Twitch United States (U.S.) Army online game streamers were accused of using fake giveaways to recruit teens as young as 13 years old. The popular video streaming platform orders them to stop the activity, according to Independent's latest report.
Twitch Stops US Army From Using Fake Giveaways For Recruitment https://t.co/JRVNyPph5s #gamingnews pic.twitter.com/7XgwTBnNgl — Jeremy Briggs (@BigJermHQ) July 16, 2020
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The Nation also reported that teen gamers are spending hours watching the video of Navy, Army, and Air Force.
"Have a nice time getting banned, my dude," told Joshua "Strotnium" David, an Army recruiter and online gamer, to one of the people who watched his live stream before he booted out the viewer from his Twitch channel, the report stated.
The teams of the Army, Air Force, and Navy Twitch streamers are made up of skilled gamers who already competed in e-game tournaments for cash prizes. The members of the military e-sports teams, together with on-screen talents and recruiters, are offering their viewers a chance to win regular gaming skill set such as Xbox Elite Series 2 controller; an enhanced gaming controller with extra paddles and customizable options for advanced play that costs $200. The kids who were lured hanged out with one of the US Army during their video game live stream, spending hours chatting with the US Army streamer.
What does the US Army live stream looks like?
A recruiter around his 30's, is usually the one who is on the live stream, sitting comfortably in his gamer chair inside a dimly lit room, with a monitor and the colorful LED lights of his computer tower illuminating the place. An American flag, which is hanged on the wall, can be seen behind his right shoulder; together with an oversized stuff toy, sitting to his left side. The US Army recruiter usually plays Valorant or Call of Duty while talking about how he loves being in the Army.
This is creepy af I just read an article about the US Army using their twitch to trick users into joining up using fake giveaways and THIS in my sponsored post... pic.twitter.com/WQwcB7zYKm — Blacklivesmatter (@light_squared_) July 17, 2020
Once the viewers accepted the offer, they'll be directed to an army recruitment page with no additional information of a contest, the total number of winners, odds, or if there will be a draw. Twitch viewers and streamers voiced their outrage on social media.
"This promotion did not comply with our Terms," they said, "and we have required them to remove it," said Twitch's spokesperson regarding the controversy.
The U.S. military capitalizes on Twitch's large base of young U.S. men using its extensive commercial deal with the video streaming service platform. The armed forces of the United States is an official sponsor of "Twitch Rivals", the platform's esports brand. The U.S. military logo is featured on some of the biggest esports brandings such as Valorant and League of Legends.
