Viral videos are claiming to show Ukraine and Russia at war. But upon closer inspection, fact-checkers and gaming veterans noticed they were actually from a video game.
The videos were snippets from the military game ARMA 3.
Misinformation spreaders have taken advantage of the current situation between Ukraine and Russia. Therefore, false news about the situation spreads fast on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram. In the GIF below, users claim that this is Russia firing at a Ukrainian aircraft.
Different videos claim that the war between the two countries has already started. But many users have already pointed out that the footage is from the tactical shooter video game ARMA 3. It’s not the first time combat footage from ARMA 3 has been used to spread false information.
But even though the platforms took down the videos, it was too late because thousands had already seen them and believed they were real.
A Spanish and Malayalam news channel reported on the situation. In their reports, they played the footage for their viewers. Below are tweets from concerned users calling out the news channels. Many have expressed disappointment with their lack of fact-checking abilities.
Ultimate Comedy of 100% Literacy.🤣🤣🤣
Malayalam News Channel @mathrubhuminews aired ARMA 3 game video as #UkraineRussiaConflict live, cut a sorry figure. Mockery of 100% literacy of #Kerala . pic.twitter.com/KT1QXWBB4a— lone_wanderlust (@lone_wanderlust) February 24, 2022
OTHER NEWS: Ukrainian Athletes Comments on the Ukraine-Russia Crisis
https://twitter.com/ChrisHazhu/status/1497163019264143370?s=20&t=YuxTSEHilHa0ZL-Z_pad7g
As for the videos on Facebook, they have already been taken down as of writing. But even so, the videos have already reached a broad audience. This means there may be Facebook users out there thinking that Ukraine and Russia are currently at war.
ARMA 3 is a realism-based military tactical shooter. So casual and non-gamers are probably not familiar with the game and its realistic-looking scenes. It’s important to stay vigilant, especially now that misinformation on social media is rampant.
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