Does a video show a U.S. "bunker buster" missile strike in Yemen against an Iranian facility, as claimed in a Facebook post? No, that's not true: The video is a copy of YouTube video of gameplay from "Arma 3," a tactical shooter video game. Since the game is highly customizable, it has frequently been used to spread online misinformation. The YouTube version, clearly labelled as video game play, was posted two days before the Facebook post claiming to show a missile strike.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on Facebook on March 27, 2024. The post included the video and a caption that read:
𝖧О𝖴Т𝖧𝖨Ѕ NО𝖶𝖧ЕRЕ TO 𝖧𝖨𝖣Е! 𝖧uɡе 𝖴Ѕ Аnt𝗂-Bunkеr M𝗂ѕѕ𝗂ⅼе ѕtr𝗂kеѕ 𝖨rаn'ѕ ѕесrеt һеаԁԛuаrtеr unԁеr 𝖸еmеn! Nice
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Thu Mar 28 18:09 2024 UTC)
The U.S. launched several missile strikes against sites controlled by Houthi rebels, who are supported by Iran, in 2024 (archived here). But Lead Stories performed reverse image searches on Google and Yandex of screenshots taken of the video from the post on Facebook and did not find any news results that matched the images.
However, the video does resemble other footage of video game gameplay. "Arma 3" is a video game that is often used to deceive social media users into thinking that footage from its gameplay is from a real conflict. Bohemia Interactive, the company that developed the game, issued a statement that helps social media users determine whether online videos are legitimate conflict footage or footage of "Arma 3" gameplay (archived here). The statement says that, among other features, such footage "Often takes place in the dark / at night" and has "Unnatural particle effects" in its depictions of explosions. These are qualities found in the footage in question. The statement also notes how the game can easily be modified, which may contribute to its use in misinformation:
Arma 3 is more than just a military simulation game, it is a unique open sandbox platform. The original game takes place in the middle of a futuristic fictional conflict in 2035. A pillar of the Arma series, however, is how open the games are to user customization and user-generated content (modding). Modders can create whole new terrains, ground vehicles, aircraft, weapons, uniforms, equipment, and scenarios. They can then share their creations with a community of players. For instance, as of today, there are more than 20.000 Arma 3 mods available to download via the Steam Workshop. This means that players of Arma 3 can recreate and simulate any historic, present, or future conflict in great detail (thanks to its advanced game engine). This unique freedom of the Arma 3 platform comes with a downside: videos taken from Arma 3, especially when the game is modified, are quite capable of spreading fake news.
A Google search of the phrase "US anti-bunker missile strike in Yemen" (archived here) led us to a video published on YouTube that matched the one included in the post made on Facebook. The video was titled "HOUTHIS NOWHERE TO HIDE! Huge US Anti-Bunker Missile strikes Iran's secret headquarter under Yemen!" and was published on March 25, 2024. The description confirmed that the video was taken from "Arma 3" gameplay:
HOUTHIS NOWHERE TO HIDE! Huge US Anti-Bunker Missile strikes Iran's secret headquarter under Yemen!
*NOT Real footages, just Arma 3 gameplay simulation!
*This video does not depict what is happening, it is just a guess at what this event would look like in reality :)
Subscribe to see more ARMA 3 military content :)
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"This video was created using content of Bohemia Interactive a.s."
"Copyright © 2013 Bohemia Interactive a.s. All rights reserved."
Lead Stories reached out to Bohemia Interactive for comment on the footage. We will update this story with any relevant response.
