It could have been a headline from The Onion, or a log line for a Veep episode. But instead it was a very real article from The Atlantic, about a real text chain casually spilling likely classified information on American military operations in Yemen to a journalist, unbeknownst to some of the country’s most powerful officials.
In a stunning revelation Monday, The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg published a jaw-dropping essay claiming he was added to a Signal group chat comprised of top national security officials within the Trump administration—including what appeared to be Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth—where he bore witness to dozens of text messages seemingly planning the March 15 strike on Houthi targets in Yemen.
In a statement to the magazine, White House National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said the message chain appeared to be “authentic” and noted that they would be “reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain.”
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While the incident raises countless red flags, it also has inspired countless memes—with many stunned citizens making light of the fact that the leaders of the free world apparently conduct sensitive statecraft the same way their own group chats plan a beach vacation.
In true 21st century fashion, social media went wild the minute Goldberg clicked publish Monday morning, dragging everything between Succession and Sesame Street’s Big Bird into the conversation to create a flood of memes.
In one post, one X user quipped: “I hate living in DC. What do you mean every group chat name just changed to ‘Houthis PC Small Group.’”
Others commended Goldberg and The Atlantic for doing a better job at keeping government secrets safe than actual members of the government. The magazine ultimately opted not to publish certain text messages that they feared would compromise U.S. national security. Goldberg also left the text chain soon after joining.
Many users cracked jokes about Goldberg’s ethical compass, including one who noted, “Jeff Goldberg better than me tho bc I would have stayed on that chain until Jan 2029.”
“On the bright side, the Atlantic didn’t tip off the Houthis!” another user added.
Puns also swiftly entered the chat, as one user managed to sum up the entire debacle in only three-words: “New phone, Houthis.”
Some users also shared some life lessons to be learned from Goldberg’s absurd anecdote, with one person writing on X: “Dance like no one is watching. Text like the editor of the Atlantic was accidentally added to the group chat and is reading everything.”
But the party did eventually have to end at some point, as one X user jarringly turned on the lights with this crude reminder: “Remember folks, if Jeffrey Goldberg hadn’t spoken up he’d still be receiving classified war plans from Pete Hegseth to this day.”
To quote a text reportedly sent to the “Houthis PC Small Group” message chain… “Good Job Pete and your team!!”
