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Water Cooler Games

Water Cooler Games served as the web's primary forum for "videogames with an agenda" — coverage of the uses of video games in advertising, politics, education, and other everyday activities, outside the sphere of entertainment.

The site was maintained at watercoolergames.org from 2003-2009, where it was edited by myself and Gonzalo Frasca. It is now archived here in full.

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Reuters outed as crocks

by Ian Bogost May 8, 2006

categories: Propaganda Games

Update: It appears that Reuters is not to blame here; rather, they were reporting the actual events of the congressional testimony, during which, it appears, parody was provided as evidence that terrorists are using videogames as recruiting and training tools. We're looking into this and trying to straighten it out.

Normally I wouldn't open a new post on this topic, given that Gonzalo just covered it, but the gravity of the situation recommends it.

As Gonzalo noted, Reuters ran a story about "Islamists using US video games in youth appeal." And as Gonzalo also noted, the article was manipulative and propagandist. Well, it turns out it felt that way because it was also uncorroborated and completely false. As reported on this Dvorak thread, the video turns out to have been created by a player of Battlefield 2 using the stock Special Forces add-on. From the post,

The video the retarded writer is referring to is not made by terrorists. It was made by a member of the Planetbattlefield forums. The voice of in the video is not a terrorist - it is Trey Parker from the movie Team America World Police. The article also claims it is a mod created by terrorist. It is not a mod. It is the Special Forces Expansion pack that anyone can buy.

The original video can be viewed here.

Gonzalo's assertion that Al Quaeda games are no less objectionable than America's Army still stands. But apparently Reuters didn't even get the story right.

(thanks to Tim Holt)

Comments (5)

What we need to confirm -so far I was not able to- if the Battlefield mod in question was an example provided by Reuters or was instead shown to lawmakers at the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Does anybody has an idea on how to check this?

Gonzalo Frasca on May 8, 2006 10:58 AM

Right, it's unclear where the congressional testimony came from. I guess if Reuters was just reporting blatantly wrong testimony, then we should lower the hatchet. At the same time it's too bad the journalist chose not to do any research on the topic.

Ian Bogost on May 8, 2006 2:20 PM

I just put my second call into Washington to try to get a copy of the transcript for the hearings. Should anyone track them down first, please let me know.

Elizabeth Losh on May 8, 2006 5:17 PM

The Reuters article -which, for obvious reasons, is not trustworthy- specifically says that lawmakers where shown the Battlefield video. The video was not made by al Qaeda. It features dialogue from Team America (made by South Park creators). If the Reuters article is right, then US Congressmen were shown comedy as terrorist evidence. Once we get a transcript for the hearings we can confirm that. And then Reuters would have a great story in their hands about the quality of evidence that the US goverment seems to use on their War on Terror.

Gonzalo Frasca on May 8, 2006 8:56 PM

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stelios on June 7, 2006 2:23 PM