- The US Pacific Fleet is facing criticism for a tweet that mistakenly featured images of a Russian warship and fighter jets on July 4th.
- The tweet showed the outlines of a Russian destroyer and Sukhoi-27 fighters against a backdrop of the US flag.
- After receiving backlash, the account deleted the tweet and replaced it with a photo of a US aircraft carrier.
The US Navy’s Pacific Fleet is facing backlash on Twitter after mistakenly including images of a Russian warship and Sukhoi jets in a Fourth of July tweet.
The tweet, posted by the official account of the US Pacific Fleet on Tuesday, featured the silhouettes of a Kashin-class destroyer and five Sukhoi-27s against the backdrop of an American flag. The caption read, “Happy 4th of July,” alongside the outline of a saluting soldier.
US Pacific Fleet/Screenshot/Twitter/Archive.FO
Twitter users quickly noticed the ship and jet silhouettes, with one person jokingly referencing a pro-Russian social media account run by a former US Navy officer. The mistake gained more attention when defense researcher Blake Herzinger tweeted a screenshot of the post, calling it a failure. He credited Reuters editor Gerry Doyle for identifying the fighter jets and Indian Navy Commodore Venugopal Vengalil for identifying the Russian destroyer.
Following the backlash, the US Pacific Fleet deleted the tweet and replaced it with a photo of a US aircraft carrier, accompanied by the caption “Land of the Free, Home of the Brave.” They wrote, “Happy Independence Day! Celebrating life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for 247 years, and those who stand to protect.”
—U.S. Pacific Fleet (@USPacificFleet) July 4, 2023
In response to the new post, people shared GIFs of Russian soldiers dancing and Russian leader Vladimir Putin laughing. While some were critical of the mistake, others defended the account, acknowledging that mistakes happen.
As of now, the US Pacific Fleet’s public relations office has not responded to requests for comment.
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