Well put. I think social media is a huge factor. Before, the village idiot was ignored. Few would agree with them. They’d lack credibility. Now, outliers can post and connect to like-minded giving mass & reinforcing weak ideas. Humans have herd mentalities that usually protect us but now can hurt.

There was a quite long tv ad campaign of “You’re so Money Supermarket”. Users of a comparison website being so confident demonstrated by a man strutting in hot pants. It tried to create association that people might use the phrase IRL. Someone has tweaked that to make Gerrard silly.

🎶 You’ll be back…dum de dum te dum… 🎶

Will be interesting if he gets Trump’s “I didn’t know him” line taken with others.
Or the John Kelly? ”in over his head” despite previous “He’s the best”.
Or the Steve Bannon? Remorse at exit quickly > disdain.
Or the Michael Cohen? At the heart of everything to a rat traitor.
Or the.. ad infinitum

To evolve this theory that the mistake was led by confusion within Waltz’ phone contacts, another has suggested it was the wrong “JG” and it might have meant to be US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, given the discussion about making Europe pay economically.

If I knew more about US politics I might have been able to come up with an absent JG name like you excellently have. The theory that it’s led by confusion within Waltz’ phone contacts remains plausible to me.
(Not sure I actually want to know more about US politics).

Maybe that’s what he was trying. Waltz puts journalist in contacts under shorthand “JG Atlantic”.
Later tries to add the acting Joint Chief to Signal group but saw JG which is nearly JC and Atlantic which is nearly Acting.
Oops, added the wrong person.
No conspiracy. Just laziness.

That’s the clumsy excuse. The stupid excuse is that he sees JG Atlantic as he scrolls past, doesn’t recognise it and confuses it for something real in the Exec Branch so adds it. Not thinking actual “in charge of Atlantic” but actual responsibility in Atlantic area.