including posting, liking, sharing, re-tweeting, or otherwise distributing content-when such action is taken with the intent to promote or otherwise endorse extremist activities. Military personnel are responsible for the content they publish on all personal and public internet domains, including social media platforms, blogs, websites, and applications,” said the U.S. Army Rules.

The new rules, which apply to army personal both on and off of military bases, also prohibit service members from displaying any symbols, words, or paraphernalia supporting “extremism.”

This activity could include merely wearing t-shirts featuring slogans deemed extremist by the military or displaying bumper stickers.

The Army holds its members to different standards than those applied to the civilian population, meaning that service members can be prosecuted in military court for “extremist” activity, which would normally be considered protected speech under the First Amendment.

The Army’s definition of extremism includes anything calling for the overthrow of the U.S. government, advocating the use of violence or other illegal means to deprive someone of legal rights, or supporting widespread discrimination.

The Biden Administration, however, has a track record of cracking down on political dissidents, and it is unclear if any of these rules could be used to punish conservatives in the military.

In some cases, the Biden Administration has prosecuted Americans for praying outside of abortion clinics, claiming that they were illegally blocking access to the buildings.

The new extremism guidelines could possibly consider a social media post condemning abortion and calling for protests or prayers outside of one as extremist since it might constitute illegal activity.

A service member who then likes or re-tweets the post could then be subject to military penalties for supporting a cause which advocates “illegal activity.”

If an Army official is notified of suspected extremist activity, he is required to bring the allegation up the chain of command, where the concerns will ultimately be reviewed by the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Inspector General for Diversity and Inclusion and Extremism in the Military, Theresa Hull.

The new rules regarding Army extremism are an expansion of the 2020 rules, which banned online “hazing, bullying, harassment, discriminatory harassment, stalking, retaliation, or any other types of misconduct that undermines dignity and respect,” but did not explicitly prohibit liking certain social media posts.