U.S. Military Shares Combat Footage on Social Media

U.S. military accounts have posted videos showing lethal strikes and executions in recent months. The footage depicts armed forces killing individuals who appear unarmed or surrendering. The videos are distributed on platforms including X and other social media services. They are filmed by participants and shared by official or high-ranking accounts.

Twenty years ago, U.S. military officials publicly condemned recordings of executions distributed by armed groups. Officials described such videos as propaganda tools used by adversaries.

Studies of journalists and humanitarian workers who view graphic war footage report elevated rates of stress symptoms. A 2023 survey of Pakistani journalists found more than 66 percent experienced indirect trauma. An earlier study of 209 respondents found 40 percent reported negative effects on personal life, including flashbacks and nightmares.

The same research showed 12 percent of journalists viewed such material daily.