OAN’s Abril Elfi
4:53 PM – Thursday, October 19, 2023
The White House is drawing criticism for potentially jeopardizing the identity of United States soldiers after releasing an Instagram photo of President Joe Biden and a group of American troops stationed in Israel.
On Thursday, in a now-deleted post, the White House shared a photo on Instagram where Biden is seen shaking hands with U.S. Delta Force members with the caption “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 was screenshotted and reposted on X (Twitter) by Intelligence Analyst Sam Shoemate, who blurred the faces of the operators.
According to Shoemate, the photo was available on Instagram for almost an hour and got “hundreds of thousands” of views before being erased by the White House social media team.
The faces of the American soldiers in the frame were also not blurred or censored in the original photograph.
By posting an image that clearly disclosed the faces of members of the special “Delta Force” (Combat Applications Group or CAG), the Biden administration’s communications staff jeopardized the identity and safety of all members.
The White House eventually apologized for the mistake and took the photo down.
“As soon as this was brought to our attention, we immediately deleted the photo,” a White House spokesman told the press. “We regret the error and any issues this may have caused.”
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