Arma 3: developers explain how to recognize fake news
The Arma series is known for its realistic gameplay, which is underpinned by the user-created mods, among other things. However, this also has some disadvantages, as the developers have now explained. Because the games are repeatedly misused for fake news.
Recently it happened again that images from the military tactical shooter Arma 3 were passed off as images from a real conflict. A few years ago, footage from the game was used for the Syrian conflict, for example. Currently, the game is mainly used to spread fake news about the Ukraine war. The developers at Bohemia Interactive took this as an opportunity to explain how to distinguish in-game videos from real footage.
Gameplay is often shared on social media, but also by media and governments
arma 3 is actually about a futuristic conflict in the year 2035. However, due to the large number of mods created by the community, the game can be adapted in such a way that historical, current or futuristic conflicts can be simulated. As a result, images and videos from the game are often used to spread fake news.
“It might be considered flattering in a way that Arma 3 can simulate modern war conflicts in such a realistic way. However, we are less than thrilled that the game is being confused with real combat footage and being used as war propaganda,” said Pavel Křižka, PR Manager of Bohemia Interactive. Arma 3 videos have been used in conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria, Palestine and between India and Pakistan. However, reporting this content to platform operators such as YouTube and Facebook has so far proven to be ineffective.
Now the developers are giving tips on how to distinguish in-game videos from real recordings. The fake images are usually very low resolution, while even older smartphones can record HD quality videos. The recordings often take place in the dark or at night and are excessively blurred. In addition, the images usually have no sound and show no people. Other identifying features were shared by the developers in a video.
Reference-www.pcgameshardware.de