At least five families in Europe shockingly discovered extremely graphic videos in children's video games that are part of pro-Israel advertisements, according to Reuters.
The Israeli government confirmed the advertisements as state-backed but remains clueless about how it reached minors and children-friendly media. The graphic advertisement reportedly depicted Hamas terrorists, horrified Israeli families, and gruesome footage that has been blurred.
In one instance, a message from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs appeared over a blank screen of an Android phone interrupting a puzzle game, saying, "WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT THOSE WHO HARM US PAY A HEAVY PRICE."
Other reported instances saw footage of rocket attacks, a fiery explosion, and masked gunmen, which was shown to gamers, including several children.
In one case, the advertisements were displayed in the popular "Angry Birds" game. The game's developer, Rovio, said that "somehow these ads with disturbing content have in error made it through to our game," and these are now being manually banned.
Reuters reported that other documented cases were observed by people in Britain, France, Austria, Germany, and Holland who had seen the same commercials in children's video games. The advertisements were featured in the "Alice's Mergeland" game developed by LazyDog Game.
The pro-Israel advertisement was also featured on family-friendly digital games, including "Stack," "Balls'n Ropes," "Solitaire: Card Game 2023," and the run-and-jump adventure "Subway Surfers."
(Photo : ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Graphic content / An Israeli soldier stands in a Merkava battle tank as it deploys with other tanks along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel
Graphic Advertisements Remain a Question
David Saranga, head of the digital diplomacy division at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, admitted that the video was a government-sponsored advertisement but said he had "no idea" how it wound up in numerous games.
According to Saranga, the ministry spent money with ad businesses such as Taboola, Outbrain, Google, and X. Both Taboola and Outbrain stated they had nothing to do with the gaming advertisements.
Google sponsored more than 90 advertisements for the foreign ministry but refused to say where those ads appeared. X, formerly known as Twitter, did not return Reuter's requests for comment.
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Israel-Hamas Information War
The graphic advertisements were reported as part of the information and advocacy drive by the Israeli Foreign Ministry to increase people's awareness about the war against Hamas terrorists to sway public opinion.
Politico reported that the ads portrayed Hamas as a "vicious terrorist group," like the Islamic State, and revealed the scale and types of the abuse.
Israel's advocacy drive was reportedly an attempt to "win the information war" and favorably construct its image, especially during times of crisis, thereby also increasing support for its military response against Hamas in Western countries.
A lullaby plays over a rainbow backdrop in one advertisement labeled "Babies Can't Read The Text in This Video But Their Parents Can," and a unicorn flies across the screen.
"We know that your child cannot read this," the poster added, but it begs parents to sympathize with families whose children were slain during the attack on Israel.
The Israeli government's efforts come after Hamas has reportedly disseminated its own propaganda on platforms such as Telegram and X, showing a hostage video of a young French-Israeli woman. Experts in the field noted this was the new reality of PR campaigns surrounding wars.
Emerson Brooking, a fellow at the Atlantic Council, told Politico that "this tactic is almost as old as war... Stirring moral outrage to build support for war is a very old practice... But I do not think it has collided with social media in quite this way before."
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