"Disheartening" to see Arma 3 gameplay footage used to spread fake Israel-Palestine news, developer says

13.10.2023 - 11:35 / eurogamer.net

Arma 3 developer Bohemia Interactive has commented on the use of footage taken from its military shooter being used online to spread misinformation about Israel and Palestine.

The studio has also re-shared a guide it originally released last year, when Arma 3 footage was being used to create fake videos purporting to show the conflict in Ukraine.

«With the tragic events currently unfolding in the Middle East, we feel it is vital to share once again our statement concerning the use of Arma 3 as a source of fake news footage,» Bohemia wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

«It's disheartening for us to see the game we all love being used in this way,» Bohemia continued. «While we have found ways to tackle this issue somewhat effectively by closely cooperating with leading fact-checking agencies, sadly we can't mitigate it entirely.

»We can see many of you actively helping debunk such videos on various social media platforms, and we thank you for this."

Dear Arma community,

With the tragic events currently unfolding in the Middle East, we feel it is vital to share once again our statement concerning the use of <a href=«https://twitter.com/hashtag/Arma3?src=hash&ref_src=» https:>#Arma3

as a source of fake news footage:https://t.co/nA8bbuehTX

It’s disheartening for us to see the game we all… pic.twitter.com/9Ha4uNnR2a

One of those people trying to turn the tide of disinformation is Twitter user Shayan Sardarizadeh, who has highlighted several examples of Arma 3 gameplay clips being labelled as real-world footage of Israeli rockets and military jets (thanks, PC Gamer).

Arma 3 gameplay videos have a history of being mistaken for real-world footage — even by professional news organisations — and this problem has only increased of late, and has seemingly been made worse by wider issues around verifiable accounts on X.

Bohemia's reissued guide for fans looking to distinguish between real-world footage and in-game Arma 3 videos includes a list of things to look out for, such as footage with noticeably «very low resolution», a «shaky camera» and incidents shown taking place at night to hide Arma 3's «insufficient level of detail». A video version of this with examples is included above.

Numerous examples of professional news organisations being duped by footage of Arma 3 have cropped up over the years, with ITV broadcasting footage of the game mistakenly labelled as a Libya-funded IRA attack, and Russia's state broadcaster using footage to illustrate the war in Syria.