Danish army calls for social networking sense

Danish soldiers heading to Lebanon have been told to censor their Facebook profiles after a string of inappropriate posts caused embarrassment for the country’s military. According to broadcaster DR, members of the armed forces who were assigned a deployment in the Middle Eastern country this week were asked not to post anything improper or offensive on the popular social networking website.

Such Facebook policies have been implemented by the army after a number of incidents arose following soldiers’ posts. In May, for example, military personnel were criticised by the media for uploading “Rambo-like” photographs from the war in Afghanistan.

On another occasion, friends and comrades set up a memorial page when Denmark’s first female soldier was killed in the war. Unfortunately, the woman’s name had not yet been released by the military and the family had therefore still to be informed.

“It was done with the best intentions, but it resulted in the media then contacting the family members before the military, and that was inappropriate,” said Military spokeswoman Janni Moller Thomsen in an interview with DR.

Thomsen has asked the soldiers from Ryes Barracks in Fredericia to make sure that all information posted on Facebook is “appropriate” and will not cause offense to anyone who has been touched by military conflict.