Viral Ukraine Conflict Footage Turns Out To Be From Video Game

Some of the most-shared social media footage of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces is actually from a video game, it has emerged.

If you follow gaming news, you'll probably be aware that videos the realistic tactical shooter ArmA III have often been mixed up with real-world events. Last year, multiple Indian news outlets used footage of the game as evidence that the Pakistan Air Force was aiding the Taliban in the fight against Afghan resistance.

Just a few months before that, Reuters reported on social media users falsely believing ArmA III to be footage of Israel's defence system. It was perhaps inevitable, then, that the shooter would soon get mixed in with the horrific situation in Ukraine.

1/ In response to the unfolding military conflict in Ukraine, we have established a Special Operations Center to respond in real time. It is staffed by experts (including native speakers) so we can closely monitor the situation and act as fast as possible.

— Nathaniel Gleicher (@ngleicher) February 24, 2022

As reported by Bloomberg (thanks, Kotaku) some of the most-viewed clips on Facebook's gaming channel yesterday were of alleged military action in the Ukraine. The footage was seen by more than 110,000 people and shared over 25,000 times before Facebook took it down.

The same video also briefly did the rounds on Twitter before being taken down, with the caption “Ukraine fires missiles to intercept Russian aircraft’s artillery fire”. As per Kotaku, the tweet got 11,000 likes and almost 2000 retweets before being removed.

With all of the horrors unfolding in Ukraine right now, there is a lot of confusion and fear. With this, comes the sort of people who will attempt to exploit the chaos for quick engagement - as this compilation shared by Gizmodo proves.

It's all-too easy to be fooled by a viral social media post, which is why it's vitally important that you do your best to fact check everything you see before sharing or engaging with it.