Indian media shares videogame footage as US drone strike of Soleimani killing

Indian news channel aired a video claiming to be of the very drone attack that killed Iranian General Qaseem Soleimani.

The video was played by Indian channel ABP News during broadcast claiming it as a recording of the US airstrike that led to the death of top Iranian General.

Indian journalist Meena Das Narayan, who is followed by PM Narendra Modi, tweeted the video with the caption “Amazing video of Sulaimani’s end”.

Amazing video of Sulaimani’s end pic.twitter.com/3aOdiUCy8l

— Meena Das Narayan (@MeenaDasNarayan) January 6, 2020

Fact Check

The video is actually a YouTube clip from a video game called AC-130 Gunship Simulator: Special Ops Squadron. The company posted the footage in March 2015 on its YouTube page.

The same video in 2017 went viral with the claim of ISIS killing its targets.

Just in case you’re wondering how that ISIS killing is going:
Warning: Graphic. pic.twitter.com/HhgL3zqPmH

— MIKE J. (@sowtrout) July 25, 2017

On January 5, a number of social media accounts began sharing footage from the game, falsely suggesting that the clip showed an attack by U.S. forces under Trump, in some cases identifying it as the drone attack that killed Iran’s top general.

The posts circulated soon after Gen. Qaseem Soleimani, Iran’s most important military commander, was killed in a U.S. drone strike on Jan 3.