The U.S. Marine Corps is investigating the distribution of nude photographs of their female colleagues among members of the service and veterans, using a social media network that reportedly promotes sexual violence. According to Reuters, this was reported in the Marine Corps Times Sunday. The independent newspaper, which reportedly specializes on the Corps was told by a spokesman that officials are not yet sure how many military personnel are involved in the scandal.
An internal Marine Corps communications document was reportedly published on the subject, which described the social media network as a closed Facebook group. Reportedly the group has around 30,000 members, some of which procured the nude photos.
Some of the photos even, reportedly, listed the names, ranks and duty stations of the women in the images, some of whom are on active duty. The photographs were apparently stored in cloud storage, on a secure drive, which has since been removed.
Hundreds of U.S. Marines under investigation
Reportedly hundreds of U.S. Marines are under investigation after sharing possibly thousands of the explicit images. Sgt. Major Ronald Green told CBS News that the practice was inconsistent with their core values, saying that no person should be treated in this way and adding that the scandal also impedes their ability to perform their mission. Reportedly one government contractor has already been fired after he was found to have posted the initial Google Drive link leading to the photos.
Hundreds of Marines are being investigated over salacious photo sharing of women service members https://t.co/1ZRYBDyAFL pic.twitter.com/SbFKK3yRQj
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 5, 2017
U.S. Marines scandal revealed by The War Horse
The Marines United Facebook group was reportedly initially exposed by a non-profit news organization called The War Horse, which is run by a Marine veteran, Thomas Brennan.
Reportedly the exchange of explicit photos began shortly after female recruits were taken into the service. According to reports, a woman corporal was followed by a Marine, who took photos of her as she collected her gear. The photos were posted on the Facebook page, where users made explicit comments, saying in no uncertain terms what they would like to do to the woman.
According to the reports, some photos appear to have been taken by the women themselves and shared consensually, but that those photos were meant to be private. Other women, interviewed by The War Horse, said that they thought the images were either stolen by hackers, or leaked by former partners.
