Pentagon pledges investigation into nude photo scandal

US Defense Secretary James Mattis on Friday (10 March) warned Department of Defence personnel against violations of social media ethics, saying misconduct will not be tolerated. He was referring to the recent emergence of the nude photo scandal involving many active-duty US marines. In a statement, Mattis said that they were taking “all appropriate action to investigate potential misconduct and to maintain good order and discipline throughout our armed forces”.

We will not excuse or tolerate such behavior if we are to uphold our values and maintain our ability to defeat the enemy on the battlefield.

US Defense Secretary James Mattis

The US Marine Corps has already launched a probe into the allegations that a Facebook group of more than 30,000 US Marines, called Marines United, posted nude pictures of female colleagues on the social media site. The images were allegedly coupled with harassing remarks. However, undeterred by the launch of the investigation, some 3,000 Marines were reported to have moved to a new Facebook group called Marines United 2, where they are continuing to post similar images and comments. They have also allegedly begun sharing nude videos of female colleagues on porn websites like PornHub.

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