The White House scrambled to apologize Thursday after it accidentally revealed the faces of U.S. Special Forces troops meeting with President Biden during his trip to Israel this week.
The photo was posted on the official White House Instagram page before being yanked, but not before it was widely seen.
“In Israel, President Biden met with first responders to thank them for their bravery and the work they’re doing in response to the Hamas terrorist attacks,” the photo caption read.
The Whitehouse media team shared this picture last night (I added the black boxes) without blurring or censoring the faces of the “Delta Force” (CAG) operator’s faces. They deleted it an hour later after hundreds of thousands had already viewed it.
This is a massive failure on… pic.twitter.com/ROegvYWzit
— Sam Shoemate (@samosaur) October 19, 2023
Fox News reporter Bill Melugin shared a statement from the White House, saying that the administration admitted that they accidentally doxxed the Special Forces soldiers by posting the uncensored photo.
“As soon as this was brought to our attention, we immediately deleted the photo. We regret the error and any issues this may have caused,” the statement read.
NEW: The White House admits they accidentally doxxed US Special Forces by posting an uncensored photo of them w/ Biden in Israel.
WH: “As soon as this was brought to our attention, we immediately deleted the photo. We regret the error and any issues this may have caused.”
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) October 19, 2023
Fox News contributor Sara Carter called the screw-up “unacceptable” and wants to know how it happened.
“Is the White House really this stupid or are they just trying to get people targeted? This is totally unacceptable…,” she tweeted,
“These operators are required to maintain a level of discretion that this administration has completely disregarded,” Carter added. “I would know, my husband is a retired operator. They are elite trained fighters and something as simple as facial ID recognition is putting them in direct threat by adversaries. How did this happen White House?”
Is the White House really this stupid or are they just trying to get people targeted ? This is totally unacceptable…
These operators are required to maintain a level of discretion that this administration has completely disregarded. I would know, my husband is a retired… https://t.co/wUXUoRRNAw
— Sara A. Carter (@SaraCarterDC) October 19, 2023
Social media users were not too forgiving for the blunder… here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story from Twitter:
I’m not sure what kind of rank amateurs are running the White House social media page, but this is a mistake that very well can get people killed.
“Oops, sorry” isn’t going to cut it. https://t.co/k1tmkXWfsa
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) October 20, 2023
Reckless and dangerous. And the fact that people working in the press shop didn’t know NOT TO DO THIS is a serious problem. https://t.co/NASPpLqO7d
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) October 19, 2023
The official White House Instagram would most likely run by the same digital team preoccupied with filming infamous TikTok “influencer” videos all around the West Wing… ♂️
— Chad Gilmartin (@ChadGilmartinCA) October 19, 2023
It’s OK, guys. They “regret the error”.
— Right2Liberty (@Right2Liberty) October 19, 2023
Oopsie. Sorry Delta Force and American hostages. Our bad.
— Burt Macklin (@BurtMaclin_FBI) October 19, 2023
That’s it that’s all they have to say? They put soldiers lives at unnecessary risk. There apologies sound like a company who sent you the wrong size shoes not about putting some one’s life at risk. Good Lord
— sue (@RodgerPug) October 20, 2023
Amateur hour
— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) October 19, 2023
The adults are in charge.
— J (@ARaised_Eyebrow) October 19, 2023
So much for “sources and methods”… bet no one got fired or prosecuted for this.
— Gary Tapperson (@tap_gary) October 19, 2023
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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