Fact Check

No, Marine Gen. David Berger Did Not Berate Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin Over Vaccines

RealRawNews.com is, perhaps unsurprisingly, not a reliable source of information on much of anything.

Published Aug. 13, 2021

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 24: Marine Corps Commandant General David Berger testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on June 24, 2021 in Washington, DC. Berger, Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Harker and Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Gilday testified before the Defense Subcommittee about the Navy and Marine Corps' FY 2022 budget proposal. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Image courtesy of Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Claim:
In the summer of 2021, U.S. Marines Commandant David Berger berated Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin over plans to implement mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for U.S. troops.

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On Aug. 10, 2021, RealRawNews.com published an article positing that U.S. Marine Commandant David Berger had berated Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin over plans to implement mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for members of the U.S. military, calling him a "traitor" and vowing: "There will be no mandatory vaccinations for my Marines."

Marines Rebuke Def. Sec.: “No Mandatory Vaccinations for My Marines.”

Marine Corps General David H. Berger on Monday rebuked Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s edict requiring all Armed Forces personnel to submit to Covid-19 vaccinations under threat of court martial or discharge, said a source in Gen. Berger’s office who overheard a heated conversation between them.

...“There will be no mandatory vaccinations for my Marines,” Gen. Berger said.

In a transcript of the call reviewed by Real Raw News, Gen. Berger lambasted Austin and branded him a traitor.

This item was not a factual recounting of real-life events. The article originated with a website that describes its output as being humorous or satirical in nature, as follows:

Information on this website is for informational and educational and entertainment purposes. This website contains humor, parody, and satire. We have included this disclaimer for our protection, on the advice on legal counsel.

RealRawNews.com is known to publish fabricated, conspiracy theory-driven stories, for example the outrageous and distasteful claim, on Aug. 6, that the U.S. military had "hanged" Susan Rice, director of the Domestic Policy Council and National Security Advisor to former President Barack Obama.

Snopes has debunked such fabrications several times in the past.

For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.

Dan Mac Guill is a former writer for Snopes.

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