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Mother Jones

Mother Jones

Extremists say the military authorized lethal force against Americans ahead of the election

Mother Jones
Summary
Nutrition label

69% Informative

Department of Defense Directive 5240.01 is a 22 -page document governing military intelligence activities.

It was updated in September , six weeks before the election and the same day Hurricane Helene slammed into the Southeast .

Right-wing misinformation merchants latched onto a new reference in the updated directive.

They falsely claimed that the change meant Kamala Harris had authorized the military to kill civilians if there were to be unrest after the election.

That's flat-out not true, the Pentagon and experts on military policy say.

The Pentagon says the update was “in no way timed in relation to the election or any other event” The Defense Department has issued or revised 10 other directives and instructions since it updated “ 5240.01 ” at the end of September .

Despite the conspiracy claims, the directive clearly states that military intelligence units assisting civilian police must consider the Posse Comitatus Act .

Any president has the power to mobilize military troops against American citizens in certain circumstances.

VR Score

69

Informative language

64

Neutral language

38

Article tone

formal

Language

English

Language complexity

65

Offensive language

likely offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

detected

Time-value

short-lived

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