How To Check If A Soldier Is Real

The last few years have seen an explosion of social media, streaming services, and other online content, with people becoming increasingly connected. This has come to a darker side in the form of fake news. There are many examples of this, but one that has become prominent recently is the spread of false information about military members. This kind of content can have devastating effects on those who are being impersonated or targeted in some way. In light of this, we take a look at how you can check if a soldier is real and recognize any fake news that may come your way on any platform

How To Check If A Soldier Is Real

1. Check the Profile

If you see a profile of a soldier on any platform, whether it be Facebook or YouTube, there are some things to look out for that can help you determine if it is real or not. The first thing to check is their rank and military job. These should always match up with what you would expect for that person’s age and experience. An E-4 should not have a staff sergeant rank, for example. The other thing to look at is the number of friends on their profile. If someone claiming to be in the military has only 30 friends, it’s probably fake.

2. Check Military Discharge Records

You can also check military discharge records online through DD-214 forms. These forms list all of the dates and events of a person’s time in the military, including when they were deployed, where they served, and more. You can find these records in PDF format online for free at sites like this one. Simply type in a person’s name or service number (if available) and you will see their form come up with their information listed on it

3. Check Social Media Accounts

You can also check if a soldier is real by looking through social media accounts of either that person or someone who knows them well enough to know if they are real or not (such as family members). This will allow you to verify many things about them such as where they live and what they do outside of the military (which will help you rule out fake profiles). You can also look for photos of them in uniform or with other military members and seek out their names.

4. Check the Military Unit

If you are still unsure about whether a person is real, you can also check their military unit number. This information is available on military social media accounts and should match up with what the person has listed on their profile.

5. Do Not Believe Everything You Read

Fake news is a serious issue that anyone who uses the internet should be aware of, especially when it comes to the military. It’s important to do your research and verify any information you see before sharing it or believing it to be true, as this kind of content can have devastating effects on those involved.

6. Report Fake Soldiers to Authorities

Fake soldiers are not only a problem for those looking to get information about the military, but they can also be a serious problem for real soldiers. If you come across someone who is pretending to be in the military, report them to authorities as soon as possible so that they can be stopped and people will not have their trust broken.

What Is Fake News?

• Fake news is any kind of content that is made up and published in order to deceive or manipulate. This can be anything from a photo to a video or even a news article.
• Fake news has become increasingly prominent over the last few years, especially in the political landscape. People are looking for stories that support their beliefs and ideologies, regardless of whether or not it’s true.
• While some people may post fake news out of ignorance, others do it with malicious intent in order to make a profit off of the traffic it gets or to influence the opinions of others for personal gain.
• Due to this, fake news has become an issue that has been widely covered by mainstream media and everyone else online as well as offline who’s concerned about being deceived by it.

Recognizing Fake Soldiers On Twitter

• Check the profile picture. If a soldier is impersonating someone else, you should always look at their profile picture. You should be able to recognize fake profiles by the fact that they have a picture of themselves and not another person in it. They may also use images of people with whom they are not connected to as their profile picture, or use a picture that has been photoshopped to make them look more muscular or attractive.
• Look at their username. Soldiers on Twitter will often make up silly names for themselves, but these are usually based on names of famous people or other famous names. Some soldiers will also choose hashtags from other famous people’s accounts and put them in theirs to create a more believable illusion of being someone else
• Check their bio. The bio is often where soldiers will make up more outlandish claims about themselves than in their profile pictures or usernames.
• Look for any links. Linking your Twitter account to another website can make anyone a target for hackers, so be sure you check any links before clicking them!

• Look at the messages they send out. Fake soldiers may send messages that seem like they are coming from other individuals and not from themselves. For example, if someone mentions feeling sick and asks if it is contagious, this could be evidence of being fake as there is no way they would know what you mean by contagious unless they were real!
• Check who follows them. While following real soldiers makes it easier to see their tweets, fake ones can also follow you and make themselves seem more popular than they really are.
• Check the replies. If a soldier is trying to impersonate someone else, they may reply to tweets that you have posted as well as make replies to your own tweets. This can be a good way to tell them apart from real soldiers as real ones will not always respond when you reply to their tweets.
• Look at the top tweet. You should be able to see who the top users of a Twitter account are if it is legitimate and what the most recent tweet from them was before you clicked on their profile picture. If someone is trying to impersonate someone else, they might try tricking people into believing that they are someone famous by having their name at the top of their page!

Recognizing Fake Soldiers On Facebook

1. Check the profile picture.
2. Check out the name, age, and location of the person posting.
3. Look at their comments section and look for signs of fake soldiers, like people saying they are in the military, or that they were a soldier in a certain war.
4. Look at their friends to see if they have any connections to military branches or units.
5. Check out their photos and ask yourself this question: “Where is my gun?”
6. Check if there are any photos of them with guns or other weapons in them, as a sign that they may be fake soldiers pretending to be active duty military members (or even retired military members). 
7. Look at their profile information to see if it’s true; is it a real army ID number? Is it real? Is it correct? If not, take action! Remove them from your Facebook friends list right away! NEVER friend someone on Facebook who you don’t know personally! You never know who you’re talking to!   

Protecting Yourself Against Fake News

Use Your Gut

Your first line of defense against fake news is to use your gut. It is your best friend in this situation and it will tell you if something is real or not. If something seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t true. If you don’t believe the information, don’t post it on social media, send a private message, or share the story. This applies to any situation where you are sharing a story about people in the military.

Check for Keywords

If you are searching online for something that has to do with the military, there are certain keywords that you should look out for in order to avoid being fooled into believing fake news. These include the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Special Forces, and any other branch of service that has an official name and insignia. Also, look out for terms like “military” or “troops”.

Look at the Story’s Source

Has anyone else made a comment on social media about this? What have others been saying? Does anyone have any proof? Are they claiming this happened at their high school or college? Is there any indication of them being a veteran? Do they have any other credentials besides having served in the military? These are all things that you should be looking at when verifying a story as real or fake. If no one else has posted anything about it, then it’s probably fake news because most people do not want to spread false information.

Check for Authenticity

Another way to check if a story is real or not is to look at the source of the story. This is important because there are many fake news sources online who will claim to be legitimate news sources and will use other people’s images or videos without their consent, even if they are not being impersonated. If you cannot find any information from a reputable news site about the military story you are reading, then it’s most likely fake news.

Look for Other Proof

If you cannot confirm the authenticity of the story in any other way, then it’s probably fake news. If you cannot find a comment on social media that backs up what someone claims happened, or if there is no mention of it anywhere else online, then it’s probably fake news unless there are multiple credible sources that back up what someone said happened so you can’t say that it didn’t happen just because no one else has posted anything about it yet.

Conclusion

The last few years have seen an explosion of social media, streaming services, and other online content, with people becoming increasingly connected. This has come to a darker side in the form of fake news. Fake news is not a new phenomenon, but in recent years, it has become more prevalent due to a number of factors. Advancements in technology, particularly in terms of the ability to generate content, have played a part in this, as have the way social media platforms have been designed. The desire to get as many clicks as possible and generate as much profit as possible for platforms has made it easy for people to create fake content that is designed to go viral. The result of this is that there is a whole host of content out there that is completely fabricated and designed to mislead people.