Pentagon allegedly assigned retired officers to promote Trump on social media

Pentagon allegedly used retired officers in a secret social media operation

The U.S. administration allegedly sought to influence public opinion through retired military personnel with large social media followings, while the Pentagon allegedly assigned them secret duties. Rob Maness and Kurt Schlichter allegedly posted in support of the Trump administration and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, used official government email addresses and worked under the office of Anthony Tata.

Scraper SystemAugust 31, 2026, 12:31 PM

Pentagon allegedly used retired officers in a secret social media operation

Information purportedly contained in Pentagon records has raised allegations that the U.S. administration used retired military personnel with large followings in its social media communications. The allegations state that these individuals were given undisclosed assignments to post in support of the Trump administration and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Records name two colonels

The allegations identify retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Rob Maness and retired U.S. Army Colonel Kurt Schlichter as being involved in the assignments. No details were provided about the scope of the duties assigned to them.

Maness has more than 135,000 followers on X, while Schlichter has approximately 620,000 followers.

Alleged official email and office ties

The two retired colonels allegedly had official government email addresses as of last week and worked under the office of Anthony Tata, the U.S. Department of Defense Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.

Under the alleged arrangements, Maness and Schlichter were assigned the titles “Special Government Employee” or “Highly Qualified Expert.” Schlichter’s name also appeared in a government database with the designation “HQE.”

The allegations were attributed to people familiar with the matter and several Pentagon documents by The Washington Post.

Source: Anadolu Ajansı

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