Australian Defence Force uses taxpayer money to pay vile videogamers to help recruit teens
DEFENCE has wasted thousands of taxpayer dollars hiring videogamers to publish pro-army posts in a bid to help recruit teens. But after The Daily Telegraph found the “influencers” had a history of racist, sexist and gay slurs, it said it would stop “immediately”.
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THOUSANDS of taxpayer dollars have been spent by the Australian Defence Force hiring two “professional videogamers” to make Youtube videos spruiking air force recruitment to teenagers.
An investigation by The Daily Telegraph can today reveal that Defence forked out $52,500 hiring Sydney “video game Youtubers” Alen Catak, known online by the handle @ChampChong, and Elliott Watkins, known as @Muselk, to make video blogs at Townsville air force base as part of an “influencer” marketing strategy.
Catak has a history of making rape jokes online, calling women “sluts” and “whores” and making racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic comments.
Watkins has also made rape jokes and flippant references to “cancer” in his videos.
Defence Minister Marise Payne last night blasted Defence’s decision to hire the two YouTubers “inadequate due diligence” and an insult “to the men and women of the ADF”.
“Any such arrangements will cease immediately,” Ms Payne said.
The videos paid for by Defence featured Watkins and Catak, who both make their living reviewing violence-filled online games such as Call of Duty and Fortnite, posing with fighter jets and describing the armed forces as “like a real life video game”.
Both Watkins’ and Catak’s audiences are largely teenage boys.
Examples of tweets sent by Catak include one post in 2013 where he wrote: “not being racist, but movies are made by jews. they care for every last cent lol.”
In another tweet written the same year, Catak joked about harassing women writing: “This girl was dressed like a whore & I asked ‘how much’ She replied ‘what’ I was like ‘how much for you’ & she was like ‘u think I’m a slut’.”
He went on to say: “If you’re a girl and you’re dressed like a little slut, don’t be offended when a guy makes a remark. Look at yourself bitch! LOL”.
He has also made rape jokes including in 2015 when he said: “Tried uploading the first-half highlights of #BrazilvsGermany to @Pornhub but they don’t accept rape!”
In 2011 he wrote: “i am going to rape at mw3 (video game Modern Warfare 3) and post it to youtube to add to the raping and that’s #fact lol”.
He also frequently referred to people as “retards” and “c … s”, writing in 2015 “there are a few retards out there who need to be put in their place”.
The two videos Defence paid Catak for were titled “VIDEO GAMES in REAL LIFE” and received just 6000 views each.
In one video, Catak interviewed an Air Traffic Controller and asked him whether a “regular chump” who “plays games” can join the air force.
The video shows him in a field with a man in uniform as he peers through binoculars and examines the contents of a ration pack.
Watkins, 23, has also made rape jokes online.
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Last year he posted a clip from a video game to Twitter that showed one player’s online character thrusting suggestively toward another player’s character that was dressed in military fatigues and was kneeling down with forehead on the ground and tied wrists. He captioned the tweet: “Is … is this a crime. Are we going to jail now?”.
Is... is this a crime. Are we going to jail now? @Vikkstar123 @PhantomACE_ pic.twitter.com/KA3CiblNRs
— Muselk (@MrMuselk) 27 July 2017
In 2016, Watkins also uploaded a video to YouTube titled “The RACIST Bastion!”. The video featured audio of him laughing when another game player says he is being “raped” in the corner.
In 2017 he also uploaded a video where he flippantly described a game character he did not like as “the face of cancer”.
In the sponsored video paid for by Defence, Watkins comments that talking to an Air Traffic Controller is like “when someone who plays a different game to you starts talking about Gods or League of Legends.”
Watkins only bothered linking to the Defence website in one of the two sponsored videos he made.
In both videos, he did include links to his own personal “merchandise” store.
Watkins and Catak both declined to comment about their prior comments online when approached by The Daily Telegraph yesterday.
Ms Payne said the content of the posts and videos was “completely unacceptable” and promised an investigation would be launched immediately.
“The material is offensive and has no place in any relationship with the Australian Defence Force or the Defence organisation,” Ms Payne said.
Defence will investigate who is responsible for inadequately checking these arrangements and appropriate steps will be taken.
“ This is an insult to the men and women of the ADF, the Defence organisation, and the Australian people,” the Minister said.