MoD warns against perils of social media with tea-drinking terrorist

Loose tweets sink ships! A new campaign from the Ministry of Defence warns people about the danger of posting sensitive information to Twitter, Facebook and other social networks.

With a series of bizarre videos (which we've embedded below) to hammer home the message, the website for the campaign warns, "It might only take one careless comment, or posting a picture without checking what's in the background to put friends and colleagues at risk."

The MoD recommends avoiding posting images that give away "location, operational intentions, equipment specifications and capabilities".

Anyone who's had shocking leaving-do photos pop up in their mum's Facebook feed will know the perils of social media. The videos made by the MoD feature a ne'er-do-well terrorist in a balaclava dancing around in a nightclub with two navy types who were foolish enough to check in on FourSquare.

In the second video, the same masked menace is seen drinking tea with the mother of a serviceman who sent his dear old mum a Facebook message that included presumably classified information.

The videos are totally weird, but we can't fault the sentiment -- even if you're not a member of the military, it's always worth double-checking a tweet, or looking at what's in the background of a photo before you post it.

As the MoD point out, "While it is unlikely that you'll fall victim, you should be aware of the risk."

A rather dark teaser for a third video shows the bandoliered baddie tracking down a pair of children in the park, because their mum put her home address on her LinkedIn page. 

Let us know what you think of the videos, and the campaign in general, in the comments or on our Facebook page. Just make sure you give your comment a sly once-over before posting -- you never know who's watching.