Russia Used Game Screenshot To Try To Prove That US Is Cooperating With ISIS

Today, the Russian Ministry of Defense's official Twitter account posted an image it claimed showed "irrefutable" evidence of US collusion with the Islamic State. The only problem? The image is actually a screenshot from a mobile game.

That's right: it seems Russia's MoD tried to pass off an iPhone game image as proof of cooperation between the United States and an insurgent organization it is currently fighting against. The ruse was first pointed out by researcher and academic Eliot Higgins, who wrote up his findings on the online mythbusting website Bellingcat.

"It's worth noting the Russians have literally and falsely accused the US of using fakes from video games, and now they've actually gone and done it themselves," he said.

The photograph in question was later deleted, although not before it was shared widely and initially reported on as fact by other Russian news sites, such as Sputnik.

Amazingly, this isn't the first time that Russian sources have used video games in an apparent attempt at spreading misinformation. Last month, it was reported that Russian-linked actors had utilized Pokemon Go to spread disinformation in the run-up to the 2016 Presidential Election.