Black Ops 2 News Article Says ISIS is Using Call of Duty Imagery for Recruitment

Shawn Hopkins · Sep 19, 2014

ISIS is an evil terrorist organization responsible for innumerable despicable crimes against humanity. Call of Duty is a fun video game that only involves shooting virtual people. But that hasn't stopped the ISIS from trying to tie the two, according to media reports.

A recent New Yorker article makes the point that one of ISIS's latest propaganda videos seems to intentionally ape the style of Call of Duty.

According to the article, in the video "a man sits in a plastic chair on a porch, a rifle stuck between his knees. The camera, at this point, is only a voyeur; the man in the chair seems bored, unremarkable. A bullet hits the cement wall behind his head, kicking up a puff of dust. He gets to his feet and stumbles forward, confused and disoriented. The view changes: an overlay effect makes it look as if the man is being watched through a sniper’s scope. A red dot zeroes in on the man’s midsection. There is a gunshot; the man recoils. As he grimaces in pain, the footage grinds down to render, in slow motion, every expression of his face, his flailing arms."

The article says the video also shows a car being shot up, again with a slowdown for a "confirmed kill."

"The mechanics of all this should be familiar to anyone who has played a first-person-shooter video game, or F.P.S., in the past ten years. In Halo, Call of Duty, Gears of War, and pretty much every other F.P.S. sold today, when your first shot misses, the scope button will help you to hone in on your target. The edges of the screen blur to black, the red dot jumps to simulate the shooter’s heartbeat, and, when you hit the trigger button, the reaction—the gush of blood, the facial contortions, and the man’s slow exit from view—is registered, frame by frame. The sequence is so familiar that, while watching the ISIS video, I, who only play such games on occasion, could feel the rhythm of the controller’s commands. Right trigger (missed shot), hold down left trigger to bring up scope, orient the crosshairs, right trigger again, watch your handiwork as it falls out of the frame."

Okay, that description of how video game killings play out might be more than a little wonky, but it's clear that ISIS is a master of propaganda, and they are using imagery that's popular with youth to spread their horrible message. The article has other examples, like this ISIS propaganda image that leaves no ambiguity about the connection. Jannah is an Arabic word for paradise.

The article worries that such imagery will make ISIS more effective in recruiting young people, but I think there's a simple solution to the problem. If you find yourself being impressed by what looks like video game imagery, ask yourself, "Am I watching a terrorist recruitment video?" If so, turn it off, do some serious soul-searching about what you're doing with your life, and then go play some actual Call of Duty because it's better than anything ISIS can offer.
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valiantx · Sep 25, 2014

So, a nameless quote from a faceless writer... people, use some proper logical deduction, instead of induction, because these media articles are bias and lack factual credibility.

Also, who is this ISIS thing people are so infatuated but scared of, because I've never met the guy or gal named ISIS; does it wear a dress or pants, or have a mustache or long hair? Seriously, people, stop filling in the gaps for these 'vague' news report or articles, this is exactly the thinking that such media writers desire to invoke from you gullible people.

It's how one uses a tool to benefit him, her, or a society; simply because a lot of people lack the proper understanding how to use a tool, doesn't mean it's evil or good!

BennyDarby · Sep 26, 2014

Sounds like someone is trying to get a stir out of people. People will come up with ridiculous claims and ideas all in an effort to make something go viral and either a) piss people off, or b) get people to go to their site.

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Black Ops 2 News Article Says ISIS is Using Call of Duty Imagery for Recruitment

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