Government officials are now free to share content on a popular social media platform, and so far things have not gone swimmingly, with “high-level” sources telling CNN that they are “embarrassed” by the cringeworthy videos posted by one of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet members.
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On Wednesday, CNN’s News Central featured a segment on government officials being given free rein to post on TikTok, following a directive from the Justice Department that said it was safe for federal workers to use the app. In particular, correspondent Brian Todd highlighted the questionable video shared by Doug Collins, Trump’s current Secretary of Veterans Affairs, which has irked numerous sources behind the scenes in the government for their content.
The video is a montage of Collins’ recent activities titled, “SECVA reporting for duty,” and featuring the secretary “doing push-ups with VA employees, practicing his golf swing and other things.” The real controversy, however, stemmed from the song chosen to play over the footage, from the notoriously raunchy hip-hop group, the Yin Yang Twins.
“It is controversial because it’s really all about Collins and because of the lyrics,” Todd explained. “It has these bawdy, sexually suggestive lyrics and some curse words.”
Todd noted further that three “high-level” insiders told CNN that the video from Collins has caused “consternation” at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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“This video, according to three sources inside the VA who spoke to CNN, has caused some consternation within the agency,” Todd explained. “One high-level VA source told us, quote, ‘we’re embarrassed by this.’ Douglas Massie, a longtime VA employee and head of the local branch of the union, which represents hundreds of thousands of VA workers, well, he sent Doug Collins an email denouncing this video. Massey and another VA source told us these TikTok videos have gotten away from previous VA social media outreach, where the VA would give veterans guidance on how to get things like mental health and suicide prevention care.”
He continued: “Now, they say these posts are mostly focusing on promoting Doug Collins. Massie also personally criticized Collins. Collins is a former Air Force chaplain and civilian pastor, and in his email to Collins, Massie said this, quote, ‘Frankly, as a conservative Southern Baptist pastor, I was surprised that an official VA video was paired with a song containing explicit sexual content.'”
The VA responded to the concerns, telling CNN, “The post simply shows Secretary Collins performing two of the most important aspects of his job: listening to the concerns of veterans and VA employees.” The agency also claimed that social media posts like the one from Collins had helped drive VA enrollment, and denied that such content detracted from its use of social media for suicide prevention and mental health outreach.
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