The US military utilized the dating app Tinder to issue warnings regarding the potential escalation of conflict in the Middle East. The ads, purchased by US Central Command (CENTCOM), aimed to deter attacks on US forces and allies in the region.
“The United States will protect its partners in the face of threats by the Iranian regime and its proxies,” the ad declared in Arabic, accompanied by images of warplanes and the CENTCOM logo.
The message also emphasized, “Do not take up arms against the United States or its partners.”
This campaign highlighted the military’s preparedness, mentioning the presence of F-16 Fighting Falcon jets and A-10 Thunderbolt fighters, although there was some confusion in describing which aircraft was supersonic.
Seamus Malekafzali, a freelance journalist based in Lebanon, was the first to report on the ad, sharing screenshots of the warplanes on X (formerly Twitter).
He said, “I’ve never, ever seen a government, especially a military, place an ad in a dating app.”
Despite the ad’s removal by Tinder due to violations of company policies on political messaging and violence, the campaign has drawn scepticism from experts.
Gittipong Paruchabutr, a retired army psychological operations officer, suggested that the military's efforts might be better targeted on platforms more frequented by the intended audience.
“I’m guessing the average belligerent is probably among a very small subset of Tinder users,” he said.
This campaign is part of a broader strategy of psychological operations by the US military, a tactic not entirely new. In a previous instance, Reuters revealed a secret campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic aimed at discrediting China’s Sinovac vaccine in the Philippines. This reflects an ongoing trend of covert military psyops, which has drawn scrutiny, leading to a comprehensive audit of these operations by the Pentagon in 2022.
Both CENTCOM and the Pentagon declined to comment on the Tinder ads, leaving questions about the effectiveness and ethical implications of such unconventional military strategies.