The Pentagon’s Undisclosed Influencers | Ben Swann

What happens when an online political influencer is simultaneously working inside the United States government? Recent reporting revealed that several conservative military veterans with large social-media audiences were quietly placed into civilian roles inside the Pentagon. Combined, three of the personalities discussed by Ben Swann have more than one million followers. Pentagon records reportedly showed at least two had active government email addresses connected to the office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. The Pentagon, however, declined to explain exactly what their assignments were, how long they would last or whether the individuals were receiving taxpayer-funded salaries. Meanwhile, some continued producing political commentary supportive of Pentagon leadership without publicly disclosing their government roles to their audiences. Ben also examines the case of Geneca Pounds, better known online as Data Republican, who became a special government employee for the Defense Department while maintaining a prominent online presence. None of this automatically means the Pentagon is secretly paying influencers to propagandize Americans. In fact, whether some of these individuals are receiving government salaries remains one of the unanswered questions. But it raises an important transparency issue: Where does the independent influencer end and the government employee begin? On this episode of America Now with Ben Swann, Ben examines the history of government influence efforts, the Pentagon's previous use of military media analysts, and why today's relationship between government and online influencers deserves scrutiny.Catch our entire lineup of shows featuring hosts like Jeff Dornik, Shannon Joy, Ann Vandersteel, Patrick Howley, Ted Rall and Dr Michael Scheuer on Rumble, X and your favorite podcast platform.Pickax is the primary home for Freedom First Network, so be sure to sign up for Pickax, and then follow and subscribe to FFN: https://pickax.com/freedomfirstnetwork