Kotaku writer sides with Taliban against Prince Harry

(Title should be: "Kotaku writer twists Prince Harry comments to suggest he believes war is like a videogame". My apologies.)

In a rather odd turn of events today, Kotaku writer Patricia Hernandez twisted recent comments from Prince Harry on the well-designed controls of an Apache helicopter to suggest that he believes war is like a videogame, and she provided a platform for a Taliban statement sharing in that distorted view of his comments.

The article "Prince Harry, Taliban Argue Whether War is Like a Video Game" starts off with "Is war like a video game? Prince Harry of Wales thinks so." despite the fact that she links to no instance where he has stated that war is like a videogame. Instead, she links to an article from the Telegraph where Prince Harry discusses his Apache helicopter control panel and how it is accessibly designed for a younger generation, and, at one point, he states, "It's a joy for me because I'm one of those people who loves playing PlayStation and Xbox, so with my thumbs I like to think that I'm probably quite useful."

More of the interview can be found here.

He doesn't state that war is like a videogame; instead, he talks about how the control scheme is well-designed, similar to a videogame controller. And the article links to a video of the interview where he expounds upon how the Apache controls also have different textures to allow for easy use in darkness. His point is clearly that it is accessible and his experience with Playstation and Xbox controls make the control scheme feel natural. Yet, his words are twisted to somehow be a diminishing of war as a videogame.

And then she goes a step further. Having already twisted his words, she cites a statement from the Taliban as though it were the voice of reason here. The article ends with:

"It's not a game. It's very, very real," the Taliban declared.

It should be noted that video games have been used for both military recruitment and training, but that doesn't really make Harry's statements less insensitive and possibly damaging when it comes to the relations between soldiers and Afghan locals.

Obviously, war is not a game, but Prince Harry clearly does not state that war is a game. And somehow, Hernandez agrees with the Taliban's propaganda and its twisting of his words to get a rise out of people. It's shameful and horribly disappointing. Whether one likes Prince Harry or any of the British royals, it doesn't change how absurd it is to misconstrue his words like this.

I have appreciated many of Hernandez's articles before and often defend Kotaku articles from knee-jerk criticism, but her portrayal of these comments and subsequent promotion of the Taliban as somehow being on the right side of a ginned up argument is ridiculous and beyond the pale.

(I have taken down a link to the article out of an interest in not rewarding this kind of writing with pageviews; if you want to see the full article, you can still find it on their front page.)

To be fair, the Taliban are in the right in this completely imaginary debate. War's a pretty serious thing, after all. But other than that, based on the information in this post, this seems like a textbook example of poor journalism. Literally, I'd expect this in a textbook: "Inflammatory Titles and Why They Don't Do You Any Favors".

To be fair, the Taliban are in the right in this completely imaginary debate. War's a pretty serious thing, after all. But other than that, based on the information in this post, this seems like a textbook example of poor journalism. Literally, I'd expect this in a textbook: "Inflammatory Titles and Why They Don't Do You Any Favors".

@The_Laughing_Man:

What guy? The Taliban guy or the Kotaku guy (who appears to be a girl)? Or is it somehow Prince Harry himself?

@Canteu said:

Fuck this cunt.

Kotaku is such sensationalist drivel.

I read that as "funt".

"Funt you, Kotaku!"

Anyway, when will people understand that drivel and eye-catching headlines like this are made for page views? Remove, the link, OP. You're doing precisely what they want you to do.

@The_Laughing_Man:

What guy? The Taliban guy or the Kotaku guy (who appears to be a girl)? Or is it somehow Prince Harry himself?

It's click-bait. It has to be. Nobody can be that stupid.

@believer258: I didn't click the link for that express purpose! Take it Funters!

I wish Kotaku would go away.

Well this will blow up (no pun intended)

The sad thing is all we'll most-likely see is a slight edit in a couple days time and everyone will get on with their days when really I would expect her to be fired if they took their journalism seriously.

Patrick's on kotaku's side.

What an idiot.http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/taliban-prince-harry-144857323.html;_ylt=AnvvXoMaHmune2AgLZTtRpis0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNsM2V2b3M0BG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBGUARwa2cDNWRmZTJmMTEtOGUwZC0zZTRhLWEyZGQtYTM4ZTUwZGQzYWYyBHBvcwMzBHNlYwN0b3Bfc3RvcnkEdmVyA2ZmZWNlNmIzLTY0YjUtMTFlMi05ZDdlLWU1NWM4NjExZTIxYg--;_ylg=X3oDMTFpNzk0NjhtBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25z;_ylv=3 …

TheLegendOfMart It's an irresponsible comparison to make for someone in his position, headline or not.

@believer258 said:

@Canteu said:

Fuck this cunt.

Kotaku is such sensationalist drivel.

I read that as "funt".

"Funt you, Kotaku!"

Anyway, when will people understand that drivel and eye-catching headlines like this are made for page views? Remove, the link, OP. You're doing precisely what they want you to do.

Fair point. I have removed the link to the article. People can easily find it if they wish to look at the original context.

I'm going to take issue with the part where Harry says its "a joy" for him to operate that equipment. That is not something that should ever be said of military operations

lol it didn't even take 3 posts for someone to call her a cunt

haha stay classy gb community

@Canteu said:

Fuck this cunt.

Kotaku is such sensationalist drivel.

Dude what the fuck. Keep it civil man, you don't get have to get all sexist, you are just as bad as harry.

She has a point. Maybe he didn't say it directly, but having that in the same sentence, and to say it is a joy, doesn't help the image of video games. That he says he feels useful when video games don't need an image of being something that can train people to kill.

@TheHBK: Oh the writer is a female? Had no idea. I'm not american, we call people who aren't female cunts all the time over here. Don't worry about it, be happy.

It's a totally fair comparison. The predator drone controls look remarkably similar to the flight control system I have sitting in my closet. It is in no way the same as saying "War is a video game", which the Harry never said. That's why we have different words to make up different sentences, for to make different meanings.

@Aegon said:

Patrick's on kotaku's side.

What an idiot.http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/taliban-prince-harry-144857323.html;_ylt=AnvvXoMaHmune2AgLZTtRpis0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNsM2V2b3M0BG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBGUARwa2cDNWRmZTJmMTEtOGUwZC0zZTRhLWEyZGQtYTM4ZTUwZGQzYWYyBHBvcwMzBHNlYwN0b3Bfc3RvcnkEdmVyA2ZmZWNlNmIzLTY0YjUtMTFlMi05ZDdlLWU1NWM4NjExZTIxYg--;_ylg=X3oDMTFpNzk0NjhtBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25z;_ylv=3 …

TheLegendOfMart It's an irresponsible comparison to make for someone in his position, headline or not.

Unfortunately, I think Patrick has just been given a small piece of the full picture; thus his skewed impression of what he said.

He only mentions the Playstation and Xbox because they specifically mention that he plays FIFA with other soldiers. And it's not surprising that they would design military controls to be easy to use just like videogame controllers. The military uses videogames for training, and for someone to say they might enjoy the feel of a piece of technology is not particularly absurd.

Perhaps it could have been phrased better, but it should not have been manipulated in this way.

Did the Taliban fail to point out that the deadman switches on their human bombs are like joystick buttons? They're not in the best position to be pointing out callousness or unfeeling. Foolish comment; even more foolish response.

In fairness, I don't like the Taliban, Prince Whoever, or Kotaku. So . . . .@

Animasta said:

lol it didn't even take 3 posts for someone to call her a cunt

haha stay classy gb community

What else where they supposed to call her? Though the Taliban clearly are also cunts. I would say the same of Prince Harry, but I don't know enough about him and I guess at least he's off doing something like regular troops which is more than anyone in this country would do if they had an important line of blood and money running through them or whatever. So . . . I'll hold off on throwing mean words at him.

@TheHBK said:

@Canteu said:

Fuck this cunt.

Kotaku is such sensationalist drivel.

Dude what the fuck. Keep it civil man, you don't get have to get all sexist, you are just as bad as harry.

She has a point. Maybe he didn't say it directly, but having that in the same sentence, and to say it is a joy, doesn't help the image of video games. That he says he feels useful when video games don't need an image of being something that can train people to kill.

Harry was sexist in this interview?

This is why Kotaku has a poor reputation. I wish people would stop going there.

War is not a game, that's why we used flight sims to plan 9/11 -The Taliban

@TheHBK said:

@Canteu said:

Fuck this cunt.

Kotaku is such sensationalist drivel.

Dude what the fuck. Keep it civil man, you don't get have to get all sexist, you are just as bad as harry.

She has a point. Maybe he didn't say it directly, but having that in the same sentence, and to say it is a joy, doesn't help the image of video games. That he says he feels useful when video games don't need an image of being something that can train people to kill.

Wait, how was he sexist? Because of the word "cunt"? Seriously...? So if I call you a dick for being a dick, I'm being sexist? Also, being mean or throwing insults at a person isn't sexist. Saying she's a shitty journalist because she has breasts is sexist. But I don't think anyone is saying that. They're saying she's shitty because she's shitty, which is the opposite. (I'm not necessarily saying she is a shitty journalist -- just that it is the reason people are giving; not anything gender-related).

@Branthog said:

@TheHBK said:

@Canteu said:

Fuck this cunt.

Kotaku is such sensationalist drivel.

Dude what the fuck. Keep it civil man, you don't get have to get all sexist, you are just as bad as harry.

She has a point. Maybe he didn't say it directly, but having that in the same sentence, and to say it is a joy, doesn't help the image of video games. That he says he feels useful when video games don't need an image of being something that can train people to kill.

Wait, how was he sexist? Because of the word "cunt"? Seriously...? So if I call you a dick for being a dick, I'm being sexist? Also, being mean or throwing insults at a person isn't sexist. Saying she's a shitty journalist because she has breasts is sexist. But I don't think anyone is saying that. They're saying she's shitty because she's shitty, which is the opposite.

Couldn't have said it better myself. It's an american thing for the word "cunt" to be seen as sexist as it's a derogatory term for vagina. I simply use it to mean somebody is being a bit of a wanker, but with an extreme twist to it.

@Animasta Gender is irrelevant when one acts a cunt.

i don't claim kotaku to be a beacon of journalistic integrity, but to be fair- the title of this thread is sensationalist as well. not to the same extent of the kotaku article, but a quick read without context would lead one to the conclusion kotaku supports the taliban. which is misleading.

Prince Harry's a TWAT. The British govt rolls him out every now and again to drum up support for wars which less than half the UK population support.

Right now this very second there are 22,457,832 things more important happening that you should give a shit about. What comes out of Prince Harry's mouth isn't one of them.

@mellotronrules said:

i don't claim kotaku to be a beacon of journalistic integrity, but to be fair- the title of this thread is sensationalist as well. not to the same extent of the kotaku article, but a quick read without context would lead one to the conclusion kotaku supports the taliban. which is misleading.

Yeah, my thoughts exactly.

Fuck Harry and his brother. They treat being in the military like some sort of spendorific jolly with the boys. They just turn up to work whenever they fuck they want. Take whatever time off they want. Do whatever the fuck they want. William's boss had to cover his duties so that he could give his daddy a tour of his base. He has a prestigious job in the RAF living a life of peace and quiet and probably luxury out at the seaside. Harry would have been having a great time at camp bastion (the safest place in the world) working a standard duty shift, getting loads of sleep, 2 can rule every night. great stuff. (source is my own 6 month tour of afghanistan with the real army)

These 2 idiots are so far removed from the real world that frankly its dangerous that they are in the military to begin with.

Its about time william moved aside and let somebody else do his job. Somebody who can be there full time. I bet the people he shares duties with fucking hate him. They probably do twice as much work cos that ass wipe is only at work when he doesn't have to swan about at royal engagements with his horse faced wife.

@mellotronrules said:

i don't claim kotaku to be a beacon of journalistic integrity, but to be fair- the title of this thread is sensationalist as well. not to the same extent of the kotaku article, but a quick read without context would lead one to the conclusion kotaku supports the taliban. which is misleading.

Yeah, I'd edit it to be clearer if I could. I was just trying to make the point fit. The headline of the article is the headline. My issue was more with the actual contents of the article.

@Aegon: How surprising.

Breaking news: Online writer wants you to read their sensationalist opinion. It's called click bait, it happens everywhere these days...

Have to agree with TruthTellah, sounds like Harry's exclaiming that he finds it easy to pilot because those controls are not unlike a console's gamepad. Figures Patrick would jump on this bandwagon though.

Edit - To clarify. If I had seen this interview on tv I wouldn't think to myself; "Oh, he likened the controls of a game console to that of a combat helicopter. That must mean he loves killing people!" This article is just stretching things. Could he have worded it better? Yes.

This thread title is the stupidest headline of all time. The Prince said something that, while accurate, probably isn't something a Prince should have said, as it's trivializing the horror that is military conflict. That's all Taliban PR is saying, and really, they're not wrong (about this). The Kotaku writer is agreeing with Taliban's statement that "trivializing real-life war by comparing it to a video game, in a public statement, is a super shitty thing for a Prince to do." He's not fucking siding with the Taliban on Actual Issues that they stand for. He's just agreeing that this statement they made is a fair one. And I do too. And so should you.

Yeah the article is sensationalist, the Taliban response was sensationalist, but... so was OP.

also- re: the word 'cunt.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cunt#Offensiveness

just like other words, there's a historical context. you might not be using the word in the same way, but that doesn't make it any less offensive to others. use it all you like, but don't be shocked if people generally disregard you for doing so.

@mellotronrules said:

i don't claim kotaku to be a beacon of journalistic integrity, but to be fair- the title of this thread is sensationalist as well. not to the same extent of the kotaku article, but a quick read without context would lead one to the conclusion kotaku supports the taliban. which is misleading.

It would be both misleading and unfair to the Taliban to associate them with the same level as Kotako, Jezabel, Gawker and all that shitfesty drivel that doesn't even pretend to be anything more than ad-link-bait.

Everyone getting upset over Harry's comments also needs to fucking chill. He clearly didn't mean "it's a joy, because I fucking have a big old smile on my face when I kill brown people!". And bitching about its association with videogames is absurd, because as others have pointed out, they use actual video game controllers. What do people think is used to fly drones? PS3 controllers. And so what if video game technology is also used to train people who are in the business of killing? Books are also used to train those same people, too. And videos. And speeches.

People are just looking for any fucking excuse to meet their deadline and an words-per-article quota, so they're picking idiotic low-hanging (and meaningless) fruit.

@Branthog said:

It would be both misleading and unfair to the Taliban to associate them with the same level as Kotako, Jezabel, Gawker and all that shitfesty drivel that doesn't even pretend to be anything more than ad-link-bait.

Did you actually just type those words for real on the Internet.

This is the second instance in two weeks that I can think of where Kotaku had a worthwhile story and sensationalized it. They really need to work on that. It's a problem.

@Branthog said:

Saying she's a shitty journalist because she has breasts is sexist. But I don't think anyone is saying that.

Those breasts are in bed with lobbyists from Big Oil!....That joke came out the wrong way.

@Branthog said:

In fairness, I don't like the Taliban, Prince Whoever, or Kotaku. So . . . .@

Animasta said:

lol it didn't even take 3 posts for someone to call her a cunt

haha stay classy gb community

What else where they supposed to call her?

an asshole or an idiot?

oh but I guess those aren't hardcore enough

@takua108 said:

This thread title is the stupidest headline of all time. The Prince said something that, while accurate, probably isn't something a Prince should have said, as it's trivializing the horror that is military conflict. That's all Taliban PR is saying, and really, they're not wrong (about this). The Kotaku writer is agreeing with Taliban's statement that "trivializing real-life war by comparing it to a video game, in a public statement, is a super shitty thing for a Prince to do." He's not fucking siding with the Taliban on Actual Issues that they stand for. He's just agreeing that this statement they made is a fair one. And I do too. And so should you.

Yeah the article is sensationalist, the Taliban response was sensationalist, but... so was OP.

Definitely, I should have phrased the title better. I'd edit it if possible. My point was their twisting of his words and siding with a Taliban representing on a madeup argument, not that they were genuinely siding with the Taliban on any significant issue. That's my mistake.

Uhh...this is weird to say but...I agree with the Taliban, not that they're in a position to take any kind of moral stance, obviously.
 
Prince Harry is a dumb asshole. No, he doesn't explicitly say "war is a game" but he does say it's a "joy" and he clearly has no idea of the severity of his actions. Fuck him. Maybe this is my own ignorance but doesn't most of England agree that the royal family are pieces of shit anyway?  
 
Also, Kotaku isn't the only place that thinks this so hold up on the Kotaku hate jerking. And the Patrick hate, which I see is already cropping up.
 

@takua108 said:

@Branthog said:

It would be both misleading and unfair to the Taliban to associate them with the same level as Kotako, Jezabel, Gawker and all that shitfesty drivel that doesn't even pretend to be anything more than ad-link-bait.

Did you actually just type those words for real on the Internet.

No, I typed them on a keyboard.

PAGE_VIEW.EXE

Patricia Hernandez is the worst

@KittyVonDoom said:

Breaking news: Online writer wants you to read their sensationalist opinion. It's called click bait, it happens everywhere these days...

You're a creepy weirdo if you think Patrick's opinion in that article was "sensationalist". (also this doesn't even come close to being comparable come the fuck on)

@Branthog said:

People are just looking for any fucking excuse to meet their deadline and an words-per-article quota, so they're picking idiotic low-hanging (and meaningless) fruit.

i'll certainly agree with you on that point. harry's an easy target- but that's partially his own doing. the jackass dressed up as a nazi for halloween- that's just edgey in normal circles, but for the royalty of a nation that had it's cities leveled...fairly culturally insensitive, and moronic.

@Milkman said:

Uhh...this is weird to say but...I agree with the Taliban, not that they're in a position to take any kind of moral stance, obviously.

Prince Harry is a dumb asshole. No, he doesn't explicitly say "war is a game" but he does say it's a "joy" and he clearly has no idea the severity of his actions. Fuck him. Maybe this is my own ignornance but doesn't most of England agree that the royal family are pieces of shit anyway?

Well I cannot speak for my entire country, but yes I do. As was probably made obvious by my last post. However we can't afford to keep them and we can't afford to get rid of them (tourism moneys). So those fuckers are just living it up until we the people rise up and fucking hang em. Would tourists pay to see the tree where we hung Harry and Wills. Yes I think they would.

Apparently American's love the royal family tho. No idea why since they rejected the crown in the war of independence.

I'm not going to claim to know that this was done for the purposes of baiting people to the site, but it's definitely shoddy journalism, perhaps this is one of the side-effects of having a site that tries to crank out news on any story even vaguely video game-related. To Hernandez's credit though, she does clarify in the article what was actually said by both sides in the argument, and I'm much more worried about the opening post of this thread, which repeatedly states that she's siding with the Taliban in this argument, which is just not true. I do agree with her that Prince Harry comparing playing a game to operating an attack copter and describing it as "a joy" is a pretty bad PR move though, if not downright unsettling.

@Branthog said:

@takua108 said:

@Branthog said:

It would be both misleading and unfair to the Taliban to associate them with the same level as Kotako, Jezabel, Gawker and all that shitfesty drivel that doesn't even pretend to be anything more than ad-link-bait.

Did you actually just type those words for real on the Internet.

No, I typed them on a keyboard.

Just to be clear: you're actually favorably comparing a radical fundamentalist religious group that sides with actual terrorists to a company that makes disgustingly sensationalist headlines and profits on them?