A day after Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) announced her candidacy to run for governor of New Jersey, she shared details about herself on X to New Jersey voters. One of her posts was likely meant to highlight her past military service as well as that of her grandfather—yet it may have backfired due to a not-so-small gaffe when she misidentified a Cold War-era bomber as being in service during the Second World War.
Sherrill, who was among the first flight school graduates of women from the Naval Academy to be eligible for direct assignment to fly combat aircraft, has said she was inspired by her grandfather, who was a pilot for the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.
She went on to serve nine years in the United States Navy, later attended law school and was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018.
It made sense that she would remind voters of her past service and what inspired her when she shared a photo of her grandfather on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, with the caption, “My grandfather, Bill, was a B-52 bomber pilot in WWII and flew missions over occupied France. He was shot down and rescued by the Free French. After hearing his stories as a kid, it became my dream to fly, just like him.”
Great Story… With A Problem
Almost immediately after Sherrill’s post went live, users on X responded and quickly noted that the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress was developed after the Second World War, and only entered service with the U.S. Air Force in 1955. The B-52 remains the backbone of Air Force’s bomber fleet—and current plans call for it to remain in service until the late 2040s.
Sherrill later clarified her post, writing, “Sorry guys, a typo after a long day! He was a B-24 pilot and his service continues to inspire me every day.”
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was the most produced heavy bomber of the Second World War, with approximately 18,500 manufactured during the Second World War. It was one of the workhorse bombers of the U.S. military.
Post-Truth Era
Typos and mistakes are certainly common on social media, but Sherrill took nearly as much flak from other users on X as her grandfather might have experienced in his Liberator. And while the literal flak resulted in her grandfather being shot down, the proverbial flak certainly reminds us that political candidates should expect a long campaign where such missteps can be hard to move past.
“We live in a ‘post-truth era,’ but everything we post online can also be quickly checked and vetted,” explained social media analyst and brand marketing expert Scott Steinberg.
“There remains a thinking that no press is bad press, but at the end of the day this wasn’t a good look for a U.S. military veteran and it certainly was not a good way to launch a political campaign,” said Steinberg. “Coming out of the 2024 race, we saw that some voters might not care about facts, but the response that Sherrill received suggests she was solidly in the crosshairs on this one.”
That one post also overshadowed many of the others that highlighted her career and military service.
“The problem with being in an information age is that we’re all made privy to the most benign of goofs when someone speaks extemporaneously,” said Susan Campbell, distinguished lecturer in the Communication, Film and Media Studies Department at the University of New Haven. “Misspeaking is emphatically not the same as lying, and I would hope we all still possess enough humanity to give the minor goofs a pass.”
Mistakes Will Happen
This should also serve as a reminder to everyone, but especially politicians who may be seeking to win favor with voters, to be extra careful when using social media as a campaign tool. Instead of connecting with voters in the Garden State, the mix-up of military aircraft allowed every aviation know-it-all to jump into the conversation.
The same had happened with President-elect Donald Trump in August when he claimed the U.S. Air Force operated the “F-32 jet fighter” while he likely meant the F-22 Raptor. It is likely impossible for everyone to remember such details—even a former military pilot—but in the social media era, even seemingly small mistakes will be noted quickly.
“The great irony is that social media encourages us to contribute these sorts of personal stories,” said Steinberg. “Yet, when we don’t take a couple of extra seconds and are too quick to post, we can create messes that are almost impossible to clean up. All of us fire off the cuff at times, but that isn’t acceptable for a politician today. This just gave ammunition to her critics.”
