The game 'Arma 3' developer himself, who is often used for fakes as war images, publishes 'how to distinguish between real war and game videos' on YouTube

Bohemia Interactive, the developer of the military simulation game ' Arma 3 ', is circulating as if it were actually shot, and has asked to stop spreading fake news. Since this game, which was released in 2013, can reproduce every conflict in detail using mods , there is a high possibility that it will be spread as fake news.

Arma 3 footage being used as Fake News | Blog | Bohemia Interactive
https://www.bohemia.net/blog/arma-3-footage-being-used-as-fake-news

Military Sim Developer Tired of Its Game Being Used to Fake War Footage
https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5vnkq/military-sim-developer-tired-of-its-game-being-used-to-fake-war-footage

On November 28, 2022, Czech-based Bohemia Interactive released a statement to respond to the fact that footage taken from Arma 3 has been circulated mainly as real-life conflicts such as the Russo-Ukrainian War. made it clear that he thought

Videos quoted from Arma 3 are widely spread on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc., and are sometimes misunderstood as real. As an example, the video below, titled 'Ukrainian drone attacked Russian warship', is actually Arma 3 footage. The poster clearly states that it is a game video in the summary column of the video, but a part of this video was cut and uploaded to Facebook as a real video.

In Odessa (Ukraine) Bayraktar TB2 Drone massacred Russian Cruiser Frigate Warships Admiral Makarov-YouTube


In addition, the following Arma 3 video posted by another person on July 20, 2022 was also reposted on Twitter in a manner contrary to the poster's intention.

Ukraine NLAW Anti-Tank Missile Destroyed 2 Russian Tanks - Arma 3 Game (Military Simultaion) - YouTube


Arma 3 is set in the near-future world of 2035, but since the Arma series can be freely customized with user-created MOD files, various weapons, equipment, and scenarios created by users are available. are made in large numbers. Therefore, it seems that all real conflicts can be reproduced and simulated in detail regardless of the past, present or future.

Bohemia Interactive complained, ``It's nice to be able to realistically simulate modern war conflicts, but it's not nice to be mistaken for actual battle footage and used as war propaganda.'' .

In the past, footage from the Arma series has been mistaken by a Russian TV station for the Syrian civil war, and by a British TV station for an IRA terrorist attack. Bohemia Interactive tries to counteract by flagging each platform where a video is posted, but it seems to have little effect, as for every 1 video removed, another 10 are uploaded.

Therefore, he said that the best way is to actively cooperate with major media and fact-checking organizations that have greater influence and ability, and that he will respond in the future. In addition, Bohemia Interactive showed how to distinguish between in-game images and real images as ``advice from developers'' as follows.

◆Very low resolution
Even outdated smartphones can share videos in HD quality, but fake videos are deliberately downgraded and blurry to hide the fact that they're from a game.

◆ camera shake
In order to create a dramatic effect, fake videos are sometimes used that do not capture the game as it is, but what is shown on a monitor or the like.

◆Movies in dark places or at night
In order to cover up the details, the images are often dark.

◆ There is often no sound
It seems that fake videos are often silent because the sound effects in the game are easy to distinguish from reality.

◆ A moving person does not appear
Arma can reproduce the movements of military vehicles relatively realistically, but it is very difficult to reproduce natural human movements. Therefore, it seems that moving humans do not appear in fake videos.

◆ HUD elements can be seen
Fake videos may show game-specific weapon selection screens, remaining ammo, vehicle status, in-game messages, etc. These usually appear on the edges and corners of the footage.

◆ Unnatural particle effects
Even in modern games, rendering explosions, smoke, fire and dust conditions naturally is still a big challenge. Arma is no exception, as you can tell from these descriptions.

◆ Unreal vehicles, uniforms and equipment
According to Bohemia Interactive, people with advanced knowledge of military equipment can notice that equipment that is not suitable for conflict is being used. For example, in a widely distributed fake video, it is said that the American air defense system 'Counter-RAM' is shooting down the American ground attack aircraft 'A-10'.

The comparison video actually prepared by Bohemia Interactive is as follows. The Arma 3 video with camera shake is edited as a fake video, and you can see that this video has low image quality and no sound, and no humans appear.

Arma 3 footage being used as Fake News - YouTube


Bohemia Interactive said, ``Arma 3 players and content creators are requested to use game footage responsibly. Please refrain from using titles and make it clear that the footage is from a video game and not based on real events.'