Military influencers are going viral, and the Pentagon's social media rules aren't keeping up

Tech Insider : Business, Politics, Style
A dark phone beneath a microphone
Military influencers are taking over social media and building personal brands in a Pentagon policy gray zone.

Bill McCullough for BI

The Army is turning to TikTok-famous soldiers to pump up recruiting — but it hit a snag

Tech Insider : Business, Politics, Travel
Austin von Letkemann
Military influencers are able to talk about military life in ways that advertisements can't — the silly, mundane, gritty, or even just regular struggles — and that authenticity resonates with young people at a time when it's getting harder for services to find fresh recruits.

Bill McCullough for BI

This soldier built a side hustle on TikTok and Instagram and says it's now paying better than the Army

Tech Insider : Business
Johnny Vargas
Sgt. 1st Class Johnny Vargas is among a rising class of military influencers, and he has built a booming social media and brand business from videos on his phone.

Bill McCullough for BI

The US is sending a strike group led by the Navy's most advanced aircraft carrier to support Trump's new drug war

Tech Insider : Business, Politics
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is rerouting the world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, from the Mediterranean to Latin America, seen here transiting the Strait of Gibraltar, on Oct. 1, 2025.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is rerouting the world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, from the Mediterranean to Latin America, seen here transiting the Strait of Gibraltar, on Oct.

Pete Hegseth's 'warrior ethos' speech is now mandatory viewing for the entire US military

Tech Insider : Business, Politics
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth greets troops during a visit to Marine Corps Base Hawaii, March 25, 2025.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth greets troops during a visit to Marine Corps Base Hawaii, March 25, 2025.

Sgt. Julian Elliott-Drouin, US Marine Corps.

The Pentagon's startup arm postpones its internship program, citing 'emergent priorities' in an internal email

Tech Insider : Business
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
Pete Hegseth, Defense Secretary

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Military women fear losing 'every bit of ground' as Hegseth looks backward to the 1990s

Tech Insider : Business
As women have increasingly found new roles in the US armed forces, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has proposed a review of standards changed since the 1990s.
As women have increasingly found new roles in the US armed forces, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has proposed a review of standards changed since the 1990s.

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Angela Wilcox

Hegseth ordered hundreds of generals to DC to tell them no more fat troops or 'beardos'

Tech Insider : Business
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks to senior military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, U.S., September 30, 2025. Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks to senior military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, U.S., September 30, 2025. Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS

Andrew Harnik/Reuters

The Pentagon gutted its weapons testing office. The biggest losers could be the troops.

Tech Insider : Business, Technology
A man wearing camouflage lies on the grass shooting a rifle. In the background is a line of trees and a cloudy blue sky.
One of the programs no longer being overseen by DOT&E is the Army's new XM7 rifle, the replacement for the M16/M4 series.

US Army National Guard photo by Spc. Turner Horton

Trump’s Golden Dome Projected to Cost Exponentially More Than the Manhattan Project

Gizmodo
President Donald Trump sits at his desk in front of a poster displaying a conceptual image of the Golden Dome defense shield
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