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Army Lifts Ban on Social Media

Soldiers can use Twitter, Facebook from bases

By Ambreen Ali, Newser User

Posted Jun 11, 2009 2:21 PM CDT

(Newser) – The US Army has lifted a years-long ban on online social networks, commanding bases to let soldiers access sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr so they can “tell the Army story,” Wired reports. The change doesn’t apply to all overseas bases or other armed forces, and it leaves MySpace, YouTube, and Pandora blocked. But it marks a shift in the military’s thinking towards the web tools.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

Soldiers with the 82nd Airborne Division and 1st Infantry Division enjoy some computer time in their camp's newly opened Internet cafe near Fallujah, Iraq. (AP Photo)

Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Millham, 31, checks the Army's Afghanistan Facebook site in Kabul. (AP Photo)

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It is the intent of senior Army leaders to leverage social media as a medium to allow soldiers to ‘tell the Army story.’
- US Army operations order

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Army Lifts Ban on Social Media