The Axios website published a report on the role of video game forums in leaking secrets and military information.
The report, prepared by the site's journalist Stephen Totello, said that the recent leak of classified information affecting US national security from the Pentagon provides an experience for gamers who have been seeing – in video game forums – military secrets that become a trending topic on social media.
Totelo says past incidents show how difficult it is to stop such leaks, adding that it is easy to publish documents online, and that a strong desire to win a debate or other controversy appeals to colleagues on web forums.
Since mid-2021, fans of the military-themed realistic war thunder game have occasionally posted classified or banned information related to British, French, Chinese and American weapons systems, prompting forum moderators to scramble to delete messages.
On Jan. 15, one user posted the latest leak on the War Thunder forum, which includes secret documentation of the capabilities of the U.S.-made F-16 fighter jet.
According to Axios's report, the leak was deleted the next day after another user questioned whether the leak violated a blanket ban imposed by Gaijen Entertainment for computer systems developed for War Thunder.
Challenges
Last week, U.S. authorities arrested Jack Teixeira, 21, of Massachusetts Air National Guard intelligence, accusing him of leaking Pentagon documents.
Axios explained that the game "War Thunder" allows players to fight each other using virtual versions of real tanks and planes, which developers aspire to depict as accurately as possible.
Forum managers say it is difficult to stop digital leakage in part because of the challenge of assessing the authenticity of the sensitive information it contains.
Clint Smith, chief legal officer at Discord, a free social media program designed specifically for the gaming community and other interest groups, said in a blog post that classified military intelligence documents pose as much and complex a challenge to the software as it does with other online platforms, because only the government can confirm whether the documents are authentic.