{
  "id": 16996555,
  "title": "‘Call of Duty’ sparks outrage for using real Itaewon disaster footage in fictional war scenes",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/call-of-duty-sparks-outrage-for-using-real-itaewon-disaster-footage",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-29T02:26:23.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail-malaymail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/tech-gadgets/2026/10/29/call-of-duty-sparks-outrage-for-using-real-itaewon-disaster-footage-in-fictional-war-scenes/241080"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Seoul, October 29 — The popular video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 has sparked international outrage after players discovered footage from the tragic 2022 Itaewon crowd crush incident integrated into a fictional war scene within the game. The distressing three-second clip, showcasing a rescuer performing CPR on a victim of the disaster, has been met with fury from grieving families and civic groups demanding its removal from Activision’s blockbuster first-person shooter. This controversy has arisen as South Korea commemorates the fourth anniversary of the October 29, 2022 tragedy that claimed 159 lives during Halloween celebrations in Seoul’s Itaewon nightlife district. While the game initially impressed gamers with its realistic portrayal of North Korea’s attack on South Korea, the inclusion of the genuine disaster footage in a sequence depicting civilian casualties from the game’s imaginary conflict quickly shifted the focus to criticism. The three-second clip, which appears in the game’s opening cinematic, is used to establish the magnitude of the imagined invasion. Families who suffered losses in the real-life tragedy expressed deep distress over the incorporation of actual rescue scenes into a fictional war context. In a statement issued yesterday, a coalition of bereaved families and supporting civic groups denounced the footage and urged its immediate removal, stating that the chaotic and desperate scenes of citizens performing CPR, with victims lying on the cold streets, were used unchanged in the game, seemingly to create a scene that trivialized the tragedy. Activision acknowledged that real news footage had been included in the game’s opening sequence, explaining that the footage was intended to help convey the game's fictional narrative rather than reference or diminish the significance of the Itaewon disaster or any other real-life tragedy. However, the publisher has not yet confirmed whether it will remove the controversial footage, leaving bereaved families' demands for its removal unresolved.",
  "summary": "SEOUL, Oct 29 — A few seconds of real-life tragedy have landed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 in controversy, afte...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}