Watch: Egyptian TV anchor mistakes video game footage for Russian airstrikes in Syria
Cairo: In a recent episode, Egyptian television anchor Ahmed Moussa unknowingly put himself in a tight spot to the amusement of his many critics online. During the show, Moussa praised the Russian military, which began conducting airstrikes against the Islamic State militant group in Syria this month.
The only thing that went amiss in this ‘serious’ issue was, the footage. The footage that was broadcasted on the Sada el Balad channel on Sunday wasn't footage of a Russian airstrike at all. Instead, the visuals were most likely from a Russian made video game, posted on YouTube five years ago.
Along with visuals Moussa proudly said: "Let me tell you (pause) about Russia, Russia does not play around. America was just playing, it wasn't trying to hit Daesh (the Islamic State). If anything, they were patting Daesh on the back, funding and arming them.
"The Russians did it. Yes, this is the Russian army, this is Russian weaponry, this is (Vladimir) Putin. Yes, they are countering terrorism, truly countering it. Now you will see a terrifying video, terrifying."
According to the website Egyptian Streets, the footage is from the video game Apache Air Assault, which was developed by Russia's Gaijin Entertainment and released in 2010.
Online, Moussa's blunder became a meme, including referring to an image from Super Mario Bros. as Moussa's Cairo traffic report.