Bohemia Interactive asks gamers to stop using ‘Arma 3’ to make fake war videos

Bohemia Interactive has asked gamers to stop using Arma 3 as a means to create fake war footage.

Back in February, a video emerged online of what was claimed to be a Ukrainian jet taking down a Russian jet. However, it later turned out to be edited gameplay from Digital Combat Simulator.

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It was also reported at the time that Arma 3 gameplay clips had been shared on the internet, with people attempting to pass the videos off as footage from the ongoing war in Ukraine.

More than 110,000 people viewed the uploads, and they were shared 25,000 times before being taken down.

Now, Arma 3 developer and publisher Bohemia Interactive have posted a brief explainer on YouTube in which it offers information on “how to tell if a video is fake using footage from our game”.

The description reads: “We are fully aware that fake videos from our #Arma3 title appear on the internet, pretending to be original videos from various armed conflicts.”

To begin, the video gives a comparison between “unedited ingame video” and “typical fake footage” that’s been cropping up. It states that the fake clips will likely feature “shaky camera, unnatural VFX, no characters”, as well as other clues.

In a statement, Bohemia Interactive PR manager Pavel Křižka said (via PC Gamer): “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.

“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.”

Křižka continued: “We’ve been trying to fight against such content by flagging these videos to platform providers (FB, YT, TW, IG etc.), but it’s very ineffective. With every video taken down, 10 more are uploaded each day.

“We found the best way to tackle this is to actively cooperate with leading media outlets and fact-checkers (such as AFP, Reuters, and others), who have better reach and the capacity to fight the spreading of fake news footage effectively.”

Additionally, Bohemia has urged fans and content creators of Arma 3 to “use their game footage responsibly”.

Such hoaxes are so common that there is a whole section dedicated to the phenomenon on the Arma 3 Wikipedia page.

You can read Bohemia’s full blog post on the issue here, and check out the explainer video above.