The Grand Theft Auto series has garnered a lot of attention for its mature content But today, it enters a realm of controversy unlike anything seen before.
ISIS has posted a video on YouTube which shows footage of violence in Grand Theft Auto V. Snipers taking down U.S. soldiers, IEDs used to destroy convoys, and ambushes on police officers are shown with Arabic messages flashed across the screen, showing ISIS’ intention to use the video to recruit young people. The video can be seen above.
ISIS has garnered attention from countries around the world for its barbarism. Mass genocide, merciless subjugation of its own people, and the beheadings of at least two journalists in the past two months have put it in global spotlight. Not only has the West condemned it, but so have local Muslim leaders and even Al Qaeda, the group it was birthed from.
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Strangely enough, ISIS has used American products to share its message. The beheadings of Steven Sotloff and James Foley were first posted on Twitter where news agencies around the world would derive their breaking stories, and its latest video was published on YouTube where it already has over 100,000 views.
This is sure to give those with a propensity to criticize violence in video games some ammunition, but let’s be clear, research hasn’t shown any correlation between violent behavior and video games. This is simply a group of mentally troubled individuals using a form of media to convey a message.
