(March 4) -- Last week, the U.S. military announced it would start allowing troops in the field to use social networking services like Twitter. But the latest demonstration of how such sites can blast confidential information into the public sphere came on Wednesday, when the Israeli army announced it had booted out a soldier who revealed details of an upcoming raid on Facebook.
The soldier, from an elite unit of the Artillery Corps, announced on his Facebook page that, "On Wednesday, we are cleaning out [a West Bank village] -- today an arrest operation, tomorrow an arrest operation and then, please God, home by Thursday."
Other members of the unit, who were also his Facebook friends (but might not be anymore), saw the leak and alerted officers. They scrapped the operation out of fear that Web-savvy enemies might have seen the post. The soldier was court-martialed, sentenced to 10 days in jail and kicked out of the battalion.
Israeli forces have now promised to crack down on use of social media sites, and launched a campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of sharing secrets online. "Uploading classified information to social networks or any Web site exposes the information to anyone who wishes to view it, including foreign and hostile intelligence services," the military said in a statement. "Hostile intelligence agents scan the Internet with an eye toward collecting information on the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), which may undermine operational success and imperil IDF forces."
The soldier is just the latest in a long line of hapless Web users who've committed costly Facebook faux pas or acted like twerps on Twitter. Here's a rundown of six of the greatest social media screw-ups:
THE SPY BOSS: Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (also known as MI6) traditionally keeps schtum about its operatives' identities. So British newspapers were outraged last summer when the wife of spy chief Sir John Sawers posted pictures of her husband, their children and chums on Facebook. The biggest state secrets revealed online? Sawers enjoys a game of beach Frisbee and wears blue Speedos.
THE SPEECHWRITER: In December 2008, photos of Jon Favreau -- the man behind Barack Obama's "Yes We Can" campaign slogan -- drunkenly groping a cardboard cutout of Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared on his Facebook page. The pictures were pulled two hours later, and Favreau offered an apology to the soon-to-be secretary of state.
THE ACADEMIC: Gloria Gadsden, a sociology professor at Pennsylvania's East Stroudsburg University, was put on indefinite leave this week after implying online that she wanted to slaughter annoying students. She said that her Facebook status updates -- which read, "Does anyone know where I can find a very discrete hitman? Yes, it's been that kind of day" and "Had a good day today. DIDN'T want to kill even one student" -- weren't supposed to be taken seriously. Her bosses didn't see the funny side.
THE WEATHERMAN: After being summoned for jury duty, NBC's Al Roker broke court rules by snapping photos of potential jurors with his iPhone and sharing them with the world via Twitter. Showered with criticism, Roker defended himself saying, "I'm not breaking laws ... just trying to share the experience of jury duty. ... So folks need to lighten up."
THE EMPLOYEE: A British Facebooker known only as "Lindsay" savaged her boss in a status update, writing: "OMG, I HATE MY JOB! My boss is a total pervvy wanker always making me do s*** stuff." Unfortunately, she'd forgotten the boss was one of her Facebook friends. And that she only had two weeks of her six-month trial period left. Lindsay was soon searching for another job.
THE CRIMINAL: An Italian burglar decided to check his Facebook account -- and post entries on his wall -- when he encountered a computer while robbing a house near Rome. The net-addicted criminal forgot to log out, allowing police to quickly trace and arrest him.
Filed under: Nation, World, Tech http://www.aolnews.com/world/article...ere%2F19382850
Text without context is pretext If your opponent is of choleric temperament, seek to irritate him
THE ACADEMIC: Gloria Gadsden, a sociology professor at Pennsylvania's East Stroudsburg University, was put on indefinite leave this week after implying online that she wanted to slaughter annoying students. She said that her Facebook status updates -- which read, "Does anyone know where I can find a very discrete hitman? Yes, it's been that kind of day" and "Had a good day today. DIDN'T want to kill even one student" -- weren't supposed to be taken seriously. Her bosses didn't see the funny side.
This one was harsh. Some people need to lighten up.
This one was harsh. Some people need to lighten up.
you think that statement was harsh? ive heard worse from teachers even in front of the students and nothing was done about it. i guess there more alert in the u.s mashaAllah
Lol, no. I meant the action taken by her bosses was harsh. Everybody gets stressed in one way or another by stuff that happens during the day at their work places and a lot of people also use social networking sites to vent. What's the big deal?
The statements were obviously not meant to be taken literally and it's absurd that people reacted the way they did.
Last edited by Alpha Dude; 03-04-2010 at 07:48 PM.
The soldier, from an elite unit of the Artillery Corps, announced on his Facebook page that, "On Wednesday, we are cleaning out [a West Bank village] -- today an arrest operation, tomorrow an arrest operation and then, please God, home by Thursday."
It is amazing that these nitwits have had zero casualties over the last I don't-know-how-many years (outside the Gaza war 08-09), and then we just seeing hooded masked men firing bullets in the sky and telling us they are making "Jihad" in Palestine. How hard is it to actually snipe some of those apes?
Does anyone know why there are more Somali civilians killed by "Jihad" than Israeli soldiers?
Last edited by Sampharo; 03-04-2010 at 07:57 PM.
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Iblis's eternal destination in the Hellfire is due to Arrogance, not Disbelief.
just shows what kind of retards you get in the military
He it is Who sends blessings on you, as do His angels, that He may bring you out from the depths of Darkness into Light: and He is Full of Mercy to the Believers. [Quran {33:43}] www.QuranicAudio.com www.Quran.com
“The believers in their mutual kindness, compassion and sympathy are just like one body. When one of the limbs is afflicted, the whole body responds to it with sleeplessness and fever”.
Lol, no. I meant the action taken by her bosses was harsh. Everybody gets stressed in one way or another by stuff that happens during the day at their work places and a lot of people also use social networking sites to vent. What's the big deal?
The statements were obviously not meant to be taken literally and it's absurd that people reacted the way they did.
lol ok. but its okay to vent but depends on how you vent.. i think its unprofessional to act like that, kinda childish in a way. imagine your doctor talking about his patients like that? or would you like it if your kids teacher started talking about your child like that? i wouldnt.. i mean if she has problems with her job, why chose that profession in the first place if shes going to abuse it. was she not once a student herself? also they had to take action when you think about it if anybody saw her comments, nobody would enroll in that university, its not surprizing they took action.
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It is amazing that these nitwits have had zero casualties over the last I don't-know-how-many years (outside the Gaza war 08-09), and then we just seeing hooded masked men firing bullets in the sky and telling us they are making "Jihad" in Palestine. How hard is it to actually snipe some of those apes?
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