Fake Text Messages About A Military Draft Denied By U.S. Army
Some cell phone users have reported getting official-looking text messages telling them they need to immediately show up at the nearest military installation to report for a draft, presumably because of a potential war in Iran, CBS News reports. There is no draft and there are no plans to conscript anyone into service, the U.S. military confirmed on Wednesday, noting that the text messages were a hoax.
Twitter user @antibydesign was one of an untold number of individuals who said they received a text message in recent days, one informing them that they had been drafted. However, @antibydesign claimed not to have bought it.
Another Twitter user, @Leupp, said that when they got the text message, they clicked on it and got an even more official-looking summons to the nearest draft board.
“You have been considered eligible and must report to your nearest military branch for immediate departure to Iran… Please contact us immediately at [this telephone number],” read the summons, allegedly penned by “United States Military Draft Specialist Sgt. John Artemis Ext.” The telephone number provided does connect callers to a representative from the Army, although it’s to a recruiting clearinghouse and not to a draft center.
The Army issued a statement Wednesday confirming that the text messages were hoaxes and that no one was being conscripted into service. The Army’s tweet included screenshots of the fake text messages.
Fact check: The U.S. Army is NOT contacting anyone regarding the draft. If you are receiving texts, phone calls or direct messages about a military draft, they are not official communications from the U.S. Army pic.twitter.com/3S32De8ekP
— U.S. Army CGSC (@USACGSC) January 8, 2020
Similarly, the Selective Service, which would manage a draft if there was one, also tweeted that there was no draft and that the text messages were a hoax.
The Selective Service is also NOT contacting anyone regarding a draft. Please disregard any text messages received from people claiming to be the Selective Service or US Army.
— Selective Service (@SSS_gov) January 8, 2020
Fears of the draft coming back, or indeed already being back, have been manifesting on social media — and other areas of the internet — ever since a U.S. airstrike killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani. The Selective Service website was so busy that it briefly crashed hours after the airstrike.
So why I got a text message about getting drafted for the army ummm not today satan.
— Kakarot ? (@antibydesign) January 7, 2020
However, as previously reported by The Inquisitr, there is no draft and it is unlikely there will be one any time soon. The Selective Service, which requires men to register for the draft after their 18th birthdays, still exists and still requires men to register. However, the practice ended in 1973 as the war in Vietnam was winding down. For conscription to occur, Congress would have to pass a law overturning the 1973 law that ended the process. At the time of writing, the political will to bring back the draft does not appear to exist in Congress.
