ITV Uses Arma II Clip In IRA Documentary, Bohemia 'Very Surprised'

Major UK TV network ITV ran a documentary last night which used a clip from video game Arma II, falsely labelling it as a real-life clip of the IRA shooting down a helicopter. The documentary, entitled 'Exposure - Gaddafi and the IRA', and currently available to watch online in the UK via ITV Player, aimed to expose ousted libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi's support for the Republican terrorists. However, during the documentary, a clip is shown that supposedly shows a helicopter being shot down, with the label 'IRA Clip 1988'. The clip is actually a fan-made video from Bohemia's tactical shooter Arma II. The fan-made video is still available to watch on Youtube. Bohemia CEO Marek Spanel told Gamasutra that ITV did not contact his company for permission, nor did the company have any idea the clip would be used in the documentary. "We were not aware of this video," he said. "First of all, we are very surprised to see in-game footage referred to in the documentary as real IRA film from 1988." "We have no idea how this footage made it to the documentary. Our games are very open and allows users to freely do a lot of things, I see this is somehow a bizarre use of creative freedom." "Plus it of course raises another question mark over the way how media tend to operate these days," he concluded. [UPDATE: Speaking to the AP, ITV spokesman James MacLeod admitted to using the game footage, blaming its inclusion on "the editing process" and "an unfortunate case of human error."