#BBCtrending: Online sites try to ID military fakes
- Published
A video of a man accused of impersonating a US Army Ranger has gone viral, with more than 3 million views
A video of a man allegedly impersonating a US Army Ranger has gone viral this week, with more than three million views since it was posted on YouTube on 28 November.
Ryan Berk, a US Army veteran, noticed the man at a shopping mall in Pennsylvania and thought that something was off.
"The first thing I noticed was his flag on his shoulder. It was really low, and it was kind of crooked," Bek said. So he decided to confront him.
He sent the video to the blog Guardian of Valor, which has a "Hall of Shame" where it posts pictures and information about people accused of impersonating soldiers.
There has been intense backlash online and in the media against the man in the video, who has since been identified as Sean Yetman. He has not yet responded to the allegations publicly.
One Congressman has called for him to be prosecuted.
But is it illegal to imitate members of the military?
BBC Trending spoke to Jonathan Turley, a legal scholar and law professor at George Washington University, about the law known as the Stolen Valor Act.
Produced by Franz Strasser and Ashley Semler
You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending
All our stories are at bbc.com/trending