The website for the Selective Service crashed Friday amid a spike in concerns over military conscription following the U.S. killing Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.
Where it stands: The draft was abolished in 1973, and would require congressional and presidential authorization of official legislation, per the Selective Service. Hashtags like #WorldWarThree, #WWIII and #WorldWarThreeDraft were trending on Twitter after Soleimani was killed, per Bloomberg.
- The Selective Services' web pages were loading sporadically on Saturday.
Due to the spread of misinformation, our website is experiencing high traffic volumes at this time. If you are attempting to register or verify registration, please check back later today as we are working to resolve this issue. We appreciate your patience.
— Selective Service (@SSS_gov) January 3, 2020
The big picture: The current Google search spike for "draft age" doesn't come close to the massive traffic hike for the same search in April 2017 — during increased tension between the U.S. and North Korea.
Go deeper... The latest: Iraqi officials say airstrike killed 5 following Soleimani's death
