Four-star retired general thinks video game footage is the Ukraine-Russia conflict

Retired four-star general and MSNBC contributor Barry R. McCaffrey tweeted what he assumed was footage of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia - only to realize it was actually footage from a video game.

On Monday night, McCaffrey, 79, wrote in a now-deleted tweet, "Russian aircraft getting nailed by UKR missile defense. Russians are losing large numbers of attack aircraft. UKR air defense becoming formidable."

And attached a video of what seemed to be missiles flying through the air and striking other objects.

However, viewers of the tweet quickly noted that McCaffrey had made a mistake, and the footage was actually that of video game ARMA 3, a realism-based military tactical shooter game.

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Realizing his mistake, McCaffrey deleted the tweet but did not address the mistake. People on Twitter took the opportunity to poke fun at McCaffrey's mistake.

"i, uh, have some concerns. of all people, you'd think a retired general with four combat tours and three purple hearts under his belt would have *some* idea regarding what this stuff really looks like. the video was clearly animated," Becket Adams wrote on Twitter.

This is not the first time people have fallen for unauthentic information being passed off as a real conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

In February, social media users fooled people into believing a video from game simulator Digital Combat Simulator was the 'Ghost of Kyiv' a Ukrainian fighter pilot.

McCaffrey serves as a military analyst for NBC and MSNBC where he often speaks on the Ukraine-Russia conflict. He has pushed for the US to support Ukraine in the ongoing conflict.

Previously, the four-star general served in the Vietnam and Gulf Wars. He received three Purple Hearts and two Distinguished Heart Crosses.

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