The Fallout series’ hacking minigames are pretty recognizable. There are lines of “text” and “code,” and people need to pick out a specific word to unlock the various terminals they’ll find throughout the wasteland. It’s not the most realistic thing, but apparently it looked authentic enough to CNN . In a story on President Barack Obama announcing sanctions against Russia for involvement in the presidental election hacking scandal, B-roll footage from Fallout 4’ s hacking game was used.
At the CNN video’s one minute mark, the Fallout 4 footage appears. Only sharp-eyed viewers would catch it, due to the angle and stylized presentation. It’s only when you look close that the lines of text start to look familiar.
While the idea of video game footage being used in a serious political story is amusing, please don’t let this turn the original story into some sort of joke. The Russian hacking investigation is serious business. It’s a huge issue, the likes of which the US hasn’t faced before. The repercussions of this hacking will not only be felt for the next four years, but far into the future.