According to recent reports, the US Army's brief tenure on Twitch has come to an end for now. During its time on the platform, the military branch's esports team faced widespread criticism from viewers, Twitter users and even from Twitch itself.
This announcement comes from esports consultant Rod Breslau, who goes by Slasher on Twitter. After failing to stream for thirteen days, the Army decided to "pause" social media usage in response to the backlash surrounding fake giveaways and accusations of unconstitutional behavior from the ACLU.
In his update, Slasher confirmed that the Army's retreat from Twitch involved canceling any "official activations" with the platform and not participating in future Twitch Rivals events. The esports insider also cited an email that reported that the US Army had "no official time frame" in mind before it resumed streaming or posting on social media.
While Breslau claimed that the Army's marketing and recruitment attempts could return in Spring 2021, the military branch's current hiatus will continue for an undetermined amount of time. However, Slasher did emphasize that this absence was temporary. After all, the Navy is still streaming on Twitch, and the streaming platform has not cut off its official partnership with both the Army and the Navy.
After Breslau's initial Twitter thread, Kotaku quickly corroborated the story, stating that it had seen the email in its own report. As for social media reception, most Twitter users celebrated the US Army's disappearance from Twitch with a series of pointed memes. Several responses reiterated its criticism of the Army's brazen attempts to recruit new soldiers from its audience and its suppression of discussion of American war crimes. Some asked if the Army's pause on social media use also included the controversial US Army Discord server, which saw users attempting to complete "ban speedruns."
Hopefully, similar controversies currently surrounding the AmericasNavy Twitch channel will make the streaming titan reconsider its current partnership with the military. Although nothing should prevent government agencies from having a voice on digital platforms, the Army alone has demonstrated a blatant disregard for Twitch's rules and its community, and it should not be above suspension or even a ban.
Source: Kotaku