Russian embassy uses video game to represent Syrian rebels

Russian embassy uses video game to represent Syrian rebels
Social media staff at the Russian embassy in London accused Syrian rebels of receiving chemical weapons, but used graphics from a popular video game to represent them.
2 min read
13 May, 2016
Social media users were quick to begin mocking the embassy [Twitter]

The Russian embassy in London has used a screenshot from a popular video game to illustrate Syrian rebels in Aleppo being handed a stockpile of chemical weapons, which has become a focal point of amusement on social media.

On Thursday, the UK-based embassy posted on its Twitter account posted an image from the real-time strategy game Command & Conquer: Generals to represent Syrian rebels in Aleppo taking control of a consignment of chemical weapons.

Syrian regime and Russian war planes have launched heavy air raids recently on Aleppo city, which have killed more than 300 people.

Social media users were quick to mock the embassy's artistic efforts by sending other ridiculous images from poplar videos games to illustrate "real life" war situations.



It appears the embassy is not particularly interested in the accuracy of the images it uses on social media.

The same day the account used an image from Nazi-Zombie film Dead Snow in another of its tweets.

Oddly, last October an Egyptian TV host caught the world's attention when he aired a video claiming it to be "first-person-perspective footage" of a Russian helicopter's bombing mission of an IS stronghold in Syria.

He was, in fact, airing footage from the video game Apache Air Assault.