Conservative influencers skew the Defense Department’s routine policy review

This article will be available in Spanish ro El Tiempo Latino.

Quick pick up

The Defense Department issued a standard policy review in September of existing procedures for the intelligence community. Some social media accounts distorted the language and timing of the update to falsely claim that the military was recently authorized “To use lethal force on Americans!!”

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The Department of Defense issued an update POLICY regarding information gathering on September 27.

The update did not add new rules or expand military authority. It merely described an existing policy from other protocols related to the use of force.

But some conservative influencers misrepresented the revised policy, claiming that “NOW includes the legal use of lethal force against civilians by the military,” or that “the US military was only ‘authorized to kill Americans on US soil.’

Others went in a decidedly political direction, claiming: “DoD quietly expands military powers just weeks before 2024 election”, and “Biden and Harris Authorize Military to Use Lethal Force on Americans!”

An analysis from the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public shows that as of Oct. 16, there were thousands of posts and engagements on both mainstream and niche social media platforms. On that date, there were over 250 new posts in a 12-hour period on “alternative tech” platforms such as Truth Social and Rumble.

But the claims in those posts weren’t true.

The policy in question is Department of Defense Directive 5240.01which sets forth the procedures to be followed by intelligence workers in the Department of Defense. The The US has 18 different intelligence units and nine of them are within the Department of Defense, including the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the intelligence offices for the various branches of the military.

“The previous revision of DoDD 5240.01 was issued on March 22, 2019,” DoD spokeswoman Sue Gough told us in an email. “The reissuance of 5240.01 was part of the Department’s normal activities to periodically update guidance and policies.”

The procedure for reissuing such policies involves five stages of development and review and takes at least six months, according to department instructions.

“The release was in no way timed around the election or any other event,” Gough said.

Furthermore, the part of the revised policy that is the focus of most social media posts is nothing new.

Posts on the issue typically cite a paragraph that specifies one of the situations in which the defense secretary can approve a request for help from state or local law enforcement agencies.

The paragraph states that the Secretary may approve applications for (emphasis ours): “Assist in response with lethal potential assetsor any situation where it is reasonably foreseeable that the rendering of the assistance requested may involve the use of force which is likely to result in lethal forceincluding death or serious bodily injury. It also includes all support to civilian law enforcement officials in situations where a confrontation between civilian law enforcement forces and civilian individuals or groups is reasonably anticipated. Such use of force must be in accordance with DoDD 5210.56, possibly further restricted depending on the specifics of the support requested.”

The phrases “lethal potential” and “lethal force” are often emphasized in social media posts.

While this language is new to DoDD 5240.01, “it does not represent any change to DoD policy on the use of lethal force, which is addressed in DoDD 5210.56, “Arming and Use of Force,”” Gough said. “The revised 5240.01 simply describes how this longstanding policy applies to the DoD intelligence community.”

The purpose of this directive, among other things, is to establish “policies and standards” for the “use of force by DoD personnel.” It sets guidelines for when and how to use “deadly force” and when the use of “deadly force” is justified.

The complete policy on the use of force within the Department of Defense can be seen Here. All published department policies can be viewed Here.

While the use of military personnel in the US was rare, they did occur some cases. In 1992, for example, seven U.S. Marines responded to a domestic violence call with two Los Angeles police officers during riots there. A Brennan Center for Justice report on the issue published on October 2 recommended the rule in the presidential authority to summon troops internally.

But the Defense Department’s recently revised policy added no such authority.

“Speculation about this directive appears to have significant resonance in several communities as the Nov. 5 election approaches,” the University of Washington said. analysis concluded. “This evolving rumor may have the potential to translate into calls to action or offline mobilization: the implication that the US military is preparing to quell civil unrest related to the election may spur certain audiences to prepare for violence or confrontation with law enforcement in the aftermath elections.”

Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations works with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found Here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.

source

Department of Defense. Directive 5240.01. September 27, 2024.

University of Washington. Center for an Informed Public. “Rumors are spreading quickly about the revised Defense Department Directive 5240.01.” October 18, 2024.

Congressional Research Service. “Defense Primer: National and Defense Information.” April 22, 2024.

Department of Defense. Instruction 5025.01. June 7, 2023.

Gough, Sue. Spokesman for the US Department of Defense. Email FactCheck.org. October 23, 2024.

US Department of Defense. Directive 5210.56. November 18, 2016.

Superville, Darlene, Tim Sullivan and Aaron Morrison. “Trump is threatening military force against protesters across the country.” Associated Press. June 2, 2020.

Schmitt, Eric et al. “Esper breaks with Trump on using troops against protesters.” New York Times. Updated November 9, 2020.

Nunn, Joseph. “Limiting the military’s role in law enforcement.” Brennan Center for Justice. October 2, 2024.