Cry-baby conservatives brand US Navy SEALs ‘woke’ over a Pride post that’s not even real
![3 navy seals sitting in a boat](https://www.thepinknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/u.s-navy-seals.jpg?w=792&h=416&crop=1)
The U.S. Navy SEALs are the Navy’s primary special operations force, and considered to be one of the most elite branches of the military. (Getty)
A Facebook page bearing the insignia of the US Navy SEALs and Naval Special Warfare Command posted a photo to mark the start of Pride Month, leading to mockery and backlash.
The photo included the six colours of the rainbow Pride flag, with words overlayed on each colour that read: “NSW (Naval Special Warfare), Dignity, Service, Respect, Equality, and Pride.”
Though this seemed like an innocuous post, with many brands and branches of worldwide governments also posting to mark the beginning of the month-long LGBTQ+ celebration over the weekend, it was later reposted to the popular, right-wing Libs of TikTok account on X.
Libs of TikTok shared the post with a caption that read: “The Navy SEALs have gone woke. Our elite special forces. This is terrifying.”
Several of the comments underneath the Libs of TikTok post agreed with how “terrifying” it was to see the Navy SEALs post about Pride, with one saying that the U.S was a “complete and utter joke to the world”.
Another said: “Pride month needs to be taken off the calendar and stripped out of every federal agency and service.”
However, there is zero evidence to prove that the post really did originate from the Navy SEALs.
The page that was shown in the screenshot posted by Libs of TikTok was titled ‘Naval Special Warfare Command – Navy SEAL & SWCC Teams’ and the Naval Special Warfare Command logo (which can be found on Google) but did not feature a verified blue tick. The screenshot showed that it had over 26,000 followers.
It does not appear as if the page is still live on Facebook, but a similar page has taken its place, featuring the same name and logo, but with over 200,000 followers.
Though the page states it is a Government Organisation, the introduction notes that it is an “Official Facebook Fan Page for Naval Special Warfare Command” as it does not have a verified blue tick either.
A quick search reveals that the US Navy as a whole, the US Army, the Fleet Marine Force, the US Fleet Forces Command, and the Department of Defense (DoD) – which oversees the different branches of the military – all have Facebook pages with verified blue ticks.
It does not look like the US Navy SEALs have any kind of social media presence, perhaps due to the secretive nature of their roles.
None of the official pages have marked Pride with any sort of post, but they did all mark PTSD Awareness Month on social media, which is also celebrated in June.
PTSD Awareness Month was first established by the US Government in June 2014, a year before June became Pride Month for the LGBTQ+ community.