bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Russia’s defence ministry posted images it said proved the US was aiding Islamic State jihadist group in the Middle East, but social media users pointed out they included a still from a video game.
The ministry’s official account said the black-and-white images were taken on November 9 near the Syria-Iraq border and provided “irrefutable proof that the US is providing cover to IS combat units”.
But the monitor Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT), along with a number of social media users, was quick to compare one of the images with an identical still from the war game “AC-130 Gunship Simulator: Special Ops Squadron”.
Other images posted to Twitter appeared to be taken from videos released by Baghdad’s Ministry of Defence in 2016, showing the Iraqi Air Force bombing jihadists near Fallujah, the CIT said.
The resemblance is confirmed after comparing images in the emailed defence ministry statement with the images of the video game on YouTube.
Watch: AC-130 Gunship Simulator, not US providing cover to IS combat units


The images were later deleted from the ministry of defence’s Twitter and Facebook accounts, and the ministry said several hours later that there had been a “mistake”, and publishing a different set of pictures, calling them “irrefutable proof” of US aid of IS.
“The defence ministry is looking into a civilian employee of one of the departments who attached photos to the defence ministry’s statement by mistake,” a new statement was quoted by Russian agencies as saying.
The military stood by its allegations saying “the refusal of US command to inflict strikes on ISIL convoys on November 9 is an established fact recorded in the transcript of conversations”.
The US embassy in Moscow said in a statement posted on Twitter that “the US is not going to spend time on the nonsensical claims by the Russian ministry of defence accusing us of complicity with ISIS, using images from video games and old photos of military operations in another country.”
“We need to focus on destroying our common enemy and not play games,” it said.
Moscow has previously accused Washington of “pretending” to fight IS in Iraq, allowing jihadists into neighbouring Syria where Russia and the US have backed opposing sides in the bloody conflict.
US military spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon called the Russian statements a “barrage of lies”, saying they were “as accurate as their air campaign”.
“I certainly can’t verify but I have seen a report that one of the pictures came from a video game.
“So again, that is pretty consistent with what we have seen come out of Russian MOD as being baseless, inaccurate and completely false.”
Earlier this year Russian media accused President Vladimir Putin of passing off footage of the American military fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan as the efforts of Russia’s air force in Syria during a television interview.
The Kremlin denied that Putin had shown the wrong footage to the American director Oliver Stone during one of a series of interviews.


2 killed, several injured after car rams into crowd in German city

Austria foils railway station terror attack, arrests teen, 14, who may have supported Isis

Austria calls stabbing that killed teen an ‘Islamist attack’

Sweden jails man for joining Islamic state, in first under new law

Islamic State

Busted: Russia’s ‘proof’ that US helps Islamic State was actually from video game ‘AC-130 Gunship Simulator’

Russia’s defence ministry posted images it said proved the US was aiding Islamic State jihadist group in the Middle East, but social media users pointed out they included a still from a video game ‘AC-130 Gunship Simulator: Special Ops Squadron’. Photo: Twitter

Fake news thrives because online ad providers make it so easy to use their services

Fake news became a major problem in the US during the presidential election.

--NO ARCHIVE, NO ARCHIVE, NO ARCHIVE-- This screengrab from the Facebook #Rebecca Overton are seen the page of the promoted articles from Conservative101.com that claimed or implied that Hollywood star Tom Hanks had endorsed Trump for president. Photo / Courtesy of Facebook#Rebecca Overton [27DECEMBER2016 FEATURES ONLINE Fake News]

shutterstock_459860389.jpg This shutterstock image showOstersund, Sweden - July 28, 2016: Google Ads website on a computer screen. Google Ads is an online advertising service. [2016 FEATURES ONLINE] Photo / SHUTTERSTOCK

This photo combo of images provided by Facebook demonstrates some of the new measures Facebook is taking to curb the spread of fake news on its huge and influential social network. The company is focusing on the "worst of the worst" offenders and partnering with outside fact-checkers to sort honest news reports from made-up stories that play to people's passions and preconceived notions. (Facebook via AP)

Google plans to remove the ‘In the news’ section from its desktop search following ‘fake news’ criticism

Photo: Business Insider

How fake news and alternative facts signal a paradigm shift in global quantum reality

Emmanuel Macron’s decisive victory over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in the French presidential run-off on May 7 is one of the signs the pendulum may be swinging back from populism. Photo: AFP

epa05366557 A flotilla of fishing trawlers, orgainzed by UKIP leader Nigel Farage, sails up the river Thames 'Fishing for Leave Flotilla' next to the Houses of Parliament in London Britain, 15 June 2016. Farage continues to campaign around the UK in the lead up to the EU referendum on 23 June. Britons will vote on whether to remain in or leave the EU in a referendum on 23 June 2016. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

Nato sees sharp rise in Russian ‘fake news’ since Crimea seizure

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russian authorities have in the past denied seeking to interfere in the internal affairs of other states. Photo: AP

Notorious fake news writer who claimed credit for Trump’s victory is found dead at 38

Paul Horner claimed that his fake stories were satire, but also claimed credit for helping put Donald Trump in the White House with them. Photo: CNN

A demonstrator protest before the arrival of Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Eugene, Oregon, U.S., May 6, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart

Busted: Russia’s ‘proof’ that US helps Islamic State was actually from video game ‘AC-130 Gunship Simulator’

Moscow has long accused Washington of ‘pretending’ to fight IS in Iraq