When it comes to online scams, people have become accustomed to hearing from a Nigerian Prince who has fallen on his luck, but few would have guessed that the US Army is being told to stop tricking viewers on Twitch. The US Army has their own streaming channel on the platform and were supposedly running giveaway contests for physical prizes. The problem, however, was that the whole thing seems to have been a scam.
According to a report from The Nation, the giveaways were described as offering viewers the opportunity to win an Xbox Elite Series 2 controller, valued at around $200, depending on where you look. Viewers began to call foul play after clicking on the links given for the giveaway, all of which sent viewers directly to the US Army recruitment page. There was no mention of any contest or giveaway on that page, and unsurprisingly, this scam did not last long.
There is much to say about the ethics of such am obviously dishonest maneuver, but what is equally surprising is that this was not perpetrated by some no-name organization without the funds to pay for prizes. The US Army maintains a multi-billion-dollar marketing arm responsible for recruiting new members. They spend heavily on streamers and so-called “mom-influencers” to attract new recruits. Clearly the funds to promote a real giveaway of the Xbox One controllers would have been small coin, so why the need for such behavior?
Moreover, the US Army has slowly encroached itself into the fabric of competitive esports. Initially one might consider the moves as subtle, such as seeing the Army logo during broadcasts of highly popular games with a large viewer base, such as League of Legends. However, they have moved from subtle sponsoring to what is likely the highest-paying organizations.
This is the only way to explain broadcasters making constant references to the Army, whereas before that time might have been used for another sponsor for food, drink, or the hardware used in each match. On Reddit, this has been brought up often. Non-Americans bring up the topic and wonder if this is normal, because for most, it seems utterly bizarre.
In the end, the US Army will likely continue with its massive advertising spending spree to lure in new recruits, but as to why there is any need to resort to fake giveaways, that remains a mystery. Twitch has made it clear that such practices are not allowed, but time will tell if they get the message.
Source: thenation.com