The past few months have been controversial for the U.S Armed Forces. Not due to real wars or atrocities, though that is of course things that have occured, but more specifically their behavior online.
As we have reported previously, the allegations of the US Army and US Navy Twitch streams for transforming into recruitment opportunities for viewers, in conjunction with the general behavior over real-life controversies, has marked both channels with several allegations of stifling free speech and propagandizing the Military.
The free Speech allegations for the Navy in particular stem from the possible war crimes committed by US Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, who has been accused of stabbing a 17-year old prisoner to death then posing with the corpse. The actions of Gallagher has led to criticism against the U.S Navy, which boiled over when their Twitch channel began banning people who mention Gallagher or ask questions pertaining to War Crimes.
It turns out, the U.S Navy already had several protocols to follow, thanks to individuals digging through their protocols with the Freedom of Information Act.
Micah Loewinger, a reporter and producer for the website and podcast OnTheMedia, used the FOIA to obtain the slides used by the U.S Navy for their Twitch streamers, after Loewinger requested materials pertaining to their Twitch Channel.
Per Loewinger, the slides - which are dated to be from July - showed several answers to questions that the Navy was prepared for, specifically targeting questions such as "What is your favorite U.S War Crime?"
Answers on the slide include phrases such as "I'm here to play games. I have no interest in engaging in personal attacks." and "I understand that some people here oppose the military and have no interest in a Navy career. But for those who are curious about what it's like to serve, let's talk."
Loewinger also shared several slides that featured a 'response tree' for Navy Twitch streamers to follow, specifically focusing on the encouragement and recruitment of individuals who were interested in signing up for the Navy. The slides also revealed an "ideal games " slide, where they encourage personnel to "test out a variety of titles as you stream, including current trending games, recent releases, as well as indie or lesser-known titles." Some of the most popular games on Twitch were specifically listed, including Counter-Strike, Fortnite, and Grand Theft Auto V.
The slides reveal some insight into the direction given to Navy personnel for Twitch streaming, as well as a window into their inner workings. Most curiously, the slides also show that the Navy was prepared for incendiary questions such as asking about War Crimes, making the banning of individuals and their words in the aftermath of their channel ban on Twitch all the more curious.
Several of the slides have been posted online by Loewinger, who also promised a report from OnTheMedia about the slides and further posts on their official twitter account.
