Did you know the U.S. Army991 Archivesgaming on Twitch?
That’s right, you can watch livestreams of the American military playing their favorite video games. They even promote giveaways where you can win cool gaming prizes if you just fill out some personal information.
Big problem, though. The giveaways aren’t real. They’re just military recruitment forms. And Twitch is telling the U.S. Army to stop doing it.
“Per our Terms of Service, promotions on Twitch must comply with all applicable laws,” said a Twitch spokesperson in a statement provided to gaming outlet Kotaku. “This promotion did not comply with our Terms, and we have required them to remove it.”
Many probably didn’t realize that the U.S. Army even had an esports team. This development seems to have come to light for most people when the military recently launched its Twitch channel. The army’s problems started after a few regular Twitch streamers decided to jump into a live broadcast to see what was up.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
During the military’s Call of Dutystream, one viewer, political activist Jordan Uhl, posed a question to the U.S. Army esports team in the Twitch chat: “what’s your favorite war crime?”
"Have a nice time getting banned, my dude," replied the on-camera streamer with the U.S. Army before givingUhl the boot. The army claims that it banned Twitch viewers like Uhl because they broke Twitch’s policies on harassment.
However, a Vicelook into the ban found that in reality the U.S. Army may have violated Uhl’s First Amendment rights. The ACLU even put out a statement on the issue over Twitter.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
“Calling out the government’s war crimes isn’t harassment, it’s speaking truth to power,” tweetedthe ACLU. “And banning users who ask important questions isn’t "flexing," it’s unconstitutional.”
However, Uhl’s experience watching the U.S. Army’s Twitch stream wasn’t for naught. Writing in The Nation, Uhl shared a few alarming aspects of the military’s video game livestream. One of the issues detailed was how the soldiers were promoting links to gamer gear giveaways during the Twitch stream to viewers as young as 13.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
But, upon clicking the link, a young gamer looking to win a $200 controller is met with a nondescript form with no mention of the promotion or contest details. The page is really an Army recruitment form.
Streamers and othersin the gaming industry were not happywith this news.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This week, Twitch acted by enforcing its policies against such promotions.
While some may be surprised by the U.S. Army’s use of Twitch as a recruitment tool, the military hasn’t exactly tried to hide its objective.
“Esports is just an avenue to start a conversation,” said Major General Frank Muth in a recent interviewwith ThinkTech Hawaii posted on YouTube. “None of our players...go in there saying ‘I’m a recruiter, come join the army.’”
“It naturally devolves into a conversation, ‘What do you do?’, ‘I’m in the army,’” Major General Muth continued.
So, it seems likely that the U.S. Army will continue its esports efforts on Twitch. It’ll just have to follow the platform’s rules and stop promoting recruitment forms under the guise of fake gear giveaways.
Also, now that this is all out there, the army’s streamers will probably have to deal with a lot more trolls in the future too.
Topics Gaming Twitch
What cracked the Milky Way's giant cosmic bone? Scientists think they know.
“Human Life Is Punishment,” and Other Pleasures of Studying Latin
Harry: A Ghost Story
What’s Wrong with Us: An Interview with J. M. Holmes
NYT Connections Sports Edition hints and answers for May 18: Tips to solve Connections #237
How the Unflappable Fred Astaire Survived the Fifties
Survival Story: An Interview with David France by Garth Greenwell
Writers on Pencils
10 Tech Predictions for 2017
Against Argument: A Letter from London
Boeing's new VR simulator immerses astronauts in space training
Plainness in Diversity
Seeing Reynolds Price Through His Art Collection
Ann Beattie Rearranges the House at Night
A worthless juicer and a Gipper-branded server
At Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop, 22nd & 5th Ave
4' 33": On Listening to the Silence
Reading J. A. Baker’s ‘The Peregrine’ in Fall
Best Garmin deal: Save over $100 on Garmin Forerunner 955
Chekhov On: The Soul
Long history podcasts are my new obsession. You should try it.Kevin Hart's 'Fatherhood' is bland but sweet: Movie reviewThe finale of 'Blue Planet II' carried a message that should be heard by allThe 12 best tweets of the week, including Beethoven, dry ribs, and BatmanWhy the heat wave hitting the Western U.S. is so intenseDustin Hoffman accused of groping coAlabamian Channing Tatum asks his home state to do the right thing, for the love of GodChristmas time means loads of sneaky cats getting stuck in treesRoy Moore can't ride a horse for his life, and everyone noticedMario Batali stepping down from his business after sexual misconduct accusationsMario Batali stepping down from his business after sexual misconduct accusationsChristmas time means loads of sneaky cats getting stuck in treesRihanna, Justin Bieber, and more are standing up for bullied kid Keaton JonesSoftbank's new LeicaNow Beyoncé, Hillary Clinton, and Serena Williams can be the angel on your Christmas treeWhat to expect from Mobile World Congress: Samsung, Huawei, and moreNeil Patrick Harris's daughter wrote an adorable letter to the tooth fairyWhy people on Twitter are giving black women the credit for Roy Moore's defeatThe best smartphones of 2021 (so far)6 maps that show how far we still have to go for LGBTQ equality A real 'Will & Grace' revival series is finally in the works Portland woman accidentally steals Subaru, returns it with apology note Can Uber help Obamacare? The White House hopes so The MacBook dilemma: Pay more, or get an old machine Twitter employees share last day memories on Twitter Moments The 'Pretty Little Liars' cast got pretty little matching tattoos Grandmother creates emoji to better reflect older people Apple’s new TV app is Apple's idea of TV A very serious analysis of the Drake and Taylor Swift dating rumors Artist paints with algae to highlight China's toxic waters Please enjoy Kylie Jenner's bizarre, sexy Snapchat story about making lasagna Hacker jailed for stealing nude celebrity photos from iCloud accounts NASA's carved pumpkins put everyone else's to shame Pokémon isn't dead, it's back as zombie burgers for Halloween Historic deal establishes world's largest marine protected area in Antarctica With the Touch Bar, Apple has turned its back on touchscreen laptops Brilliant Amazon Prime Halloween costume really delivers Admit it: Microsoft is now a braver, more innovative company than Apple Bow down to Japanese rock legend Hyde's incredible Harley Quinn costume The MacBook Pro's Touch Bar will cost you if it breaks
1.783s , 10131.515625 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【1991 Archives】,Creation Information Network