IMI-Aktuell 2020/505
US-Armee: ESports
(25.07.2020)
Die US-Armee ist extrem begierig darauf, an möglichst gut ausgebildete RektutInnen zu ggelangen (siehe IMI-Analyse 2020/28). Unter anderem wird inzwischen intensiv versucht, im ESports-Bereich an RekrutInnen zu gelangen, berichtet Forbes (via Bpb-Newsletter): „The next esports competition you watch on Twitch might have the logo of the United States Army on the side, denoting the military branch as an official sponsor. The Army also has its own esports team, USArmyEsports, that regularly streams video games like Call of Duty and League of Legends while chatting with viewers about life in the military and providing links to sign up. It is all part of the Army’s over $1 million investment into marketing on the video game-broadcasting platform. With the U.S. Navy and Air Force joining the army in creating esports teams earlier this year, the military has turned towards gaming as a way to connect with potential recruits. (…) Despite the intention behind the initiative, having military personnel become Twitch streamers has already caused problems with Twitch and, potentially, the U.S. government. (…) Civil liberties groups have criticized the military’s Twitch and Discord channels for banning commenters mentioning U.S. war crimes. (…) At the root of both of these issues is the newness of the military to social media marketing and the ethical question of whether the military should be marketing on these platforms, with very young user bases, in the first place.“ (jw)