Overview
- Pete Hegseth posted an image on X showing Franklin the Turtle in military gear firing on boats under the title “Franklin targets narcoterrorists.”
- Kids Can Press, which publishes Franklin, publicly condemned the depiction as a violent, unauthorized use that conflicts with the character’s ethos of kindness and empathy.
- A Pentagon spokesperson, Sean Parnell, defended the post to CBS News, saying Franklin would not be tolerant of drug cartels.
- The Washington Post reported that two survivors of a September U.S. strike were killed in a second salvo said to have been authorized by Hegseth, which the White House first denied then confirmed while attributing the order to the special-operations admiral.
- The legality of the reported second strike is under scrutiny, as the Franklin image proliferated online through supporter reposts, an animated remix, and a counter-meme titled “Franklin va en prison.”