Fallout 4 is an open world action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. (Photo : YouTube/GameSpot)
The news outlet CNN used an element from Bethesda's "Fallout 4" game for its "Russian Hacking" story. The footage depicts the computer terminal screen from the post-apocalyptic RPG.
One Redditor who goes by the name Poofylicious spotted CNN's usage of the "Fallout 4" terminal and immediately posted it on Reddit. The original story about the real-life cyber-espionage was aired on CNN on Dec. 28, 2016, which covers President Barack Obama proposing sanctions against Russia, who were allegedly involved in cyber attacks that targeted the United States.
The usage by the news outlet is not a major issue since it was used as a B-Roll footage. However, it is not the first time for game footage to be used as visual support for stories and campaigns by the mainstream media. After all, according to Game Rant, just last year an Iranian news channel used footage from "Medal of Honor" for documenting an actual combat video from Hezbollah snipers.
Additionally, video game assets have been known to be used in a lot of promotional efforts of various companies to promote products, events, and locations. A shining example of this is the Hotel Figueroa in downtown Los Angeles used the Los Santos city skyline from "GTA V" as a means of advertising the city, the hotel, and the area adjacent to it. The screenshot has been posted to the hotel's website.
Regardless, the fact that the video game resources are trickling into mainstream media already speaks a lot about how far the gaming medium has accomplished. Hacking methods from games being used as examples for real-world scenarios means that the lines between games and reality are becoming blurred. However, fans being able to point out the game's usage out of context speaks its popularity.
"Fallout 4" is now available for the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One console platforms. Here is the official trailer of the game.
