You Tube: The Army Version

Just this week, the war in Iraq has entered into a new medium, namely, the internet. The US Army has just launched its own You Tube site, called Multi-National Force, Iraq. This site was created in an attempt to counter an increasingly high number of propaganda videos put out by Iraqi insurgents and terrorists, says an article on IraqSlogger.com, an Iraq war news website. On the Media also recently featured a segment on this new instrument in the war on terror, in which they interviewed US Army Major Armando Hernandez, "media outreach embed chief for the multinational forces in Iraq (OTM)." In this interview, many noteworthy points are brought up.

One thing that I found very interesting, and I was actually a little surprised that it was admitted so freely, was how filtered each of the videos are that the Army posts. To quote Hernandez directly, he said that "The things that we will reject is any video containing profanity, sexual content, extreme gore, operational security violations, mockery of host country or third-country nationals or any footage that depicts the coalition and Iraqi forces in a poor light (OTM)." I understand the reasons for putting all of these restrictions on the videos that ultimately make it onto the internet, but I didn't expect for the Army to blatantly admit that the videos are so one-sided and are meant to produce a specific reaction. It is an open admission of propaganda and even details how they create it by only posting videos that fit a certain mold. I am glad, however, that the Army is openly disclosing their process for choosing the videos, and even though they are so filtered, it is refreshing to hear someone so honestly describe it.

Another thing that struck me about the new You Tube site is how it sort of seems to be a spin-off of The War Tapes, the documentary-like film of videos compiled by US soldiers in Iraq and produced in 2003. This new Army You Tube site does a similar thing by putting cameras in the hands of the soldiers and having them film whatever they choose to. However, with The War Tapes, they were not edited according to the same criteria, and were meant simply to show what it is like to be a soldier in Iraq. I am curious to see how these two sets of Iraq war videos will compare with each other, and what the reaction will be as to their comparisons.

So far, the Army You Tube site is still in its infancy, and so it will take some time before we see its real effects and can better judge its pros and cons. It seems to be very popular, however, with over 54,000 views already (OTM). What I am interested in is how people will react to this new take on You Tube. What are your opinions?