War In POV: Televised Warfare Gets an Upgrade
A new era of televised warfare captures the global population.
~~This essay was originally posted in my Substack newsletter. Subscribe for more.~~
Gone are the days when international conflicts felt distant. Real-time updates are now instantly transmitted worldwide, bringing the war zone to your living room. With about two-thirds of the global population now using the internet and social media, billions of people are tuning in to the real-time carnage — sometimes on purpose but often because it’s nearly unavoidable.
It’s interesting to see drone strikes and GoPro sniper footage openly disseminated by official state accounts and soldiers themselves on social media. Here are some highlights from the latest round of wars:
As a gamer, I recognized these POV angles from first-person shooter games. The allure of experiencing combat vicariously is arguably more compelling than the traditional call to arms.
War footage isn’t new, but death seems more real in our newly hyper-connected world. With more aspects of our everyday lives moving online, the faces on your screen are no longer just semi-real strangers. They’re people you know, work with, and love. We aren’t wired to witness constant global suffering, whether in real life or from the paradoxical comfort of our personal devices. Viewers feel morally dutiful but practically helpless.
Want to see war? Open the Snapchat map and navigate to the Gaza Strip. Search keywords on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and X. Tune in to any media publication or cable news channel covering international news. Open-source sites like Geoconfirmed and Ukraine Control Map also meticulously index footage of airstrikes and ground attacks. Throughout the internet, there’s no shortage of dedicated war hipsters tracking obscure conflicts in countries you’ve never heard of.
With an endless stream of on-the-ground footage from reporters and victims themselves, it’s impossible to avoid the 24/7 war-obsessed news cycle. The latest death tolls play on TVs at local restaurants, lobbies, and doctor’s offices. Screams passively echo across the Western World’s screens, bearing headlines like these:
- Disturbing, graphic details emerge from Israeli communities hit by Hamas
- WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT — Gaza officials say Israeli air strikes hit hospitals
- BBC exclusive: US doctor’s shocking video from frontline hospital in Gaza | BBC News
- Video shows Gaza civilian shot and killed in group waving white flag
The online populace sees (and feels) the raw, brutal bloodshed. In a January poll, 65% of Americans described the Israel-Hamas war as important to them personally. More than half (59%) said the same about the Russia-Ukraine war, followed by 57% regarding Taiwan-China tensions.
Predictably, the constant stream of Gaza content has ignited the rage of college students who hope — some would say naively — that their voice will translate to real change. But maybe they aren’t alone. Anti-war sentiment is becoming more mainstream. The majority of Americans (55%) now oppose Israel’s actions in Gaza, compared to 45% last November.
I fundamentally believe that most people are good. At the end of the day, no one wants to see thousands of children, or adults for that matter, killed or permanently disfigured in combat. Our primal selves empathize with human suffering, a trait that is partially responsible for the dominance of our species. However, this characteristic is easily manipulated. It’s hijacked through the psychology of pro-intervention propaganda, after all.
Those pulling the strings, our lawmakers and security state, passed a $95 billion aid package to advance the latest chapter of their longtime interventionist experiment. These funds join the nation’s $34.5 trillion debt pile, while Americans at home suffer from the ongoing economic war, Inflation Edition. Here’s how your tax dollars are being sold:
Israel secured a $25 billion appropriation through 2028, including $5.2B to replenish its missile systems, $4B for military operations and maintenance, and more for additional weapons. The package also includes $9.1 billion in humanitarian assistance for 1.7 million displaced Gazans (75% of the population) with nowhere to go. Over 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in six months, including 14,500 children and 9,500 women, along with 200+ aid workers and 97 journalists. The Israeli military has lost 261 soldiers, in addition to the 1,200+ civilian fatalities from Oct. 7. Since then, the Israel Defense Forces have destroyed several Hamas rocket launch sites and other targets, often hitting hospitals and aid tents in the process. The ruin also spread to several U.S.-backed projects funded by taxpayers.
The IDF says it has killed 13,000 Hamas fighters and several senior leaders, a seemingly devastating blow to the 20,000–25,000 estimated members before 2023. Still, Israel’s larger objective of dismantling the organization remains unaccomplished. Two members of Hamas’s governance structure were assassinated recently, but most live on. More than half of the 253 hostages taken by Hamas remain captive in Gaza (~133). Several are confirmed dead. The last hostage deal in November freed 112 people, but negotiations have stalled since then.
The U.S. spent months voting against Gaza ceasefire proposals at the United Nations, contradicting the global majority — including Middle Eastern partners — who preferred to end the violence through peace talks. America also made itself a primary target of Iran’s gang of militias, setting off a months-long string of attacks against U.S. and Israeli ships and infrastructure in the region. Over 180 U.S. troops have been wounded in the Middle East since October, including 130 traumatic brain injuries and a deadly attack that killed three Army Reserve soldiers in Jordan.
Then there’s Ukraine, which bagged a $60.8 billion appropriation through 2033. Almost all of it is expected to be spent by 2028. The deal includes $27B for defense-wide operations and maintenance, $6B+ for missiles and air defense, and $5.6B for ammunition. The Biden administration and Congress previously rubber-stamped another $75 billion from 2022 to February 2024, bringing the cumulative total near $135 billion. That doesn’t even include the billions more the U.S. has committed to our European Union allies.
The toll counts 10,582 Ukrainian civilians, including 587 children, along with nearly 20,000 injured and 3.7 million internally displaced. While Russia continues to control 18% of the country, Ukrainian forces have recaptured 54% of occupied territory and even launched drone attacks inside Russia. In recent months, though, the conflict has mostly reached a stalemate.
Enthusiastic support for the Ukraine war is fading from its emotional heights. Back in November 2022, only 31% of Americans said they wanted to end the conflict quickly, even if that meant ceding territory to Russia. Today, 43% have come around to the idea, yet 55% still back the U.S. helping Ukraine reclaim territory, down from 66%. In another poll, 69% of Americans said they support using urgent diplomacy to end the war. Opinions on spending are more controversial: About 36% think it’s too much, 36% say it’s too little, and 26% support current levels.
The aid package also unlocked nearly $8 billion to help defend the Indo-Pacific through 2033, which is arguably the best case in our national interests against China, given Taiwan’s significant role in the semiconductor supply chain. The region represents more than half of the world’s population and GDP. Trade between the U.S. and Indo-Pacific topped $2 trillion in 2022, complemented by $956 billion in foreign direct investment.
U.S. Navy fleets are ramping up as the Chinese military encircles Taiwan:
These massive spending appropriations ultimately serve the American defense industrial base — always the beneficiaries of war, no matter the cause. The top handful of government-preferred contractors always gain a hefty payout at the expense of global stability. This month, Lockheed Martin and RTX posted impressive quarterly earnings thanks to exceptional market demand, with both beating analysts’ expectations. An RTX executive mentioned in an earnings call that the company’s portfolio could meet two-thirds of the $60 billion for Ukraine.
Politicians, partially financed by defense giants, also benefit from the situation. The industry has already poured $20 million into 2024 election campaigns, split 60.4% Republicans and 39% Democrats. The market’s top six companies (including Lockheed and RTX) contributed $8.6 million between 2023 and 2024, averaging $1.4 million each. This is a small expense for political buy-in. Our cheap leaders are forever selling out to financial interests, left and right. As I covered in an earlier post, lawmakers on both sides regularly trade defense stocks, some well-timed with major announcements.
Such financial incentives fuel reckless military spending, justified by conflict-hungry foreign policy. The U.S. conducted counterterrorism operations in 78 countries over the last three years alone. Any global crisis can pop off instantaneously, ensuring a perpetual military presence in strategic territories.
At what cost? The last War on Terror racked up more than $9 trillion. Over 7,000 U.S. troops and 8,100 contractors were killed, a depressingly high number that’s scaled by the 30,177 more veteran suicides. Another 432,000 civilians perished and 38 million people were forcibly displaced. Post-9/11 wars reinforced extremist recruitment, and yearly terror attacks have increased fivefold worldwide.
Today’s proxy-style wars won’t require a massive surge of U.S. soldiers in combat, for now. Yet the war drum beats on. The establishment dials up its pro-intervention appeals while downplaying or ignoring the consequences for civilian security and long-term stability in the regions we allegedly care about.
Behind the artillery shells and sniper scopes hides a universal global enemy: The war-hungry cult that manipulates powerful emotions like fear and empathy to finance the indefinite expansion of violent control. Under the guise of protecting and advancing U.S. interests, our two-faced leaders will stop at nothing to line their pockets — even if that means taking innocent lives, stoking terrorism, and cheapening our global reputation when convenient.
As evident in the POV propaganda strategy selected by international militaries, war support no longer involves winning hearts and minds for the long haul. It’s about securing the narrative early when emotions run hot. That way, facts can easily be slanted — and atrocities forgiven — later on.
It’s easier to sell wars when your citizens can see enemy strikes firsthand.
Note: This is an opinion essay. Much like a traditional newspaper column, my newsletter is a side channel to voice my personal views. It’s separate from my main gig as a journalist/reporter.
Read More:
- Silver Linings in America’s Institutional Collapse — As the American public loses faith in institutions, the case for alternatives has never been stronger. They aren’t worth our trust.
- Starving for The Feed — Stalker-like social media algorithms will do anything to keep us engaged. Why does everything have to be relevant?
- The Next Generation’s Problem 🔒– In our rush to integrate Gen Z into the digital world, we forgot to teach them legacy tech skills. Is this an oversight or a gift in disguise?
