Pentagon: Fear good, facts bad in machinima mix up [update 1]
by Joystiq Staff 
{ Jun 23rd 2006 at 10:55AM }
In their usual sensationalist form, the Pentagon decided to take a machinima fan film of Battlefield 2 and spin it off as a real danger to our national security during a presentation on May 4 in front of the U.S. House intelligence committee. Coming prepared with video clip and fear mongering in tow, these Internet and terrorism "experts" explained how the video was an advertisement for evil doers around the globe simply because it appeared on some insurgent-related Web sites. More specifically, Eric Michael, an Internet specialist with Science Applications International, said the game mentally conditions users to kill coalition forces. Keep in mind, Michael and his SAI buddies are part of a $7 million project to "monitor insurgent Web sites."
The real story first broke with a post over at GamePolitics soon after the presentation and recently the original creator of the video -- who goes by the name of Samir -- spoke to ABC's Nightline about how the video was originally intended to be a spoof of Team America: World Police. Oooops. These are your tax dollars at work folks. Why is the government so ready to blame video games for all the world's ills nowadays? I can't wait for the topic of video games and their relationship, or lack thereof, to violence to finally sour as flavor of the day.
[Thanks, Rad]
[Update 1: You can watch the Nightline video here. Also check out Water Cooler Games for Georgia Tech professor -- and Nightline talking-head -- Ian Bogost's thoughts. Thanks, SickNic and Jarbwock]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
EatingPie @ Jun 23rd 2006 11:12AM
The irony here... There IS a jihadist creation designed to recruit terrorists, made by Hezbollah, a known terrorist organization. The game is called "Special Force."
The irony goes both ways. Any time policians say anything bad about a game, we're all over them becuase... "duh, it's JUST a game." Of course, we never address games like America's Army or Hezbolla's Special Force.
-Pie
SickNic @ Jun 23rd 2006 11:24AM
If you'd like to see the Nightline video of this piece, you can see it here:
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2105341
Which is the link I used to submit this story yesterday...
fwacce @ Jun 23rd 2006 11:36AM
I really don't understand this post, joystiq. I think you're beginning to go over the edge with this violent video game rant you've been on lately. While I certainly agree that there are many out there that are using 'violent' video games for political means, what you're doing here isn't much different. You're just on the opposite end of the spectrum. Any news at all that comes out downing games at all, you jump on and criticize, even though the argument doesn't seem to make sense.
As for this new in particular, the government never said that this game or video games in general are bad and terrible. They thought this came from a terrorist website used to try and enlist more terrorists. It doesn't matter who made the game really. It matters what they thought it was being used for. If the government made a mistake here in thinking it was being used by terrorists, then that's one thing. However when you say that the government is "so ready to blame video games for all the world's ills nowadays", that's just not what this news article is about. If you can't be objective in all areas of your postings, then you lose all credibility.
This post isn't meant to be malicious. I'm just trying to point out that you may want to tone down your fervor that you have when it comes to anything involving 'violent video games'.
sully @ Jun 23rd 2006 11:53AM
Somewhat surprisingly to myself, I actually disagree with this post.
While 99% of the time I'm all for government staying way the hell away from deciding anything for me - including what entertainment I consider appropriate for myself or any children I may one day have - there is some validity in the value of mental training that a game like Battlefield 2 offers.
It won't teach you how to shoot a real rifle worth a damn, but very basic strategy and squad maneuvers could be gained from playing the game. Similarly, the game *does* offer the opportunity to play as the Middle East Coalition (MEC). I can count on one hand the number of times players have had the opportunity to commence electronic warfare in that guise. Beating the U.S. Marines could, again, make the odd screwball think, "I could do this in real life."
Because prescience is unavailable to us, much of defensive and offensive planning in warfare is about mapping out every single possible scenario. Games like BF2 having a morale or strategic boost to extremists is a possibility. Would I condone changing the content of BF2 at all for this reason? Hell no - that's silly in the extreme. The point remains, however - there is some validity in examining the effect of games on terror.
minus_273 @ Jun 23rd 2006 11:59AM
"Internet and terrorism "experts" explained how the video was an advertisement for evil doers around the globe simply because it appeared on some insurgent-related Web sites."
if it is on terrorist sites, is it not an ad?
Isnt that exactly what they are saying? you 've contradicted yourself.
fat_bunnies @ Jun 23rd 2006 12:13PM
fuck the U.S.A, train the people in the arts of revolution! only in revolution will we be truly free. think its patriotic.
Player1 @ Jun 23rd 2006 12:14PM
Leave Joystiq alone. The fact is that in that video, the government is saying that you pay $25 for a mod that lets you play as a terrorist. That's not true, they game is being played as-is. For 7 million dollars they should have the most basic of facts straight. It would have taken, what five minutes for them to ask their kids?
ck @ Jun 23rd 2006 12:21PM
Hey guys,
Remember, this is a video games blog! Of course they're going to post news about violence because right now, that seems to be the only thing the government is focusing on right now! It's so bad that even the Daily Show had to comment on it.
I don't really understand how Joystiq is on a rant because of this, they're just reporting and yes, the government is blaming a lot of domestic problems on video games, and yes, I'm a little miffed by it, too.
Especially when I find out that $7 million dollars of government spending goes towards finding "insurgent" websites supposedly...and what does it get us? A big mistake...oops we're sorry! And what if they find a real terrorist recruiting web sites? So what? Shut them down? New ones will pop up or people will find other ways to recruit.
I'm sorry if this sounds a little heated, it's just that every time I see someone flame Joystiq about real news, it drives me crazy. Like the first post, the sad thing too is that despite video games getting the bad rap by congress, the Army keeps making "recruiting" tools themselves through the video game America's Army.
And if you need a video game to teach the basics or learn the basics about combat, your army will really suck, if this is to be believed by these so called experts that found this video.
caselog1c @ Jun 23rd 2006 12:54PM
I tested and I am in the credits for this game, i hope I don't get called to testify for contributing to terrorist propoganda. seriously. are we paying for this? i think i am taking crazy pills.
You know when you get pulled over and you think you think to yourself don't they have better things to do then give me a ticket. well they don't and i am okay with paying there 40,000 per year to be a glorifed meter maid, but these guys seriously! don't you have something better to do. when i am looking at battlefield 2 videos i think to myself wow, shouldn't i be doing something else.
Jabrwock @ Jun 23rd 2006 12:56PM
re: fwacce
FYI, WaterCoolerGames has the transcripts of the presentation. In it, SAIC claims that you could pay $25 to the terrorists to download a "mod" for BF2, and that the video was an ad for this mod. SAIC did just enough research to identify the video game in question (BF2) and the company that produces it, but not enough to identify the origin of the sound clips (Team America: World Police & Lion of the Desert), or the fact that the "mod" is in fact an official EA BF2 expansion pack "Special Forces". One expects a little better research for $7 mil...
If they'd just claimed they found the video on a militant site, this probably wouldn't have been so bad. It's the fact that they fluffed it up by making several outrageous claims about the source material for the video.
bill pullman @ Jun 23rd 2006 1:00PM
i don't care about the article. that picture is scary as hell and i demand you take it down. go.
GlitchCog @ Jun 23rd 2006 1:03PM
Durka durka, mohammad jihad.
brad77 @ Jun 23rd 2006 1:20PM
I think that an important issue here is one of context. Our "experts" in the government don't appear to be able to appreciate the context of the subject matter when it relates to games. That's evident in their debate. Refer to the clips from the Daily Show earlier this week.
http://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/22/jon-stewart-blasts-congress-ignorance-towards-video-games/
This just another example of how our boys in DC are out of touch. We expect our Congress to be our informed advocates, but oftentimes their discussions on videogames boil down to hyperbole and knee-jerk reactionism in response to a moral panic that's more perceived than real (or at least, that's what I like to think).
Do we want these guys debating the future of our hobby? Do we have a choice?
Alkaiser @ Jun 23rd 2006 2:07PM
Nobody's complaining about the fact that this could theoretically be used to hype up terrorists.
What they're complaining about is that the piece of information that the group looking basically called their shining exmaple of what the terrorists are doing to recruit was actually just an American made product, that they either didn't research properly, or didn't care to because otherwise they didn't have a damn thing.
The reason people are getting riled up was because the groundwork for War in the Gulf, Part II, was paved with loads of falsified and bad intel. Then the US government sets up a new committee, gives them $7 million to go about their business, and what do the American people and Congress get for that money?
More bad intel.
LaughingMan @ Jun 23rd 2006 2:09PM
Why does "Machinima" and "Uncanny Valley" appear in every post now? We get it, yes very creepy....next!
7 million is nothing in terms of spending, so spare us the "Is this what are tax dollars are going towards?" routine that's straight out of Leno. And lets not forget the best line:
"Why is the government so ready to blame video games for all the world's ills nowadays?"
Hate to tell you this, but no one in the government cares about our stupid hobby. Really. I know I know you read all the blogs and scour the net for any peice of Jack Thompson/Hilary Clinton conservative family values bit of info you can grab, but that's your world. To the rest of the world, video games are barely a blip on the radar in terms of growing concerns. Sorry.
kev @ Jun 23rd 2006 2:15PM
the terrorists are heading west on turkadurkadurka street
brad77 @ Jun 23rd 2006 2:34PM
That may be true, LaughingMan, which is all the more reason why we should worry. Because "no one in the government cares about our stupid hobby," they probably won't spend the time getting the facts right. I'm sure they wouldn't think twice about passing a law written by JT or HC because they're not interested in understanding it.
Hell, they don't even read more than the abstract on most of the bills that they vote on anyway (they aren't required to do so). Many have admitted that they don't read them, nor do their staffs. There was even a bill floating around last year that would have required them to do so, but it wasn't passed (the "Read the Bill Act").
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15620-2004Nov26.html
http://www.downsizedc.org/rtba_legislation.shtml
Judd @ Jun 23rd 2006 4:39PM
Team America FTW!
epobirs @ Jun 23rd 2006 5:33PM
A spoof of a satire? Homage, perhaps?
C. Grant @ Jun 23rd 2006 6:04PM
LaughingMan: did you miss the fact that Congress just met on this topic? Because my great Aunt Eloise doesn't care about videogames, I should ignore the fact that politicians do. Bzzzzt. Try again.
JimyD @ Jun 23rd 2006 6:06PM
These jokers at the Pentagon are supposed to be protecting our country? What a frickin joke! This is just another example of fear being dumped onto the American public like a truck full of steaming elephant dung and our “rollover like a dog” politicians in D.C. buying it hook, line and sinker.
The swooshing sound you're hearing is another $7 million of taxpayers’ money being flushed down the toilet and into the pockets of Bush’s cronies at the Pentagon. Hail to the Thief, Baby!
geves @ Jun 23rd 2006 9:29PM
wait wasn't there a game released not too long ago, where you could kill saddam and ONLY play as coalition forces and kill iraqis/other arabs?
....oh wait that was like the past 50 games.
yay my tax money gets spent on something stupid agian..hooray, well at least this time it's not $50 million for a stop sign in alaska or was it a bus stop (remember that)?
logic ftw!
gopodular.com @ Jun 23rd 2006 10:00PM
Where do I fill out an application to get some of that $7 million?
intel @ Jun 24th 2006 12:23AM
It's evident from this display that, like much of taxpayer millions, most of this 7 million was spent on personal interest - and to appease the people who allowed it be spent.
Finished.Law.School @ Jun 24th 2006 1:28AM
If you follow politics and the bills coming out of Congress you will see that these people are completely and utterly clueless when it comes to technology and the world at large. The majority of laws being voted on are being written by large corporations and votes are being purchased by the same corporations through lobbying efforts. This story is another example of their ignorance. Calling these people members of the "U.S. House Intelligence Committee" is a joke.
Long @ Jun 24th 2006 2:44AM
The government is so hypocritical. On one hand the government and military use games to recuit people into the army by developing games such as America's Army Game.
Here is the link http://www.goarmy.com/aarmy/
Then the government goes and say that games can teach terrorist strategic tools to kill and destroy. The government discovered that people who have skills at fps games and flight similator games can now be used in the army to control weapons such as those unmanned drone planes called Predator and future weapons.
Etheo @ Jun 24th 2006 11:20PM
This is hot coffee all over again.
... That's what I want to say, but then I do realize there's something different in this. I can be sure that the author of the Machinima made it for parody purpose. However, how the other parties (such as said "insurgents") are using it is out of his power. They could actually be using it as an advertisement, even though it was meant to be something else. That's like bittorrent. Did the author get sued for uses of the program that's outside of his control?
The government is right to be concerned if such video is hosted on an insurgent website. Now the question is, how do you define insurgent websites? Are those sites with middle east languages insurgent sites? Or could they be middle east people just poking fun at the U.S. while no harm is meant? I guess it's up to the "experts" to find out.