Bohemia Interactive, developer of military simulation game Arma 3, has asked fans to watch out for edited in-game videos being shared around social media that are falsely labelled as real-world war footage.
Specifically, Bohemia has called for players and content creators to “use their game footage responsibly”, “refrain from using clickbait video titles” and “always state clearly that the video originated from a video game” rather than footage from a real-life conflict.
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 since the current conflict in Ukraine has begun, Bohemia said.
Arma 3 footage being used as Fake News Watch on YouTube
“While it’s flattering that Arma 3 simulates modern war conflicts in such a realistic way, we are certainly not pleased that it can be mistaken for real-life combat footage and used as war propaganda,” Bohemia’s PR boss Pavel Křižka wrote. “It has happened in the past (Arma 3 videos allegedly depicted conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria, Palestine, and even between India and Pakistan), but nowadays this content has gained traction in regard to the current conflict in Ukraine.