Call of Duty maker cuts real footage of the deadly Seoul crowd crush from a new game after an outcry
Activision says it is removing footage of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush in Seoul, in which about 158 people died, from the opening of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, after bereaved families said they were appalled. The clips had been used to depict a fictional North Korean attack.
Left 0 · Centre-left 4 · Centre 2 · Centre-right 0 · Right 0
Blindspot for the right (barely covered by right-leaning outlets)
ContextSources by leanVideoDeep diveFollow the moneyMore coverage
How each side framed it
Left-leaning outlets
Left-rated outlets headline it: “Outcry after Call of Duty maker uses real footage of deadly Seoul crowd crush in new video game” (The Guardian); “New ‘Call of Duty’ Game Draws Criticism for Using Footage of Deadly Seoul Crowd Crush” (New York Times).
Centre outlets
Centre-rated outlets headline it: “'Call of Duty' slammed for using real Seoul crowd crush footage” (France 24); “Victims appalled as deadly crush footage included in Call of Duty” (BBC News).
Right-leaning outlets
No right-rated outlet in our sample covered it.
Context
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Sources by lean
Balanced: the same number of articles from the left, the centre and the right (up to 3 each). The bar above still counts every rated outlet we found. Bias and factual ratings come from Media Bias/Fact Check. How we balance · All ratings.
Left 2
Centre 2
- BBC News
Victims appalled as deadly crush footage included in Call of Duty - France 24
'Call of Duty' slammed for using real Seoul crowd crush footage (paywalled or blocks bots)
Right 0
No right coverage found — blindspot
Showing 2 from left and centre of 6 rated outlets (L 4 / C 2 / R 0). Capped at 2 because that is all we found on the thinnest side. More coverage
Video
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Deep dive
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Try it: open one left and one right article in Sources by lean and note what each takes for granted.
Follow the money
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Who owns or funds the outlets covering this story (6 outlets)
| Outlet | Lean | Ownership & funding (MBFC) |
|---|---|---|
| NBC News | Centre-left | No ownership data found |
| New York Times | Centre-left | The Ochs-Sulzberger family controls the New York Times through Class B shares. Since 1967, the company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYT. Class B shares are those that are held privately. source |
| The Guardian | Centre-left | The Guardian and its companion publication, the Sunday newspaper The Observer, are owned by Guardian Media Group plc (GMG). Scott Trust Limited was created in 1936 to ensure the editorial independence of the publications and owns Guardian Media Group plc (GMG). source |
| The Independent | Centre-left | The Independent is owned by Independent Print Limited, a company owned by the Lebedev family (Alexander Lebedev and his son Evgeny Lebedev). In 2017, Saudi Businessman Sultan Muhammad Abuljadayel bought a 30% stake in the Independent online newspaper. Advertising and subscription generate revenue for the paper..push({}); source |
| BBC News | Centre | The BBC operates under a Royal Charter. Oversight is managed by the BBC Board, and regulatory authority rests with Ofcom. source |
| France 24 | Centre | France 24 is owned by France Médias Monde, a state-owned French holding company that supervises and coordinates the activities of the major public media organizations broadcasting or publishing internationally from France. Besides government funding, they also generate revenue through advertising. source |