Twitter and Facebook are politicizing the military

Social media’s angry partisan divides are seeping into the U.S. military, raising fears that the tradition of political neutrality in the armed services is eroding on sites like Twitter and Facebook, according to a first-of-its-kind survey of the military shared with POLITICO.

The survey, of more than 500 West Point cadets and active-duty officers, is prompting calls for commanders up and down the ranks to reemphasize how impartiality is a major reason why the military regularly polls as the most respected institution in the country.

“Such behavior threatens to erode the trust in which the public holds the military, leading to it being viewed as just another interest group,” writes Army Col. Heidi Urben, a political scientist working for the Joint Chiefs of Staff who compiled the findings while studying last year at the Pentagon's National Defense University. The university will publish the complete findings later this year.

Read the full article at Politico.