Recruitment messages attributed to the American army have been spotted on 4chan, a community space frequented by racist groups, among others. Recruiters are increasingly looking for their recruits on social networks.
” Are you a loser? Join the US Army “. This is, in short, the message that we have seen flourishing for some time on 4chan, a discussion space with a very sulphurous reputation. In a publication sent on June 6, an anonymous person describes his sad life course – without study, without work, on the verge of suicide – before falling on a recruiter from the American army. This tells him that he has landed a job in mechanical maintenance. He also says that he was able to receive a signing bonus of 15,000 euros. The post ends with the link to the army recruiting site.
This post is not the first to appear on 4chan. In the comments, a member explains that he saw this testimony pass “ for the fifth time on the forum. Others have been spotted a few times in recent months. Another meme in the same style has been posted last April, using the same structure and the same message. A click on the image opened the army recruitment page.
A similarity and an insistence that suggests that this content is sent on purpose. By members of the US military? The message only claims to want to help other members, but has little effect. The replies to the post are mostly insults.
The army in search of Gen Z
We can’t say with certainty that the army is really hiding behind these accounts, but recruiting on 4chan is probably not the best idea. The forum has long been a haven for racist and neo-Nazi groups. Between 2015 and 2019, hate posts on the site’s politics page increased by 40%. Besides, one of the most important leaks of secret information from the Pentagon was swung by a far-right youngster hanging out on 4chan and Discord.
Jack Douglas Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was arrested on April 13 for distributing documents and reports on numerous situations around the world, including the war between Russia and Ukraine. The 21-year-old ultra-nationalist is anti-Biden and paradoxically wanted to harm American power, ending up helping the Russians.
Recruiters have long invested in social networks to praise the merits of the defense. Although it is forbidden to download TikTok for the American military, recruiters are very present on the Chinese platform, trying to convince Generation Z to put on the uniform. Discord is also a privileged network: all branches of the army have their own e-sports team and communicate on video game news on private channels.
Americans aren’t the only recesses in this niche, Russia recently flooded Russian social network Vkontakte with more than 53,000 ads in hopes of replacing its massive losses in Ukraine. Promotional messages from Wagner’s Russian mercenaries, guilty of numerous murders and tortures, also circulate, on 4chan. A career choice that is not recommended.
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