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So let's talk about why everyone is shocked that DoD was unprepared for Jan 6th when so much of the planning took place in plain site on social media. It's not for any nefarious reasons - it's bc of the law
From Microtargeting as Information Warfare https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/5wzuq via @OSFramework
The DoD is actually one of the ONLY agencies in the WORLD restricted from looking at American social media. "DoD is legally restricted from “collecting intelligence against US persons” by Executive Order (E.O.) 12333. "
"This, along with service-specific regulations like Army Regulation 381-10, has been interpreted to restrict analysis of publicly available data such as the data gathered on social media platforms or other data brokers. "
"While there are exceptions to these legislative restrictions, the Army has largely kept hands off of domestic social media or its understanding of the underlying data. "
"As a result of these data limitations that are available to adversaries, the Army is unable to assess or respond to threats in the social media space."
It's not just that the DoD was blindsided when they said they didn't have any credible intelligence of January 6th - they largely view themselves as legally prohibited from looking at it and assessing it as a threat.
"The military is made up of regular Americans and is not immune to the political debate about masks and freedom. " or other aspects of dis/misinformation
"Algorithmic targeting of servicemembers with misinformation has a very different impact on national defense than on other communities, and these consequences do not disappear within the geographic boundaries of the US. "
This week, these legal constraints may have prevented one of the key agencies charged with defending the US Capitol from understanding the potential for violence.
Also want to be clear - this is not within DoD's normal mission set. It's not a DoD mission to investigate homeland security issues/concerns.
