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While it’s true no president or political leader has ever used social media quite as prolifically as Donald Trump, no recent secretary of defense has ever weaponized X or any other platform, quite like former Fox & Friends weekend host, Pete Hegseth.
Hegseth is actively reshaping the Pentagon in his own image since taking over, prompting a social media policy that has taken a dramatic turn towards supporting Hegseth’s every move and public appearance.
Part of that has been the resurrection of the Pentagon’s so-called “rapid response team”. Originally the name of a public relations brainchild of former secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld to combat what he saw as Iraq war disinformation, the new team seems to have a similar mandate according to its X account: “Fighting Fake News!”
So far, it has already garnered criticism for its excessive and partisan attacks on reporters and cheerleading of Hegseth, in what appears to be a media strategy bent on going on the offensive. The result is an apparent information warfare tool that flirts with fascistic takes and merges religion with a cult of personality surrounding Hegseth.
In response to a blog post on the website of MSNBC figurehead, Rachel Maddow, criticizing Hegseth for carrying out what he called a “Christian Prayer & Worship Service” inside the halls of the Pentagon, the rapid response team went into action.
“Only the mainstream media would be upset that @SecDef loves THE LORD!” the rapid response team account posted on X, with a screenshot of the article.
As protests in Los Angeles escalated after continued Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) raids on migrants in the city this past week, rapid response came out with a full-throated backing of deploying American troops on American citizens, inside the US homeland – a move that is rarely taken lightly for any presidential administration.
“Let’s be clear: Los Angeles is burning, and local leaders are refusing to respond,” posted its X account on Monday morning, assuring the national guard would be responding. “There is a ZERO tolerance for attacking federal agents who are doing their job.”
The account followed up with another post, this time insulting the California governor, Gavin Newsom, showing an image of a protester waving a Mexican flag and burning in the foreground, with the caption: “Gavin Newscum’s California…”
Other posts since the team’s creation, promote Hegseth’s interest in physical fitness or present him as the “warfighter” defense secretary, reminiscent of Italian fascist leader, Benito Mussolini, and current Russian president Vladimir Putin, who has used his athletics to promote himself as a strongman.
“Early morning PT with the @SecDef,” one X post reads from May showing Hegseth working out on a US ship with troops. “WE WILL BE FIT, NOT FAT!”
The Pentagon downplayed to the Guardian that it was engaging in attacks on news media or political rivals.
“Americans are turning to independent and digital media for their news because they no longer trust traditional and mainstream media to tell them the truth,” said Kingsley Wilson, Pentagon press secretary, in an emailed statement.
“[Office of the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs] is embracing digital media and independent outlets, taking our message of Peace through Strength directly to the American people.”
Graham Allen, a former conservative podcaster and known conspiracy theorist has been leading the Pentagon’s overall digital media strategy. He was appointed shortly before the Signalgate leak, which embarrassed Hegseth and showed US officials sharing top secret information over an unsecured texting app.
But in a May post announcing he was stepping away from the role and remaining a consultant, Allen said he had accomplished his goal of making the “fake news” hate the “rapid response operation and basically everything else that’s led to the largest reaching digital accounts ever within the department, which means I did my job.”
Hegseth overtly directing the Pentagon to promote his personal agenda has caught the eye of extremism watch dogs.
Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism and an expert who has studied the confluence of the far right and the military for decades, has watched the secretary’s actions closely.
“The rapid response team sure looks like Hegseth is missing Fox News and creating a pure propaganda arm for his policies,” she told the Guardian.
“The constant attacks on legitimate news organizations and facts with screaming [X] posts about ‘fake news’ are proof that this is nothing more than Maga disinformation.”
Beirich pointed out that Hegseth’s invocation of religion has become a particularly troubling development.
“Hegseth is a committed Christian nationalist with a long track record of bigotry,” she said. “He is also a member of a church network run by Doug Wilson, a hard-right pastor who once wrote a biblical defense of slavery.”
Hegseth’s predecessor, Lloyd Austin III, the silent type and an accomplished general in his own right, cut a quieter public persona and promoted diversity in the service. But Hegseth has done the opposite, instead announcing during Pride month the renaming of a vessel already bearing the name of a US naval veteran and gay rights pioneer.
“Hegseth’s recent decision to change the name of a navy boat that had been christened for the LGBTQ+ rights pioneer Harvey Milk, shows you where he’s coming from,” Beirich said. “He and his Christian nationalist allies are anti-LGBTQ and specifically anti-trans and they are pushing their religious agenda on the services.”
