Congress believed BF2 fan video was a terrorist recruiting tool - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

MechCow · 06-16-2006, 10:44 PM

http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com/285129.html

Quote:

Was an elite congressional intelligence committee shown video footage from an off-the-shelf retail game and told by the Pentagon and a highly-paid defense contractor that it was a jihadist creation designed to recruit and indoctrinate terrorists?

It's looking more and more like that is the case.

The bizarre story began to unfold last week when Reuters reported that the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence was shown video footage of combat action which was represented as a user-modified version (or "mod") of Electronic Art's best-selling Battlefield 2, a modern-day military simulation which features combat between U.S. forces and those of the fictitious Middle East Coalition (MEC) as well as the People's Republic of China.

Reuters quoted a Pentagon official, Dan Devlin, as saying, "What we have seen is that any video game that comes out... (al Qaeda will) modify it and change the game for their needs."

The influential committee, chaired by Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI), watched footage of animated combat in which characters depicted as Islamic insurgents killed U.S. troops in battle. The video began with the voice of a male narrator saying, "I was just a boy when the infidels came to my village in Blackhawk helicopters..."

Several GP readers immediately noticed that the voice-over was actually lifted from Team America: World Police, an outrageous 2004 satirical film produced by the creators of the popular South Park comedy series. At about the same time, gamers involved in the online Battlefield 2 community were pointing out the video footage shown to Congress was not a mod of BF2 at all, but standard game footage from EA's Special Forces BF2 add-on module, a retail product widely available in the United States and elsewhere.

GamePolitics has been seeking comment on the video from the Pentagon and Science Applications International Corp (SAIC), a defense contractor based in San Diego. Committee chair Hoekstra's office referred GP back to the committee for comment. A call there had not been returned by press time.

According to Reuters, the U.S. government is paying SAIC $7 million to monitor Islamist web sites, which is where they apparently discovered a copy of the footage. However, the video can also readily be accessed via links found in the user forums of the popular Planet Battlefield site, operated by IGN Entertainment of Brisbane, California.

It is unclear whether SAIC vetted the origin of the video before showing it to key members of Congress and representing it as a terrorist recruiting tool.

In other idiotic news, Congress is to change the way they rate games in what appears to be a delayed knee-jerk reaction to the Hot Coffee mod.

http://www.businessweek.com/technolo...gn_id=rss_tech

It is no longer a generation gap, it is an information gap. There are those who get it and understand gaming/computers/internet/information age, and there are those who don't. The world has moved much faster than government systems can keep up with and legislators are left legislating something they don't understand and their staff don't understand - but a good majority of younger people do. They either do nothing and watch the public outcry (at things the general public doesn't understand) or they blindly poke around in the dark coming up with legislation that makes no sense.

I work with new technology. I find it very difficult sometimes to do my job because of the information overload - its really difficult to process it all and realign yourself to new ideas all the time. But it is my impression that these guys are so far behind me that they will never catch up. Shame on them for keeping up this charade.

djflish · 06-17-2006, 01:52 AM

I don't think anything they do now could surprise me.
I'd like to see the BF2 video though, see maybe why they thought that.

Gatorade Frost · 06-17-2006, 06:15 AM

Seems relatively realistic to think that to me. You find a BF2 video on an Islamic site that's being monitored because of extremist or potentially dangerous conversations or the like, and I think that mental connection should be made. Obviously there is a bit of an information gap between the two, but you can't expect everyone to watch Team America, especially those who are trying to run the country.

aKula · 06-17-2006, 06:17 AM

To be fair it's entirely possible (indeed most probable) that it was posted on an Islamist website, but they should have realised what it actually was and the community from which it came though. I wonder if this reflects their general quality of intelligence, or if they deliberatley presented it like this despite knowing (I'm just speculating about "wilder" explanations here).
Reuters picked up the story as well. Here's a video (and transcript) from a great television program called media watch that recently covered both SAIC's and Reuter's mistake.

http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/tra...s/s1644639.htm

TexanAvenger · 06-17-2006, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MechCow

It is no longer a generation gap, it is an information gap. There are those who get it and understand gaming/computers/internet/information age, and there are those who don't. The world has moved much faster than government systems can keep up with and legislators are left legislating something they don't understand and their staff don't understand - but a good majority of younger people do. They either do nothing and watch the public outcry (at things the general public doesn't understand) or they blindly poke around in the dark coming up with legislation that makes no sense.

Yet the general public keeps voting in the same people over and over again. Nobody's backing the fledging, 25 and 30 year old (lower limits for House and Senate, respectively) progressive politicians who "get it."

I'm with you on this, but the bridge over the information gap has to be made for the general populace rather than the guys in office. Those in office are mostly beyond help already. Make the people understand the problem and they'll tear down the old system to rebuild a new one, which will work better than just trying to jury-rig the old one.

Bazan_Kor · 07-07-2006, 01:46 AM

hahahah i have images of congressmen being told there is a serious threat and being sat down to watch the bf2 'mine' video and taking it seriously.

'Look at the devotion, they really will do anything to go to the afterlife....look they even suicide bomb at the end....' Blurgh I realise it almost certainly wasn't this video they were watching but its worrying, it really is.

shalafi · 07-07-2006, 07:02 AM

Looking at it from another angle, just because thats not what it was created for whos to say these guys were completely wrong? Theres no reason some terrorist couldnt have come across this video on the web and decided it would make a good recruiting tool. Why go to all the trouble of making their own stuff if there is a ready made video out there that fits their purposes.

Jinn · 07-07-2006, 07:11 AM

I love playing the "Insurgents" on the map where you control the Nuclear silo. Nothing like shooting RPGs at US Marines.

There's a level of detachment, desensitization, and IMAGINATION that goes into playing video games. I've no desire to actually shoot at US Marines, but you can be sure-as-shit that I'll be doing so in BF2.

No connection at all. And Congress doesn't get it. And I'm not surprised.

CyCo PL · 07-07-2006, 10:00 PM

I heard something that made me chuckle.

If pro is the opposite of con...

What is the opposite of progress?

longbough · 07-08-2006, 02:31 PM

I'm glad they didn't take a look at the game, Burnout Revenge - which is, arguably, about being a car bomber.

06-17-2006, 01:52 AM	#2 (permalink)
djflish The Mighty Boosh Location: I mostly come out at night, mostly...	I don't think anything they do now could surprise me. I'd like to see the BF2 video though, see maybe why they thought that. __________________ Europes two great narcotics, Alcohol and Christianity. I know which one I prefer.

06-17-2006, 06:15 AM	#3 (permalink)
Gatorade Frost Rookie	Seems relatively realistic to think that to me. You find a BF2 video on an Islamic site that's being monitored because of extremist or potentially dangerous conversations or the like, and I think that mental connection should be made. Obviously there is a bit of an information gap between the two, but you can't expect everyone to watch Team America, especially those who are trying to run the country. __________________ I got in a fight one time with a really big guy, and he said, "I'm going to mop the floor with your face." I said, "You'll be sorry." He said, "Oh, yeah? Why?" I said, "Well, you won't be able to get into the corners very well." Emo Philips

06-17-2006, 06:17 AM	#4 (permalink)
aKula Psycho	To be fair it's entirely possible (indeed most probable) that it was posted on an Islamist website, but they should have realised what it actually was and the community from which it came though. I wonder if this reflects their general quality of intelligence, or if they deliberatley presented it like this despite knowing (I'm just speculating about "wilder" explanations here). Reuters picked up the story as well. Here's a video (and transcript) from a great television program called media watch that recently covered both SAIC's and Reuter's mistake. http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/tra...s/s1644639.htm __________________ "I am the wrath of God. The earth I pass will see me and tremble." -Klaus Kinski as Don Lope de Aguirre Last edited by aKula; 06-17-2006 at 06:42 AM..

07-07-2006, 07:11 AM	#8 (permalink)
Jinn Lover - Protector - Teacher Location: Seattle, WA	I love playing the "Insurgents" on the map where you control the Nuclear silo. Nothing like shooting RPGs at US Marines. There's a level of detachment, desensitization, and IMAGINATION that goes into playing video games. I've no desire to actually shoot at US Marines, but you can be sure-as-shit that I'll be doing so in BF2. No connection at all. And Congress doesn't get it. And I'm not surprised. __________________ "I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

07-08-2006, 02:31 PM	#10 (permalink)
longbough Soylent Green is people. Location: Northern California	I'm glad they didn't take a look at the game, Burnout Revenge - which is, arguably, about being a car bomber. Last edited by longbough; 07-08-2006 at 06:47 PM..

07-07-2006, 01:46 AM	#6 (permalink)
Bazan_Kor Upright	hahahah i have images of congressmen being told there is a serious threat and being sat down to watch the bf2 'mine' video and taking it seriously. 'Look at the devotion, they really will do anything to go to the afterlife....look they even suicide bomb at the end....' Blurgh I realise it almost certainly wasn't this video they were watching but its worrying, it really is.

07-07-2006, 07:02 AM	#7 (permalink)
shalafi ARRRRRRRRRR Location: Stuart, Florida	Looking at it from another angle, just because thats not what it was created for whos to say these guys were completely wrong? Theres no reason some terrorist couldnt have come across this video on the web and decided it would make a good recruiting tool. Why go to all the trouble of making their own stuff if there is a ready made video out there that fits their purposes.

07-07-2006, 10:00 PM	#9 (permalink)
CyCo PL Addict Location: Tulsa, OK	I heard something that made me chuckle. If pro is the opposite of con... What is the opposite of progress?