On Friday, President Donald Trump posted to his personal Twitter account. Now,
normally, this wouldn't be news. The President exercises his right to free speech on a free internet daily, to his benefit and detriment. However, this particular tweet has folks concerned beyond what is typical for his original content.
President Trump posted a photograph of the wreckage resulting from an accident at an Iranian space facility, claiming the U.S. was "not involved" in the accident. Though there has been no confirmation of the source of the photo, experts believe that Trump obtained the image through a classified satellite belonging to the U.S. government. The resolution of the photo was shown to be higher quality than is available on the market to consumers, leading many to believe this photo was taken with equipment accessible via the financial resources of the federal government. Others are not so sure, as the atmospheric environment might not be palatable to using such a high end piece of equipment. The White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have both declined to confirm or deny the photo source, but for the sake of this blog post, let's just pretend that this photo did come from a U.S. intelligence purposed satellite.
From a Strategic Communication point of view, there are several points to consider from this occurrence. Firstly, should the President be able to post such intelligence if he deems it necessary? The image that was posted to Twitter was not harmful or expository in content, and the graphic was intended to help the public better understand what is happening in Iran. The intelligence was not meant to hurt, pry, or spy, and so its use as Trump employed it is fairly low-stakes in that regard. PR wise, such transparency for this purpose would be beneficial to Trump. The sitting President could stand to gain some credibility with those who believe he is deceitful and corrupted, and having such honest and open communication with the added intelligence demonstrates a contrasting image to the one his opponents have. The PR office could easily defend his usage of the photo, and claim it was done in purpose to provide transparency and resource to the American people.
However, it can be argued that such intelligence, regardless of what it shows, needs to remain classified and out of the public eye. Government sources might be better off to not demonstrate their high capabilities to surveil, as that would be the purpose and function of the imaging satellite taking this photo. Giving away secrets of our technology and where we can access imaging might trigger a reaction from states not friendly with the United States, which could result in all kinds of diplomatic catastrophes. PR wise, this narrative does not serve Trump's actions well. The posting of such a highly sensitive piece of intelligence could present stupidity and ignorance on the President's part in relation to the consequences of posting that sensitive intelligence. Many already believe that the President does not have the capacity to handle his job wisely, and this narrative of a President being fool enough to post classified information to his personal Twitter allows those people to confirm their beliefs. The government communications team would be best suited to monitor closely what Trump posts to his personal account, and make sure that the information presented will be minimally questioned for the sake of his integrity and reputation.
The second big question in regards to this incident relates to the response taken by the government to media hype surrounding the tweet. When approached by the media with this kind of a question, is the appropriate PR response to tell the truth and defend what occurred, or to refuse comment period? The PR arm of the federal government chose to refuse comment, and they had good reasons for doing this. By refusing to answer where the photo came from, no one will actually be able to confirm or deny the source unless they work for the government and magically go rogue. Given the amount of people the President has fired throughout his first term, this isn't terribly likely to happen. The team can conceal the source, and so while the media can continue to debate where the photo came from, until they know where it came from no real criticisms can be taken by the government as to how to best handle such sensitive intelligence. The President can dodge accusations of mishandling the intel, and move onto the next issue. However, this can also appear to many publics to be a dodgy way of avoiding responsibility for Trump's mishandling, and could further fuel criticisms of his administration.
If the government PR was to be honest about what Trump released, and where it came from, that would definitely allow the media to go after Trump for mishandling intelligence. However, the PR team can combat this coverage with their own defense. The team can use what I mentioned in an above paragraph, the argument that the President seeks to be transparent with the public, and that the information given was not compromising of American intelligence. This will be satisfactory for those that support Trump already, and at this rate those are the only people his campaign for 2020 is seeking to please. This best serves his interests for the next election among his base, and keeps his administration from looking like it is avoiding responsibility. These are just a few things to consider from a COM perspective when looking at a leak like this one, I'm sure there are more I didn't get to, but my hands are tired, and this is way more than 200 words. Adieu for now!
Origin Intel For This Post, Because I'm Too Poor To Even Entertain The IDEA of Plagiarism:
https://www.npr.org/2019/08/30/755994591/president-trump-tweets-sensitive-surveillance-image-of-iran
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