Video Game Footage Misrepresented as Real-Life Israel-Hamas Conflict Visuals - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 4, 2023
Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, numerous video clips, particularly from the video game Arma 3, are being widely circulated on social media, purportedly as real footage of the war. This article aims to verify the authenticity of such videos.
Update (04 December 2023):
Video 3:
Another video, purportedly showing the destruction of tanks, is being widely shared on social media. It is claimed that the video depicts Hezbollah destroying Israeli tanks. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
A reverse image search of the viral video led us to the same video posted on the Facebook page ‘Mr. Answer’ on 04 November 2023. However, the page clarified that the video is not actual footage of the Israel-Hamas conflict, but a simulation from the video game (ARMA 3). The channel also hosts several such videos of ARMA gameplay.
Update (08 November 2023):
Video 2:
Another video, purportedly showing the destruction of tanks, is being widely shared on social media. It is claimed that the video depicts Hezbollah destroying Israeli tanks attempting to enter Gaza with anti-tank missiles. Let’s investigate the claim made in the post.
A reverse image search of the viral video led us to the same video posted on the YouTube channel ‘PRO LLR’ on 24 October 2023. However, the channel clarified that the video is not actual footage of the Israel-Hamas conflict, but a simulation from the video game ARMA. The channel also hosts several such videos of ARMA gameplay.
Published (06 November 2023):
Video 1:
A video depicting tanks under missile attack is being extensively shared on social media with the claim that it shows the Lebanese Militant group Hezbollah destroying 22 Merkava tanks and killing 140 Israeli soldiers. Let’s verify the claim made in this post.
A reverse image search of the keyframes extracted from the viral video led us to the same video published on the YouTube channel of ‘PRO LRR’. The channel clearly labels the video as a virtual game simulation from the video game ARMA. Furthermore, the channel hosts numerous other video game simulations. However, according to media reports, while there has been an exchange of fire between Israel’s military and Hezbollah along the tense Lebanon-Israel border, this footage is from a video game simulation and does not depict any real-life event.