The outpouring of support for #BringBackOurGirls has garnered a unique response from mercenary groups, who have aligned and created a Kickstarter campaign (#SpendAndSend) to publicly fund direct intervention by a private military contractor (PMC). An ad hoc alliance of PMCs (Leviathan Solutions International) started the campaign, its individual members, some in teams, will vie for likes, tweets and shares as they compete in a multiple round knockout tournament live on social media.

Leviathan spokesperson Thomasin Leungtun said that the group decided to attempt crowdsourcing after the fervor of the #kony2012 campaign. He spoke in excited bursts about the future of “demo-monetized military intervention,” (DMI) envisioning a future security utopia once organized violence is finally controlled by the people. “Not only is Nigeria resource-rich, it is also a textbook ‘cleft country,’ representing a historic opportunity for closet jingoists from around the world to finally have a voice,” said Leungtun. “Looking forward, the opportunities are endless. America for instance will be able to save millions on Israel and the Pro-Israeli lobby can now fund their desired outcomes directly.”

Unsurprisingly, social media budgets are exploding for smaller contractors and larger companies are enlisting entire media teams as consultants. DynCorp and Executive Outcomes are reportedly focusing on “listicles with GIFs,” while Control Risks and the army formerly known as Blackwater; Academi are said to have commissioned campaigns based on emotive web videos. Andy Arn quit his post at Tinder to form a team of media “prime movers” specializing in DMI branding — Fountainhead Objectives, their mandate: “to enable the able.” Arn describes his team as luminaries, building brand recognition by “creatively projecting our client’s image unto the walls of the dimly lit cave encasing society.”

Focusing back on Africa, the World Bank has come out in support of DMI, touting it as a landmark victory for neoliberalism. Executive Hommats Taalsh believes that a proliferation of military contractors could help employ Africa’s massive population of unemployed youth. “Many of the world’s largest economies are corporations — it only follows that the largest armies should be private entities as well. Too long have nation states and international institutions stifled the enormous potential of entrepreneurial military contractors.” The term “peacewreaker” has been coined to describe members of upstart nu-mercenary groups.

The Kickstarter page displays neither pledges nor a fundraising goal. Leviathan states that “mission scope will be determined by financial support and the tactics employed by the winning contractor.” Many celebrities have posted screenshots of generous donations on social media; conservative estimates put the budget at around $80 million USD. Insiders say that trans-national resource companies working in Nigeria are secretly shelling out Bitcoins in support, hedging on a sudden spike in oil prices.

“Hashtag activism has finally come of age,” said Fountainhead’s Andy Arn. “Brave clicktivists can now freely pursue their directed objectives, unburdened by the watered down inaction of critical thinkers who will finally be proven wrong by our heroic mission in Nigeria.”

Colin Minor