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Fallout 3 image causes fallout of its own

Posted 30 May 2008 in pop culture

Fallout3_DC
Since its introduction I’ve been a fan of Fallout, a post-apocalyptic RPG where players roam a fictional landscape devastated by nuclear war in the distant future. For the past several years I’ve been eagerly following the progress on the upcoming third installment in the series, particularly the concept art being created by Bethesda Softworks. So I was more than a little surprised to hear about the ruckus between SITE Intelligence Group – a provider of anti-terrorist intelligence – and UK’s Telegraph newspaper.

The Telegraph said:

SITE red-faced as Islamist ‘Washington ruin’ image turns out to be from Fallout 3 game

This image of Washington after a nuclear holocaust, which a US intelligence group claimed showed the ambition of Islamic extremist terrorists, was actually lifted from a computer game.

The SITE Intelligence Group said that the image, showing a ruined Capitol Building in Washington, was created by extremists as part of discussions about the feasibility of nuclear strikes against the US and Britain.

The images appeared in a video, called Nuclear Jihad: The Ultimate Terror, posted on two password-protected websites, al-Ekhlass and al-Hesbah, believed to be affiliated with al-Qa’eda.

SITE also released translated several chatroom threads from al-Ekhlass and al-Hesbah, discussing the possibility of nuclear attacks on the West.

However, it has transpired that far from being a detailed simulation created by terrorist masterminds, the apocalyptic vision is in fact lifted from the computer game Fallout 3, by US game designers Bethesda Softworks.

And SITE fact-checked them back with a press release:

SITE rejects the claims by the Telegraph and stands fully behind the accuracy of its information and analysis. SITE at no time maintained that the image “was created by extremists.”

SITE reported to its subscribers that extremists posted the image to a password-protected forum affiliated with al-Qaeda. This is entirely accurate. Moreover, this information was part of a report describing the general atmosphere in this forum with regard to extremists’ discussions on weapons of mass destruction, making its context all the more important. This report in its entirety is also completely accurate.

The Telegraph is not a subscriber to SITE’s services. Apparently, the newspaper made these erroneous claims without actually reading SITE’s original report, and the basis of their information for their incorrect article is unknown to us.

Sounds like much ado about nothing. Hopefully, our intelligence services will spend more time tracking down the wanna-be murderers on those chat boards and not be distracted about where they got their imagery.

Posted by FullMetalPatriot
12th gen. American, Constitutionalist, Harley-riding Texan, gun owner & NRA member, blogger, illustrator, Florida Gator alumnus. #TCOT

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