"When a player mows down one of their opponents in Call of Duty, a yellow number-indicating points based on their value-appears above the head of the recently slain. Collect enough of those points, and players are granted access to devastating ordinances. Accordingly, in the White House video, a +100 integer flashes on-screen when a mortar shell connects with its target, as if the president himself were landing trick shots on his Twitch stream."
"This is propaganda designed to stimulate the Trump administration's prime constituency-unsocialized Discord incels, Joker-fied elder millennials, and bloodthirsty Gen Xers-by speaking the language they understand best: a disorienting blend of asserted evil and hammy kitsch."
"The administration has yet to articulate a clear vision for what it hopes to accomplish, but already this seems to be the sort of war that makes the history books, replete with region-tilting implications that will surely be compiled in countless slide decks and debated among quarter-zip NatSec types for decades to come."
The White House released a video on Day 5 of military operations in Iran that remixed real cruise missile footage with Call of Duty gameplay mechanics, displaying point values (+100) when weapons hit targets as if scoring in a video game. The video featured the instrumental track from Childish Gambino's "Bonfire," creating a deliberately provocative aesthetic. This propaganda approach targets specific demographics including Discord users, millennials, and Gen X audiences by communicating through internet culture and gaming language. The video represents the administration's broader approach to framing military action, though clear strategic objectives remain undefined. The conflict carries significant regional implications that will shape Trump's second term and generate substantial policy debate.
Read at Slate Magazine
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