This is an interesting way to get people to talk about the conflict and help it gain more news and media converge. At first glance the whole thing sounds like a bad thing, rewarding people with military badges and rankings from talking about the conflict. But if you really think about it the idea it's pretty sound. From having people gain virtual rewards for posting and reading articles about the conflict you get a basis of people that will want to continue reading and collaborating about the subject. By collaborating they bring the topic back to the forefront of people's minds that there is a conflict here and it needs to end gain more coverage so they might get some aid from the attention. By introducing gamification or game like elements to the media and articles relating to the conflict you will get more people 'playing' or talking about it and maybe gain some aid out of all the coverage.
Israel Defence Forces uses gamification to promote its part in Gaza conflict
IDF blog features a virtual army game offering users badges and points for sharing the blog's content on social media.
The social-media campaign employed by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) in its latest conflict with Hamas over the Gaza Strip includes gamification.
The IDF blog features a virtual game, titled "IDF Ranks: The Virtual Army Game", which encourages visitors to the site to earn points and badges in return for spreading IDF content online through social media.
"IDF Ranks is an interactive game, directly implemented into all of the IDF's social platforms, allowing you to be a virtual part of the IDF," the blog states.
"Every action you take--reading, commenting, liking, sharing, or even just visiting--will earn you points, and help you climb the ladder of IDF Ranks. Specific actions will win you beautiful badges, and one day you might even become the chief of staff of IDF Ranks."
While the game was incorporated into the IDF blog in July, it has drawn more recent criticism from commentators who view the IDF's actions as a promotion of war in the current Gaza conflict.
"Israel is trying to enlist the people of the world in its campaign with military ranks, badges, and points," ReadWrite's Jon Mitchell wrote last week. "Innocent people are dying on all sides, and the IDF wants to reward people for tweeting about it. Israel has gamified war."
However, an IDF spokesperson refused to refer to the game as a gamification of the current conflict.
"In no way is 'IDF Ranks' meant to gamify Operation Pillar of Defense or any military actions during the operation," the spokesperson told ReadWrite.
According to Mitchell, 10 visits to the IDF blog gives users the "Consistent" badge, while searching the blog bestows the "Research Officer" badge.
"It's impossible to fathom how anyone could justify this trivialisation of war," Daily Life's Amal Awad added. "People are being killed, and the conflict is spiralling out of control, but observers can titillate themselves with a reward system for taking a side."
The game is positioned next to a "Rocket Counter" on the IDF blog, showing the number of rockets that have hit Israel since last year.
Content you might like…
-
Army, Navy seeking out better video game tech

Soldiers reportedly find current military simulations dated; Army investigating new program to find replacement for Bohemia Interactive's Virtual Battlespace 2.
- Jan 20, 2013
Users who looked at this article also looked at these content items.
Hot Stories
Newsmakers
-
EA and Disney team up for Star Wars games
As part of multiyear exclusive arrangement, DICE and Visceral will work on new "core" Star Wars games. Full Story
- Posted May 7, 2013 6:28 am AEST
-
Assassin's Creed creator claims he was fired
[UPDATE] Patrice Desilets says Ubisoft terminated his position today and did not allow him to collect personal belongings. Full Story
- Posted May 8, 2013 3:44 am AEST
Featured Stories
-
Study: Violent games can desensitize players
New research finds frequent exposure to violent games can have numbing effect on teenagers, though no cause-and-effect relationship proven. Full Story
- Posted May 10, 2013 11:17 pm AEST
-
World of Warcraft subs fall to 8.3 million
Subscriber base for aging MMO dips 1.3 million in three months; Activision Blizzard posts $456 million profit on $1.32 billion in revenue for Q1. Full Story
- Posted May 9, 2013 6:18 am AEST
-
EA extends FIFA licensing agreement to 2022
"FIFA continues to be very strong," says EA, which has been making FIFA games since 1993. Full Story
- Posted May 8, 2013 7:19 pm AEST
-
No multiplayer in new Wolfenstein
MachineGames' upcoming shooter will be single-player-only experience. Full Story
- Posted May 8, 2013 11:49 pm AEST
-
Ubisoft: PlayStation 4 like a 'perfect jewel'
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag producer says Sony has created a compelling piece of technology and it is up to designers to make most of it. Full Story
- Posted May 10, 2013 2:37 am AEST





