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The US Navy has a manual for when Twitch viewers ask about war crimes

It would seem that the Navy prefers that their Twitch streamers don't discuss war crimes.

Sam Chandler

October 26, 2020 11:00 PM

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What’s your favorite war crime? It’s a question you wouldn’t expect to see thrown about in Twitch channel discussions, but we’re living in the year 2020, where a virus is sweeping the globe and the Navy is using Twitch as a recruitment platform. To help their streamers deal with the question, the Navy has put together a manual that includes tips for responding to viewers who bring up the topic of war crimes.

On The Media's Micah Loewinger has put through a Freedom of Information Act request for the US Navy’s training manuals. Instead of getting a Glomar response, Loewinger now has access to these manuals, which include helpful tips for streamers. Loewinger has kindly shared some of these on their Twitter account.

One of the more informative pieces of information relates to the popular question, “What’s your favorite U.S. war crime?” Suggestions amount to little more than redirecting viewers’ attention to the game, telling users to take it up with the Federal Elected Officials, or – and this is the real good one – side-stepping and instead focusing on selling the idea of a Navy life.

The manual includes a “Response Decision Tree”, which helps the Navy streamer work out which questions they should answer, ignore, and which ones require them to pass the viewer on to a recruitment form. It contains a list of ideal games for streamers to play. These games include such titles as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Grand Theft Auto V.

The US Army found itself in some hot water after it accidentally violated American citizens’ First Amendment Rights. Whoops! A report by VICE stated that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the US representative of New York’s Queens and Bronx area – and now a high-profile Twitch streamer – has introduced legislation that would disallow the US military from using Twitch as a recruitment platform. Whether or not this will affect the US Navy remains to be seen.

For now, though, viewers can all rest assured knowing that those US Navy Twitch streamers that are out there looking to build connections and recruit young and impressionable kids have a game plan for when they're asked about their favorite war crimes.

Sam Chandler

Guides Editor

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as a Guides Editor. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler