Retired U.S. general shamed for promoting video game footage in Ukrainian hoax
Gen. Barry McCaffrey posted a tweet on Monday that showed footage of a surface-to-air missile downing a plane, citing it as an example of the “formidable” Ukrainian air defence.
A retired four-star general and military analyst is being dragged on social media after tweeting out video game footage he claimed showed Ukrainian forces downing Russian planes.
Gen. Barry McCaffrey posted the tweet on Monday that showed footage of a surface-to-air missile downing a plane, citing it as an example of the “formidable” Ukrainian air defence.
“Russian aircraft getting nailed by UKR missile defense. Russians are losing large numbers of attack aircraft. UKR air defense becoming formidable,” McCaffrey’s original tweet read.
Social media users were quick to point out how the footage was video game footage from the first-person tactical military shooter video game, Arma 3.
Dan Caldwell, a former Marine and current vice president of foreign policy for Stand Together wrote on Twitter, “McCaffrey deleted his tweet but worth noting that the text at the bottom of the video clip he originally shared makes it pretty clear the video is from Arma 3 and not actual combat footage from Ukraine.”
McCaffrey deleted his tweet but worth noting that the text at the bottom of the video clip he originally shared makes it pretty clear the video is from Arma 3 and not actual combat footage from Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/GxuMwimAbI
— Dan Caldwell 🇺🇸 (@dandcaldwell) May 16, 2022
McCaffrey’s blunder hooked Washington Post contributor and political pundit Max Boot, who retweeted the post.
Boot has previously come to the defence of McCaffrey, attacking Ohio Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance for calling McCaffrey a war profiteer.
“The issue is not whether McCaffrey served this country honourably,” Vance said. “The issue is whether for 20 years he’s been right about a single major foreign policy decision in this country. … And not just that, but that he has profited from it. There is not a dead American son or daughter overseas who has not made Barry McCaffrey richer.”
This is not the first time that a senior or former member of the U.S. government has published a hoax glorifying the Ukrainian military.
Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger falsely attributed the “Ghost of Kyiv’s” identity to comedian Sam Hyde, falling for a photoshopped meme created to mock the Ukrainian military hoax, which its armed forces were forced to disavow after Western publications claimed to have verified as true.
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