News/Commentary

‘Fake crap’: WaPo slammed over claim Coast Guard will ‘no longer classify’ swastikas, nooses as hate symbols

November 21, 2025 | | Print Article

The Washington Post has been called out for pushing yet another hoax, this time the claim that the U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify Nazi swastikas, nooses and the Confederate flag as hate symbols.

In a Thursday report that is being described as “fake crap,” the once-esteemed newspaper claimed that a new policy set to go into effect next month would only deem the items to be “potentially divisive” and not hate symbols, a story that was quickly picked up and boosted by the left-wing media outrage machine.

As is often the case with such inflammatory clickbait stories, Democrats quickly pounced despite the WaPo’s dismal track record.

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Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) declared that the USCG policy “rolls back important protections against bigotry and could allow for horrifically hateful symbols like swastikas and nooses to be inexplicably permitted to be displayed.”

“At a time when antisemitism is rising in the United States and around the world, relaxing policies aimed at fighting hate crimes not only sends the wrong message to the men and women of our Coast Guard, but it puts their safety at risk,” she added, according to the Associated Press.

In a statement posted to X, USCG Acting Commandant Admiral Kevin Lunday shot down the WaPo’s claims as “categorically false.”

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“The claims that the U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses or other extremist imagery as prohibited symbols are categorically false. These symbols have been and remain prohibited in the Coast Guard per policy. Any display, use or promotion of such symbols, as always, will be thoroughly investigated and severely punished,” the statement read.

“The Coast Guard remains unwavering in its commitment to fostering a safe, respectful and professional workplace. Symbols such as swastikas, nooses and other extremist or racist imagery violate our core values and are treated with the seriousness they warrant under current policy,” Adm. Lunday said.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the Coast Guard, also rejected the WaPo’s reporting.

“This is an absolute ludicrous lie and unequivocally false,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote in a Thursday post to X. “The @washingtonpost should be embarrassed it published this fake crap.”

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“Y’all are just making things up now,” DHS said in another X post.

“The U.S. Coast Guard today announced the release of a policy and lawful order that doubles down on its current policies prohibiting the display, distribution or use of hate symbols by Coast Guard personnel,” the Coast Guard said in a Thursday night press release. “The policy and lawful order provides clear definitions, guidance and expectations for Coast Guard personnel. It describes prohibited hate symbols in alignment with military policy.”

“This is not an updated policy but a new policy to combat any misinformation and double down that the U.S. Coast Guard forbids these symbols,” the USCG added.

The WaPo’s slogan may be “democracy dies in darkness,” but it’s also an environment where B.S. flourishes.

Chris Donaldson
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