US representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants to stop military using Twitch streams for recruitment

US representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has made a move to stop the United States military from using online Twitch streams as a recruitment tool for the US Army, Navy and Air Force.  

Cortez filed a draft amendment moving to block the use of Twitch streams from becoming a recruitment tool for young, impressionable viewers on Twitch. The new amendment aims to pull military funding from sections purposely designed to “maintain a presence on Twitch.com or any video game, e-sports, or live-streaming platform.”

“None of the fund appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used by any of the Armed Forces to maintain a presence on Twitch.com or any video game, esports, or live-streaming platform”, reads the full amendment.

The Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez amendment will have to pass few a lot of stages before it can prohibit the military from attracting recruits through the use of streaming violent video games. The amendment will have to pass through the House Appropriations Committee on the 27th July before going forward.

This amendment comes after it was discovered that the United States military was gathering new recruits via fake giveaways on their Twitch channel, a scheme that Twitch quickly shut down upon discovering. The fake giveaway stated that the military would be giving out the newest form of Xbox Elite Controllers, but the giveaway page instead led to a recruitment form.

“It’s incredibly irresponsible for the Army and the Navy to be recruiting impressionable young people and children via live streaming platforms,” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement to Vice. “War is not a game, and the Marine Corps’ decision not to engage in this recruiting tool should be a clear signal to the other branches of the military to cease this practice entirely.”

While the official US Army Twitch account is no longer active, the United States military continues to stream on the official US Navy channel. The Navy is currently streaming first-person shooters like Call of Duty and Valorant.