A video circulating online, purportedly showing Hamas militants shooting down an Israeli helicopter, has been debunked as false by India TV's Fact Check team. The misleading clip is in fact a simulation from the video game "Arma 3" and not a real-life event, as falsely claimed in the posts. The video's caption on X (formerly Twitter) misleadingly asserts, "NEW VIDEO: Hamas fighters shooting down Israel war helicopter in Gaza." This erroneous information has also been shared on Facebook with similar captions.
Screenshot of misleading clip from the video game "Arma 3".
India TV did a fact check
India TV's Fact Check team has previously addressed several similar instances where "Arma 3" game footage was erroneously linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict. To confirm the video's origin, a keyword search on YouTube was conducted using phrases like 'helicopter shot down' and 'Arma 3.' This led to the discovery of a short video uploaded on February 27, 2023, by a channel called RIMStudio, which matched the viral video precisely. The video was titled 'KA-50 Battle helicopter shot down by FIM-92F Advanced Stinger Missile l St.77 MilSim ARMA3' and came with a clear disclaimer indicating that it was a simulation from the video game "Arma 3." This tactical shooting simulation game was developed by the Czech company Bohemia Interactive.
Screenshot of video was titled 'KA-50 Battle helicopter shot down by FIM-92F Advanced Stinger Missile l St.77 MilSim ARMA3'.
Why Hamas is carrying out brutal attacks on Israel?
Hamas has always espoused violence as a means to liberate occupied Palestinian territories and has called for the annihilation of Israel. Hamas has carried out suicide bombings and over the years fired tens of thousands of increasingly powerful rockets from Gaza into Israel. It also established a network of tunnels running from Gaza to Egypt to smuggle in weapons, as well as attack tunnels burrowing into Israel. In recent years, Hamas had appeared to be more focused on running Gaza than attacking Israel.
The dissemination of such false information underscores the importance of critically assessing the credibility of viral content and verifying its source before accepting it as fact. In a time when misinformation can easily spread, fact-checking remains an essential tool for discerning truth from fiction.
Also read | 'Unable to create enough early warning to prevent Hamas attack': Israel's intel chief admits his mistake
