Militaries have been quick to adopt the use of contemporary social media technologies, however the discipline of International Relations has been slow to explore how such technologies are impacting on the subject matter of the field. In light of this, this paper aims to go some way in developing an understanding of how militaries are using Facebook and what impact this is having on security in the 21st century.
This paper does so by exploring how the British Army use images on Facebook to construct a narrative of ‘clean’ war that is used to claim legitimacy. By examining image production/circulation, the images themselves and the audience reception of these images, this paper argues that the British Army’s Facebook page exists as a contemporary form of militarization, reliant upon a visual narrative of 'clean' war, that permeates the everyday life of those who ‘like’, ‘share’ and view the content online.
