Summary: Modern game visuals or cutscenes can be realistic enough to be mistaken for genuine imagery, particularly footage depicting fast-moving or chaotic scenes (such as combat). For example, fact checkers have addressed claims where footage taken from games centred on armed warfare (e.g. Arma 3, Digital Combat Simulator World) being presented as footage of current conflicts.
To make this assertion, analysts need to confirm that the original source for a piece of content was a video game, and that the content was presented as showing real life (e.g. posted alongside text which treats or reacts to the content as legitimate).
Indicators include frame rate artifacts, unnatural physics, or gaming interface remnants.
Tactic: TA14 Develop Narratives
Parent Technique: T0162 Reframe Context
| Associated Technique | Description |
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| Incident | Descriptions given for this incident |
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| I00147 Fact Check: Video game clip mislabeled as Russian jet flying past US aircraft | A clip of two fighter jets created using a combat simulation videogame has been shared online as depicting a September 2024 incident in which a Russian jet flew close to a U.S. plane during an intercept by the U.S. military (T0162.005: Video Game Content Incorrectly Presented as Depicting Reality). Reuters reported that on Sept. 23, a Russian Su-35 aircraft conducted an unsafe maneuver during a routine aerial intercept by a North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) F-16 aircraft in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (T0068: Respond to Breaking News Event or Active Crisis). The online video shows a fighter jet approaching another from behind and crossing over to the other side. “A U.S. Air Force F-16 is provoked by a Russian Sukhoi Su-35 in the skies of Alaska,” said Facebook posts with the footage (T0162.005: Video Game Content Incorrectly Presented as Depicting Reality). The online clip, however, is visibly different from the original footage by the Department of Defense, published on Sept. 30. The video in the posts can be traced to an Oct. 1 post on YouTube (timestamp 0:13) (T0165.001: Clipped Content) titled “New Angles: SU-35's Dangerous Flyby Over Alaska – DCS World,” by the channel “MasterArm” which regularly uploads scenes created using digital battlefield game Digital Combat Simulator World (DCS). The account’s owner, who took credit for making the clip, said in an email to Reuters that all the videos on the channel are created using the DCS World simulator game, adding: “It is not the first time when my videos are taken and published with another title and some think they are real.” |
| I00148 Fact Check: Video of Russian and US aircraft is from simulator video game | Video game content has been miscaptioned online as showing authentic footage of Russian fighter jets flying alongside an American reconnaissance aircraft (T0162.005: Video Game Content Incorrectly Presented as Depicting Reality). The animation of three Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jets and a Lockheed SR-71 was shared on Facebook with the caption: “Two Russian Su-27 jets intercepted and drove away a USAF SR-71 Blackbird that was conducting surveillance over Russian airspace earlier.” (T0162.005: Video Game Content Incorrectly Presented as Depicting Reality) But the footage originates from Digital Combat Simulator World (DCS), a popular digital combat flight simulation game, the video’s creator told Reuters. The original uncropped footage (T0165.002: Cropped Content) was posted to YouTube by “iceman_fox1”, who regularly shares DCS-generated videos, with the text “Created with DCS” in the description. The account’s owner, who took credit for creating the video, said in an email to Reuters, “All of my content is digital and I make it clear in each video description that the videos are created using Digital Combat Simulator.” The account owner added that it is common for their simulation videos to be shared on social media as real events and without attribution. |
| I00149 Fact Check: Clip of UFOs in Nevada created with simulation game | Footage from a video game has been miscaptioned as saying it shows UFOs flying over Nevada (T0162.005: Video Game Content Incorrectly Presented as Depicting Reality). Other online posts use the clip to fuel a conspiracy called Project Blue Beam, which says the U.S. government falsifies UFO footage. Both claims are false, as the footage stems from Digital Combat Simulator (DCS), a free-to-play combat flight simulation game. [...] Some shared the clip with the caption: “was project blue beam on your 2023 bingo card? Certainly no coincidence the government tells us all about ‘aliens’ and now we get crystal clear footage”. The posts reference the July 26 U.S. House hearing on UFOs (T0068: Respond to Breaking News Event or Active Crisis). References to Project Blue Beam in the posts and comments refer to a conspiracy theory that the government will coordinate events that will lead people to adopt a new religion to establish a so-called New World Order. Believers of the conspiracy do not presume the existence of aliens and express a distrust in government, Joseph A. Vitriol, an expert in conspiracy theories and professor at Lehigh University, said in a phone interview. “What it focuses on is the expectation that the government will create a false narrative or a false flag of an alien-type invasion or some big event,” he said. “Project Blue Beam is saying this clip is fake, and the government is using this fake event as part of a broader attempt to implement a New World Order.” The social media clip was first shared by TikTok user @iceman_fox1 with the caption: “BREAKING: Three UFO's are intercepted by USAF F-22 Raptors over the central Nevada desert”. An identical clip can be seen on the @iceman_fox1’s Instagram page. However, both posts by the user note that it was “Filmed with Digital Combat Simulator.” User @iceman_fox1 said in an email: “I create multiple videos a week of random military/sci-fi content,” confirming the clip was generated with the Digital Combat Simulator game. |
| I00150 Fact Check: Animation miscaptioned as if to show video of Ukrainian fighter jet shooting down Russian plane | A clip from the videogame Digital Combat Simulator has been miscaptioned online, with social media users claiming it shows a Ukrainian fighter jet shooting down a Russian plane (T0162.005: Video Game Content Incorrectly Presented as Depicting Reality). Social media users are sharing the story of a Ukrainian jet fighter that purportedly singlehandedly downed six Russian aircrafts, dubbed online as “the Ghost of Kyiv.” Reuters has not independently verified this account. The Ukrainian military said on Feb. 24 that five Russian planes and a Russian helicopter were shot down in the Luhansk region. It has not been confirmed that a single Ukrainian pilot shot down the aircrafts, however. Iterations of the miscaptioned simulator clip have garnered thousands of views. The vertical video appears to show a jet shooting another aircraft in the sky. The same clip was posted on YouTube on Feb. 24, 2022. The description of the video clarifies the footage “is from DCS” and adds it was “made out of respect for ‘The Ghost of Kiev.´” DCS is short for Digital Combat Simulator World, “free-to-play” digital battlefield game developed by Eagle Dynamics. Matthias Techmanski, a spokesperson for Eagle Dynamics, confirmed to Reuters via email that the footage circulating on social media is from DCS. “We are not responsible for its distribution, nor do we endorse such content,” he added. |
| I00152 Video alleging that Russia destroyed NATO weapons is a video game clip | A video circulating on Facebook with over 800 reactions and 100 comments falsely alleges that "Russia destroyed NATO weapons and ammunition depots in Ukraine." The footage, however, is from a popular military game called Arma 3 (T0162.005: Video Game Content Incorrectly Presented as Depicting Reality). Using Google Reverse Image Search, we found similar images from Arma 3. Next, we examined the footage closely to extract meaningful information, noting the landscape, structures, and objects. We cross-referenced these with the game developer Bohemia Interactive's Community Wiki page, which catalogs objects used in the game, confirming that the footage was from Arma 3. The Wiki showed numerous other identical objects visible in the video, including a diesel storage tank, a rusty cistern, and blue cargo containers. This is not the first time footage from Arma 3 has been used for war-related propaganda. Fact-checking organizations and other news outlets, including USA Today and France 24, have previously debunked similar claims. Bohemia Interactive has addressed the recent spread of their games falsely presented as footage from actual conflicts, like Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Their PR manager, Pavel Křižka, emphasized the importance of collaborating with reputable media outlets and fact-checkers to combat the spread of fake news effectively. The developers also shared valuable tips to distinguish video game footage from real-life events. These include paying close attention to the video resolution and sound effects. A video alleging that Russia destroyed NATO weapons is a clip from a popular video game, Arma 3. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false (T0160.002: Information is False). |
| I00219 Fact Check-BBC did not report Poland preparing to send troops to Ukraine | A clip that purports to show content published by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reporting that Poland is preparing to send troops to Ukraine is digitally altered and was not published by the outlet (T0087: Develop Video-Based Content, T0161.001: Impersonated Content, T0097.202: News Outlet Persona) . The clip opens with the BBC logo and a clip of a helicopter landing. The video mimics the formatting of the broadcaster’s social media clips, and incorporates the same font, caption placement and graphics. The clip suggests Poland is preparing to send forces into Ukraine, with visuals of military vehicles and personnel in the background. Examples of the clip shared by users with captions in numerous languages (T0101: Create Localised Content), including Russian, English, and French. No such video was published by the outlet, however, and the clip is an example of ‘imposter content’ - a video or image that impersonates a legitimate organization, such as a news outlet, to push forward a particular narrative or claim. A spokesperson for the BBC told Reuters that no such video was published by the outlet, adding that “it’s best to check the BBC News website to verify stories.” [...] The clip also features an alleged letter as “proof” of Polish forces preparing to “invade Ukraine.” (T0085.004: Develop Document, T0161.001: Impersonated Content, T0097.206: Government Institution Persona) The Twitter account for the Polish General Command of the Armed Forces called the image of the alleged letter “fake.” “This is a false order of the Polish General Staff. The whole document is FAKE! We observe more and more such counterfeit military documents in Polish mass media. Please, DO NOT share this FAKE NEWS,” the tweet reads. [...] The BBC did not release a video claiming that Poland was preparing to send troops to Ukraine. The clip was never published by the BBC and is an example of ‘imposter content’ - a video or image that impersonates a legitimate news source. |
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