Video clip of military helicopter crash is from a video game, not the war in Ukraine

Some videos and photographs that claim to be from the war in Ukraine merit a closer look when they are shared on social media. PolitiFact has found many examples of clips that were sold as real destruction that actually originated from video games. 

One new video purports to show the Ukrainian military shooting down Russian helicopters. “Ukraine soldier use MANPADS to easily destroy Russian helicopters,” the video’s caption reads.  

The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

This isn’t real footage from the war. It’s from a video game.

Using keyword searches we found the same video on YouTube, which described the scene as a simulation from Arma 3, a military tactical shooter video game that’s been used several times in false claims about the fighting in Ukraine. 

The same Facebook account posted another video titled “Rus_sian Helicopter Convoy firing at U_kraine Military Base.” It, too, is from the same game and doesn’t depict real-life combat.

We rate these posts False. 

UPDATE, June 7, 2022: We updated this fact-check to include another Facebook video misrepresenting video game footage.

By

Samantha Putterman

Staff Writer

June 6, 2022

Truth-o-meter Ruling

False

IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT

• This isn’t a real video showing the Ukrainian military shooting down Russian helicopters. It’s a simulation from the Arma 3 video game. 

Statement

Video shows Ukrainian soldiers shooting down Russian helicopters.

Context

a Facebook post

Speaker/Target

Speaker: Facebook posts

Statement Date

June 29, 2022