Maria Julia Cassis was sitting down to a meal in her terraced home in north London when her 6-year-old son ran into the dining room, his face pale.
The puzzle game on his Android phone had been interrupted by a video showing Hamas militants, terrified Israeli families and blurred graphic footage. Over a black screen, a message from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the first grader: "WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT THOSE WHO HARM US PAY A HEAVY PRICE."
Reuters has not been able to establish how the ad came to Saranga's son's video game, but her family isn't alone. The news agency has documented at least five other cases across Europe where the same pro-Israel video, which carried footage of rocket attacks, a fiery explosion, and masked gunmen, was shown to gamers, including several children.
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs' head of digital, David Saranga, confirmed that the video was a government-promoted ad but said he had "no idea" how it ended up inside various games. Google ran more than 90 ads for the foreign ministry but declined to comment on where it displayed those ads. X, formerly known as Twitter, didn't respond to requests for comment.
Representatives from Hamas, the Islamist movement that governs Gaza, did not respond to Reuters requests for comment about its media campaigns.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Graphic pro-Israel ads make their way into children’s video gamesGraphic pro-Israel ads make their way into children’s video games
Read more »
Israel-Hamas war live updates: Netanyahu vows Israel will fight Hamas 'in air, land, and sea'Video shows airstrikes landing near Gaza-Israeli border on October 27th
Read more »
Israel-Hamas war enters new phase as Israel expands offensive in GazaThis is additional taxonomy that helps us with analytics
Read more »
How I made Elena Ferrante’s ‘My Brilliant Friend’ into a graphic novel“When the written words were broken down into faces, expressions and dialogue, the narrative revealed itself in a new light,” artist Mara Cerri says.
Read more »
Jessica Martin On Doctor Who, Graphic Novels And Mother Goose, At MCMBehind The Scenes of our Mother Goose photoshoot
Read more »