It’s not clear whether it’s just a video, or a modded game.
ISIS, aka Islamic State, has taken Grand Theft Auto V imagery and used it for its own, in its latest recruitment video. At time of writing it’s not entirely clear whether this is meant to be just a video, or an example of a modded game to be used as a training tool by would-be jihadists. The words ‘Flames of War’ appear at the end of the video, followed by ‘Fighting has just begun.’
The video is meant to “raise the morale of the Mujahideen, and the training of children and young teenagers to fight the West, and throw terror into the hearts of opponents of the state,” according to the Islamic State’s media wing.
The introductory text translates broadly as an appeal to the viewer, showing that ISIS does ‘the things you do in games, in real life on the battlefield.’ There is, or was, an Islamic State on Rockstar’s Social Club, but it doesn’t seem to exist any more.
Games, though popular, are by no means the only means by which ISIS uses the internet and social media to organize and recruit.
“To go and fight in Syria is as easy as going on holiday to Disneyland,” says former terrorist Shahid Butt, convicted for his activities during the breakup of Yugoslavia. “Because you’ve made it simple! They go onto social networks, they go onto Facebook, they go onto Twitter, they link up with people, they find out routes, they find out contacts, they get met at places, they do it all online!”
Source: Forbes
