Did you know that the US Army is playing on Twitch?
That’s right, you can watch live streams of the US military playing their favorite video games. They even promote giveaways where you can win great game prizes if you just fill out some personal information.
Big problem, though. The gifts are not real. They are just forms of military recruitment. And Twitch is telling the US Army to stop doing it.
“Under our Terms of Service, promotions on Twitch must comply with all applicable laws,” a Twitch spokesperson said in a statement provided to the game store. “This promotion did not meet our Terms, and we have required them to remove it.”
Many probably didn’t realize that the US Army even had an esports team. This development seems to have come to light for most people when the military recently launched it. The army’s troubles started after some regular Twitch streamers decided to jump on a live stream to see what was going on.
During the military Call of Duty Stream, a viewer, political activist, posed a question to the US Army esports team in Twitch chat: “What is your favorite war crime?”
“Have fun being banned, my friend,” replied the on-camera transmitter with the US Army before Uhl’s start. The military claims it banned Twitch viewers like Uhl because they broke Twitch’s policies on bullying.
However, a Upon investigating the ban, it was discovered that the U.S. Army may actually have violated Uhl’s First Amendment rights. The ACLU even released a statement on the matter on Twitter.
Calling government war crimes is not harassment, that is, the truth to power. And banning users from asking important questions is not “flexing”, it is unconstitutional. https://t.co/E8N10fM5IR
– ACLU (@ACLU) July 10, 2020
“Calling government war crimes is not harassment, that is, the truth to power,” said the ACLU. “And banning users from asking important questions is not ‘flexing’, it is unconstitutional.”
However, Uhl’s experience watching the Twitch broadcast of the US Army was not in vain. Writing in Uhl shared some alarming aspects of the military’s live video game stream. One of the detailed topics was how soldiers promoted links to player team gifts during the Twitch broadcast to viewers as young as 13.
But, when clicking on the link, a young gamer looking to win a $ 200 controller comes across an indescribable form without mentioning the details of the promotion or contest. The page is really a form of Army recruitment.
Streamers and in the gaming industry were with this news.
@Twitch’s silence on the latest wave of criticism regarding the military using the site to trick children into sharing personal information speaks volumes. Imagine ANY other channel doing that. I guess feel free to manipulate your viewers as much as you want.
– 爪 卂 几 (@MANvsGAME) July 16, 2020
Hello @Twitch, are you using your platform to always run scams against TOS or the US Army You get a special exception when they are looking for children’s blood instead of money? https://t.co/khOZyiy3Bu
– Bruno Dias (@NotBrunoAgain) July 15, 2020
This week, Twitch acted to enforce its policies against such promotions.
While some may be surprised by the use of Twitch by the US Army as a recruiting tool, the military has not exactly tried to hide its objective.
“Electronic sports are just one way to start a conversation,” Maj. Gen. Frank Muth said with ThinkTech Hawaii posted on YouTube. “None of our players … go in there saying ‘I’m a recruiter, come join the army.'”
“Naturally it becomes a conversation, ‘What are you doing?’, ‘I’m in the military,'” Major General Muth continued.
Therefore, it seems likely that the US Army will continue its esports efforts on Twitch. You just have to follow the rules of the platform and stop promoting recruitment forms under the guise of fake gifts.
Also, now that this is all out there, the army streamers will probably have to deal with many more trolls in the future as well.
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