A hot potato: The U.S. Army’s Twitch channel has been reprimanded by the platform after using gifts from fake game controllers to direct people to a recruitment form. The controversy comes shortly after it came under fire for blocking viewers asking about war crimes.
As reported by The Nation, the Army, Navy, and Air Force have dedicated eSports teams that stream on Twitch. The members consist of active and reserve members of the armed forces who speak about their love of games and the military.
The post writes that the channel broadcasts were regularly populated with an automated chat message offering a chance to win $ 200 + Xbox Elite Series 2. But clicking on this link directed people to an army recruitment form not to mention a competition, odds, number of winners or draw dates.
The false competition sparked the ire of many viewers and other streamers, complaining that any other channel would have repercussions for similar actions. Twitch seems to have heard the complaints and has now prevented the army from executing these “gifts.”
“Under our Terms of Service, promotions on Twitch must comply with all applicable laws,” a site spokesperson told Kotaku. “This promotion did not meet our Terms, and we have required them to remove it.”
just have a good time with the US Army esports mishap broadcast @JordanUhl pic.twitter.com/qnjyxg1KP0
– Rod Breslau (@Slasher) July 8, 2020
The Army’s Twitch stream is also being accused of violating First Amendment rights by viewers after banning users who asked about their favorite war crimes. While channels can ban whoever they want, anything classified as a government public forum cannot silence citizens. Freedom of expression laws are the same reason why Donald Trump cannot block people on Twitter. The ACLU has also spoken out against the army. “Calling government war crimes is not harassment, that is, the truth to power,” the organization said on Twitter. “And banning users from asking important questions is not ‘flexing’, it is unconstitutional.”
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
