US military nude photo sharing scandal widens beyond Marines

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US military nude photo sharing scandal widens beyond Marines

Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Mar 10, 2017 2:38 pm

US military nude photo sharing scandal widens beyond Marines
27 minutes ago
From the section US & Canada

The nude photo sharing scandal appears to extend far beyond the Marines
US servicemen from all parts of the military have been sharing nude photos of their female colleagues online, it has emerged.
Reports last week uncovered widespread photo sharing by current and former Marines on Facebook, triggering a navy investigation.
But the BBC has seen a message board where servicemen from other branches have shared hundreds of photos.
The Pentagon said such behaviour was "inconsistent" with its values.
Male service members use a message board on an anonymous image hosting website to share nude images of their female counterparts.
They often first post clothed photos of female personnel taken from their social media pages, and ask if any members have nude photos, which they call "wins". Others then post photos.
Those posting sometimes provide names and other details of women, including where they are stationed. Lewd comments accompany many posts.
US Marines in nude photo sharing scandal
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The behaviour previously reported was confined to Marines on Facebook.
A Facebook group called Marines United with 30,000 members was recently closed down after the scandal erupted.
'Embarrassment'
The Marines' top commander described the revelations as an "embarrassment".
"When I hear allegations of Marines denigrating their fellow Marines, I don't think such behaviour is that of true warriors or war fighters," Gen Robert Neller said earlier this week.
But the message board on the image-hosting website remains publicly accessible, and indicates that such practices extend throughout the military.
"Just heard [name redacted] and her bf [name redacted] broke up," a comment on 19 December from an anonymous user on a post that appears to involve personnel at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska reads.
"Maybe he would post some."
Another post from a different anonymous user on 12 September reads: "Any wright patt wins? I'll start off with some". The post refers to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
The user then posts self-taken images of a woman in a bikini, and then topless. There are many more explicit images on the message board.
The US Department of Defense said in a statement that it had issued "policy guidance" to prevent and deal with "sexual harassment and hazing".
It is developing a new "comprehensive workplace harassment prevention and response policy", spokesperson Myles Caggins told the BBC.
"The alleged behaviour is inconsistent with our values."
Similar sites
Although the Marines United Facebook group has now closed, there are at least half a dozen similar groups or sites, Marine officials told CBS News.
The Senate Armed Services Committee is due to hold a hearing on the issue next week.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) has launched an investigation and has asked whistleblowers to come forward with information.
On Wednesday, two women who said they were victims spoke out publicly alongside their lawyer, urging others to come forward.
"I can tell you that this exact behaviour leads to the normalisation of sexual harassment and even sexual violence," said Erika Butner, 23, who served in the Marines for four years until last June.
Marines United's activity was first uncovered by The War Horse, a non-profit news organisation run by Marine veteran Thomas Brennan.
Some of the photos are believed to have been taken surreptitiously. Other images are thought to have been consensual, but posted without permission.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39227547



Scandal widens
Marine nude photo investigation reportedly expands to include more military branches

By Carter Sherman on Mar 10, 2017
For the nearly 30,000 members of the Facebook page “Marines United,” a “win” meant adding a nude photograph of a female service member or veteran. The page had hundreds of these “wins,” as members took requests for photos of specific women, identified them by name and rank, and targeted them with sexual, violent comments.

But the scandal that has embroiled the U.S. Marine Corps over this Facebook page for the past week has now reportedly widened to include the rest of the military, as several media outlets report uncovering an anonymous, publicly viewable message board where service members across the military also shared and solicited photos of their female comrades.

News first broke earlier this week that the War Horse — a nonprofit news organization run by Marine veteran Thomas Brennan — had discovered “Marines United,” a private Facebook group for Marines all around the world, according to the Center for Investigative Reporting.

But Facebook isn’t the only place where this has happened, the BBC reported Thursday. Military personnel have also anonymously shared photos of female service members on a message board on a website called Anon-IB. And on Anon-IB, it wasn’t just Marines.

People on the page would often ask for “wins” of specific women, military branches or installations, from the Massachusetts National Guard to Fort Hood in Texas, according to Business Insider.

Within a day of Brennan reaching out to the Marine Corps headquarters regarding Marines United, the Corps had not only requested that Facebook and Google delete the social media accounts responsible for the photos, but also denounced the activity. In a video address to the Corps, the Corps commandant General Robert B. Neller, called the allegations “embarrassing to our Corps, to our families, and to the nation.”

That exposure appears to have led users to flock to the publicly viewable message board, Business Insider found. Two days after the Marines United story broke, one anonymous person reportedly posted on the board, “Come on Marines share the wealth before that site is nuked and all is lost.”

A reply included a link to a Dropbox folder called “Girls of MU.” It included thousands of photos.

While CNN reported that only four branches of the military are currently under investigation, CBS found that the Department of Defense is now looking into all branches. Posting explicit photos without permission could violate a military law against “indecent viewing, visual recording and broadcasting,” Marine Corps spokesperson Capt. Ryan Alvis told the Marine Corps Times. The punishment is up to seven years in prison.

The Senate Armed Forces Committee will hold an open hearing on the Marines United page next Tuesday. In the meantime, Justine Elena — a Marine Corps Reserves captain and Daily Show with Trevor Noah staffer — has launched “Female Marines United,” a GoFundMe campaign to solicit donations for a non-profit that provides mental health help to combat veterans.

“We want women who have dealt with issues of online harassment, sexism, and feeling marginalized to know that they are not alone,” Elena writes on the GoFundMe page, “that there are men and women in addition to a number of organizations and individuals who support the military, but condemn Marines United and other sites that have dehumanized women in service.”

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service did not immediately return a request for comment.
https://news.vice.com/story/marine-nude ... y-branches



‘Marines United’ Is Now Sharing Explicit Videos Of Servicewomen On Porn Sites
By JARED KELLER on March 9, 2017 T&P ON FACEBOOK

The reports of the demise of ‘Marines United’ are greatly exaggerated.

The 30,000-member Facebook group that served as ground zero for the nude photo-sharing scandal that’s rocked the Marine Corps is alive and well. Despite an ongoing investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and a harsh warning from Marine Commandant Gen. Robert Neller, the members of a new private Facebook group called “Marines United 2.0” (or MU2.0, apparently) have resumed uploading and sharing explicit photos of their fellow servicewomen.

The new group currently boasts more than 2,300 members, the vast majority posting under their personal Facebook pages. Task & Purpose also confirmed that members are not only reconstituting the original cache of explicit photos from the original group on a new DropBox page, but posting videos to public pornography sites like PornHub.

The comments on one video make reference to the woman featured as a ‘POG’ (for civilians: a ‘person-other-than-grunt,’ or support personnel), as well as the new DropBox folders containing explicit images and videos salvaged from the original Marines United group.

PornHub Marines United comments

RELATED: THERE ARE NO MORE EXCUSES FOR NEGLECTING OUR SISTERS-IN-ARMS »

Distributing explicit photos of their sisters-in-arms appears to be an act of defiance in the wake of the scandal. The members of the new Marines United 2.0 Facebook group aren’t just sharing nudes, but taunting both government and military officials who have promised to squelch this nasty trend.

“It would be hilarious if one of these FBI or (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) fucks found their wife on here,” one member wrote, according to CNN.

“They can investigate all they want,” another wrote. “It’s not illegal to share nudes lol.”

More than 30 states have so-called “revenge porn” laws that prohibit the distribution of explicit photographs without the subject’s consent. Article 120c of the Uniform Code of Military Justice explicitly prohibits photographing or recording “another person’s private area without the person’s consent,” as well as broadcasting and distributing that material.

Others claimed that such activity was protected under the First Amendment right to freedom of speech, which legal experts have pointed out is a weak, idiotic argument.

Since the original story about the photo-sharing scandal broke on Saturday, several servicewomen have come forward to share their experience with having their privacy violated by their fellow Marines. Elle Audra, who left the Marines in 2010, told Marine Corps Times that she started receiving harassing messages that suggested her photos had shown up on original Marines United page.

“The messages are usually something around like: ‘Where were you when I was in? I would’ve fucked you too,’” Audra told Marine Corps Times. “I advocate for survivors of sexual assault and I’m beyond relieved that someone finally told the truth about what actually happens to most female Marines. I believe this is a start to a better and safer Marine Corps.”

The existence of the new Facebook page was first reported by freelance reporter and Marine veteran James LaPorta. Task & Purpose independently confirmed the existence of the group.

Members of the group responded to LaPorta’s reporting by threatening both him and his son over social media, while the group administrator named Chris Stiffler (yes, really) cautioned members from admitting Blue Falcons, a comrade-in-arms who screws over his fellow soldiers.


“Everyone in this forum is open to all active and former military,” wrote Stiffler. “Just please be careful on who you approve request for [sic] because we don’t need any goddamn Blue Falcons up in this mother******”

Stiffler also posted a warning to journalists writing about the group. “If you are going to talk about me get it right,” he added. “It’s MU2.0 not MU2. Fucking rookies.”

Stiffler did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
http://taskandpurpose.com/new-marines-u ... orn-sites/
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Re: US military nude photo sharing scandal widens beyond Mar

Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Mar 17, 2017 9:37 pm


Military nude photo investigation expands into gay porn websites

Tom Vanden Brook , USA TODAY Published 2:59 p.m. ET March 17, 2017 | Updated 3 hours ago

USA TODAY has learned the military scandal involving nude photos of men wearing uniforms engaged in sex acts has made it's way on to gay porn websites.

WASHINGTON — The military scandal involving sharing of sexually explicit images of troops has expanded beyond the private social media site Marines United to a slew of gay pornography web pages with images of men wearing military uniforms engaged in sex acts, USA TODAY has learned.

The broadened investigation to an increasing number of websites underscores the complexity of policing social media sites where sensitive images can be uploaded in an instant for all to see. In the case of the sites with gay pornography, military investigators will be tasked with determining whether active-duty troops were involved in conduct that could bring discredit on their service, a potential violation of military law.

The Marine Corps is not the only service affected. Images of men in the uniforms of sailors, soldiers and airmen also appear on an array of Tumblr sites. Similar to the Marines United case, it is unclear whether men appearing in the images — some photographed engaging in sex — provided consent to have their images shared publicly. Victims of so-called revenge porn in the Marines United case have limited protection under military law if the photographs or videos were taken originally with their consent.

The Pentagon has established a joint military task force to handle the growing investigation, said MaryAnn Cummings, a spokeswoman for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Navy, Marine, Army, Air Force and Coast Guard investigators have "established a multi-service task force to expand the investigation," she said.

Military officials briefed Congress on Thursday about the Marines United scandal, in which hundreds of active-duty Marines have viewed photos of servicewomen taken without their consent and cyberbullied some of them.

On some of the gay Tumblr sites, fully dressed troops appear in photos with their name tags visible. At least one such Marine did not agree for his photo to be republished amid a sea of images of men having sex, according Lt. Col. Eric Dent, a Marine Corps spokesman.

Air Force investigators also are now combing through a number of websites to look for victims, said Col. Pat Ryder, an Air Force spokesman.

“The Air Force Office of Special Investigations is investigating information and photographs from web sites hosting inappropriate photos of service members without prior consent,” Ryder said. “As part of that ongoing criminal investigation, airmen identified will be contacted directly by AFOSI to determine whether they are victims.”

Determining whether the men in the photos, many involved in group sex, are active-duty troops is possible, said a congressional source on a military oversight committee who was not authorized to speak publicly about the issue. NCIS has dedicated dozens of investigators to the matter, the source said. They can comb through the photos and identify troops with the use of facial-recognition software.

The revelation of the expanded investigation drew swift response from Capitol Hill. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat and member of the Armed Services Committee, called on Congress to intervene. Earlier this week, she blasted Marine and Navy officials for failing to hold commanders accountable for the problem.

"This scandal is out of control and the Department of Defense needs to get a handle on it immediately," Gillibrand told USA TODAY in a statement. "Congress needs to demand accountability from the chain of command as to how so many service members, both women and men now, could be so easily exploited. Commanders have told us for decades that they can handle these issues, clearly they cannot, and Congress should step up and do its job and bring professionalism and accountability to the military justice system that has ignored predators for far too long.”


Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., joined at left by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., questions Marine Gen. Robert
B. Neller, the commandant of the Marine Corps, at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on March, 14, 2017. (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, AP)

Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat also on the committee, said the violation of fellow troops' privacy strikes at the heart of military values.

“The Department of Defense has to get to the bottom of this," McCaskill said. "Our military leaders have a responsibility to prevent and address every kind of degrading behavior and harassment, regardless of whether it happens in the barracks or on the internet."

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller told the Senate this week that Marines need "to commit to get rid of this perversion to our culture."

Punishment, including court martial, is possible if active duty troops can be identified on the pornographic websites, said Don Christensen, president of Protect Our Defenders, an advocacy organization for victims of sexual abuse in the military.

Precedent exists for booting troops from the ranks for posing nude in men’s magazines, said Christensen, who was also the top prosecutor for the Air Force. Court martial would be possible for troops who posted images of themselves in uniform exposing themselves or having sex.

“That wouldn’t fit the image the military wants to project, especially sexual activity in uniform,” Christensen said.

There is a defense for free speech and freedom of expression, he said. But the military has wide latitude in disciplining or dismissing troops for conduct that affects good order and discipline. Photos such as these, he said, certainly fill that bill.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/poli ... /99306778/
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Re: US military nude photo sharing scandal widens beyond Mar

Postby Iamwhomiam » Fri Mar 17, 2017 9:43 pm

:naughty: :oops:
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Re: US military nude photo sharing scandal widens beyond Mar

Postby Elvis » Fri Mar 17, 2017 11:49 pm

has made it's way


I can't believe USA Today published that. It really is the end of the world.
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Re: US military nude photo sharing scandal widens beyond Mar

Postby seemslikeadream » Sat Mar 18, 2017 12:10 am

yea only an idiot would do something so stupid

This scandal of misspelling/punctuation whatever the case maybe is out of control and the Department of Defense needs to get a handle on it immediately
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
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Re: US military nude photo sharing scandal widens beyond Mar

Postby Elvis » Sat Mar 18, 2017 12:21 am

seemslikeadream » Fri Mar 17, 2017 9:10 pm wrote:yea only an idiot would do something so stupid


True. And it's happening everywhere. I've seen it in the NY Times. We're doomed.
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Re: US military nude photo sharing scandal widens beyond Mar

Postby seemslikeadream » Sat Mar 18, 2017 12:23 am

bad grammar trumps all the evils of the world.....USA shall burn in hell right beside the NYT


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbUMKenn5l8
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Re: US military nude photo sharing scandal widens beyond Mar

Postby Elvis » Sat Mar 18, 2017 12:37 am

seemslikeadream » Fri Mar 17, 2017 9:23 pm wrote:bad grammar trumps all the evils of the world


I wouldn't go that far...but it's right up there with nude photo sharing!
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Re: US military nude photo sharing scandal widens beyond Mar

Postby seemslikeadream » Sat Mar 18, 2017 12:38 am

Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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