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Confusing Video Games With Real Life
We live in a unique moment in history -- that sweet spot when video games are so realistic and reality is so ridiculous that it's hard for paid professionals to tell the difference between the two. For instance, CNN recently ran a story on Russian hackers that purported to show us what a cyber attack looks like:
CNN
Hackers still use command lines, right?
Notice The Matrix-esque gibberish in the background? Sore-thumbed viewers instantly recognized those images, because they'd stared at that exact same screen for hours -- it belongs to a word puzzle minigame from Fallout 4. Come on, we know Russia has its problems, but it's not a post-apocalyptic wasteland quite yet. The footage has nothing to do with actual hacking, unless CNN acquired the game through less than legal means.
Reddit/Poofylicious
Downloading games from best-torrentz.ru counts as "Russian hacking," we guess.
Similarly, in an effort to better explain the intricacies of an upcoming SpaceX mission, CBC News helpfully provided a computer simulation of a rocket landing ...
CBC News
... which was actually footage from a cartoony video game called Kerbal Space Program that they ripped from YouTube. The game's physics are considered impressive, but somehow we doubt astronauts would trust equations calculated by off-brand Minions.
Squad
We just realized we have no idea what Elon Musk looks like.
Not to be outdone, Russia Today aired a report on child soldiers in South Sudan that, instead of featuring an actual photo, used a screenshot from Metal Gear Solid V. You know, as if the internet wouldn't remember a game that sold well over six million copies.
RT
The graphics on these actual photos are so photorealistic.
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