Thread by @ClintEhrlich

Did you hear about the Russian teenager sentenced to 5 years in prison for playing Minecraft?

The story is all over Western media.

Too bad it's fake news. 🧵

The story you've been told is that the kid was just having fun in a video game.

That he and his friends were planning to blow up a *virtual* FSB building.

This makes the case sound harmless, like it involves activity that would be protected in America by the First Amendment.

Critics of Vladimir Putin are trying to use the case as proof that he is a dictator.

Garry Kasporov says "[i]f there's anything you didn't know about Putin's Russia" the case "says it all."

"Dictators care about symbols, so virtual is as bad as real."

Before I expose the truth, I want you to consider: If people like Kasporov are lying to you about this, should you trust them about anything?

They've *chosen* this story to make their stand.

If it's complete B.S., there should be consequences for their reputations.

Here's the truth: The teenagers were NOT convicted of planning to blow up a virtual building.

They were convicted of training to blow up a *REAL* FSB building.

They built real explosives, in real life, and practiced the operation in abandoned buildings.

These are some of the bomb-making components that police recovered.

Investigators say that the teens had successfully built four explosive devices.

Again: These bombs were not built in Minecraft. They were built in the real world, capable of killing real people.

What role did Minecraft play in the case?

It's part of what tipped authorities off to the plot.

In addition to their training in real-world buildings, the teens simulated the attack in Minecraft, and evidence of this was found on their phones.

But they were *not* punished for planning to blow up the virtual building.

They were convicted of violating Article 205.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

It criminalizes "Undergoing training to carry out terrorist attacks."

Real attacks. In real life.

Update: Many people are mocking the idea that the teenagers rehearsed the attack in Minecraft.

In reality, would-be terrorists have used videogames for this purpose before.

Eric Harris created a Columbine High School level of Doom before the mass shooting there.

This doesn't mean that consumer video games are effective training tools for terrorist attacks or mass shootings.

It just means that sometimes, people plotting attacks do act out the violence using those games.

There's nothing implausible about the accusation.

Update 2: Here is a TV news clip that shows the bomb-making laboratory.