Last edited Fri Sep 12, 2025, 05:29 PM - Edit history (1)
Helldivers II is a popular video game that came out a while back on Playstation and PC, and is now on Xbox (I think). The game takes place in a fictionalized universe which is basically a ripoff of the movie Starship Troopers (which is a satirical adaptation of a Heinlein novel), where humans have spread across the galaxy and run into other alien species which they try to eradicate, while sending messages back to "Super Earth" that they're "spreading freedom" across the galaxy. From their wiki:
"Freedom. Peace. Managed Democracy. Your Super Earth-born rights. The key pillars of our civilisation are under attack from deadly alien creatures conspiring to destroy your planet and its values. The Helldivers must take on the role of peacekeepers in this Galactic War and protect their home planet, spread the message of Democracy and repel the hostiles by force."
It's basically a satire on various US military misadventures, like the invasion of Iraq. People who play it very much lean into the tongue-in-cheek faux-propaganda language of the game (like the example above), and the social media accounts also use the same language. It's all in good fun, and the satire is thick, which makes it popular with memers. People who play the game know that it's satire and supposed to be humorous -- but then of course not everybody online is a stable individual.
Edited to add: this was the launch trailer so you can get an idea of the tone of the game.