U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants to introduce a new measure to Congress to prevent the military from using video games as a recruitment tool, especially on Twitch. This move comes after three branches of the U.S. military - the Army, Navy and Air Force - created esports teams as a way to reach out to potential recruits.
This isn’t the first time the military has used video games to entice kids to sign up. In 2002, the U.S. Army released a video game called America’s Army, a free-to-play title meant to attract young people to sign up for the nation’s military forces. Recently, though, the U.S. Army has stepped up its efforts and has established a presence on Twitch, a popular video game streaming platform. But the Army’s Twitch channel efforts, which included streaming games such as banned from the channel for mentioning war crimes.
The U.S. Army’s presence on Twitch has stirred some feathers, particularly in Congress. On July 22, according to Vice.com, Ocasio-Cortez suggested adding a draft amendment to the House Appropriations Bill that would ban the military from using any appropriated funds to “maintain a presence on Twitch.com or any video game, e-sports, or live-streaming platform.” Although it is important to note this is only the first step in a lengthy process that could see the amendment get tossed out, Ocasio-Cortez believes it is undoubtedly necessary. She said:
“It’s incredibly irresponsible for the Army and the Navy to be recruiting impressionable young people and children via live streaming platforms. War is not a game, and the Marine Corps’ decision not to engage in this recruiting tool should be a clear signal to the other branches of the military to cease this practice entirely.”
In addition, Slasher’s Rod Breslau recently tweeted that the U.S. Army had plans to temporarily pause its streaming “due to recent media coverage of fake giveaways and potentially unconstitutional bans.”
The U.S. Army also recently came under fire for running fake giveaways for an Xbox Elite Series 2 controller on its esports channel. The channel’s chat would send out automated prompts about the giveaway with a link to enter, but that entry form was actually a recruitment form, with no further mention of anything related to the giveaway.
Twitch eventually responded to the complaints by forcing the activity to stop as it violated the site’s of service. The U.S. military has always tried to remain at the forefront of popular culture to recruit young people into its forces, although it has come a long way since the “I Want You” Uncle Sam posters. It's likely the military will continue to use modern entertainment methods to recruit, but Ocasio-Cortez's measure could force it to change its current practices.
Source: Vice.com, Rod Breslau