Atlantic Council Assistant Director Matt Hall writes for Salon on how the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham is using video games to promote its message:
Thanks to ISIS, the successful video game franchise Grand Theft Auto now has an unauthorized sequel in its series: “Grand Theft Auto: Salil al-Sawarem (Clang of Swords).” The ISIS bootleg features the same carjacking, pistol-whipping mayhem-entertainment as the original, but now players detonate roadside bombs and execute Iraqi police officers.
When the PR/recruitment arm of ISIS released a teaser for the game it was monstrous, but it was hardly surprising. Not least because the group has always been deft with digital communications, but also because video games have been mining and miming the conflicts of the Middle East for decades.