
Prime Video
There’s a particularly, hmm, “interesting” bit in the midsection of Amazon’s new “Jack Ryan” series in which Suleiman (Ali Suliman) — the main villain in Syria — uses the chat feature in an online video game to communicate secretly with his brother (Haaz Sleiman) in France. Later, Jack Ryan (John Krasinski) tries to use the same game to trick Suleiman into revealing his dastardly plans by pretending to be that same brother.
So this video game — which is not a real game, for the record, and was clearly created for the show — plays an important part of the story “Jack Ryan” tells. If you’re wondering whether that is actually a thing that terrorists do in the real world — using video games to communicate and coordinate — well, the answer is probably not.
If you’ve been hanging around on the internet for a while, you might think you’ve heard about Islamic terrorists using “World of Warcraft” or private messaging on PlayStation 4 to set stuff up. But, in fact, there is no publicly available evidence that terrorists have used video games as a way to secretly communicate.
Also Read: 'Jack Ryan' Showrunner on Why Tom Clancy Character Can't 'Be a Jason Bourne Antihero'
But there are two reasons you might think they have. The first is that among the many documents leaked by Edward Snowden back in 2013 was a report about the NSA, CIA and other agencies setting up counter-terrorism surveillance teams inside “World of Warcraft” and “Second Life,” among other online games. But the key bit of information in those documents was that they never accomplished anything with those teams.
The second reason is an erroneous report after the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris that linked the attackers to the use of a PlayStation 4 system. The report featured a cavalcade of mistakes, most notably that it misconstrued a statement made by the Belgian interior minister three days before those attacks. In that statement, he claimed that terrorists love the PS4 because it’s more secure than WhatsApp, which is not actually true — as being about the attacks themselves, since the attackers lived in Belgium. It was also reported that a PS4 was found in the apartment of one of the attackers, which, as far as anyone can tell, was a made-up detail.
So, it appears that “Jack Ryan” is playing on a bit of internet myth when it comes to this alleged ripped-from-the-headlines detail.
40 Exclusive Portraits From TheWrap's Fall TV Issue Cover Shoot (Photos)
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Jack Falahee, "How to Get Away with Murder"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Suit and button-down by John Varvatos.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Jack Falahee, "How to Get Away with Murder"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Suit and button-down by John Varvatos.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Jack Falahee, "How to Get Away with Murder"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Suit and button-down by John Varvatos.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Jack Falahee, "How to Get Away with Murder"
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell for TheWrap
Styled by Jordan Grossman. Suit and button-down by John Varvatos.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Jussie Smollett, "Empire"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Suit and button-down by Calvin Klein.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Jussie Smollett, "Empire"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Suit and button-down by Calvin Klein.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Jussie Smollett, "Empire"
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell for TheWrap
Styled by Jordan Grossman. Suit and button-down by Calvin Klein.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Jussie Smollett, "Empire"
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell for TheWrap
Styled by Jordan Grossman. Suit and button-down by Calvin Klein.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Katharine McPhee, "Scorpion"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Dress by House of CB, earrings by Zoe Chicco, rings by Michael John Jewelry and Royal Jewelry.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Katharine McPhee, "Scorpion"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Dress by House of CB, earrings by Zoe Chicco, rings by Michael John Jewelry and Royal Jewelry.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Katharine McPhee, "Scorpion"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Dress by House of CB, earrings by Zoe Chicco, rings by Michael John Jewelry and Royal Jewelry.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Katharine McPhee, "Scorpion"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Dress by House of CB, earrings by Zoe Chicco, rings by Michael John Jewelry and Royal Jewelry.
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Keke Palmer, "Scream Queens"
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Keke Palmer, "Scream Queens"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Romper by Peggy Hartanto, ring by Sylvie Jewelry.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Keke Palmer, "Scream Queens"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Romper by Peggy Hartanto, ring by Sylvie Jewelry.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Keke Palmer, "Scream Queens"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Romper by Peggy Hartanto, ring by Sylvie Jewelry.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Ryan Guzman, "Heroes Reborn"
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See exclusive interviews, photos and video in complete coverage of TheWrap's Fall TV Issue
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Suit by Anthony Franco, button-down by Aldo.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Ryan Guzman, "Heroes Reborn"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Suit by Anthony Franco, button-down by Aldo.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Ryan Guzman, "Heroes Reborn"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Suit by Anthony Franco, button-down by Aldo.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Ryan Guzman, "Heroes Reborn"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Suit by Anthony Franco, button-down by Aldo.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Justin Baldoni, "Jane the Virgin"
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Justin Baldoni, "Jane the Virgin"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Suit by Anthony Franco, button-down by Hugo Boss.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Justin Baldoni, "Jane the Virgin"
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell for TheWrap
Styled by Jordan Grossman. Suit by Anthony Franco, button-down by Hugo Boss.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Justin Baldoni, "Jane the Virgin"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Suit by Anthony Franco, button-down by Hugo Boss.
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Elisabeth Caren/TheWrap
Jamie Alexander, "Blindspot"
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Photographed by Elisabeth Caren
Styled by Jordan Grossman. Jumpsuit by VONE.
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Elisabeth Caren/TheWrap
Jamie Alexander, "Blindspot"
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Elisabeth Caren/TheWrap
Jamie Alexander, "Blindspot"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Jumpsuit by VONE.
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Elisabeth Caren/TheWrap
Jamie Alexander, "Blindspot"
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Photographed by Elisabeth Caren
Styled by Jordan Grossman. Jumpsuit by VONE.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Rachel Bloom, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Dress by LUBLU Kira Plastinina, earrings by Suzanne Kalan, rings by Suzanne Kalan and Sylvie Collection.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Rachel Bloom, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend"
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell for TheWrap
Styled by Jordan Grossman. Dress by LUBLU Kira Plastinina, earrings by Suzanne Kalan, rings by Suzanne Kalan and Sylvie Collection.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Rachel Bloom, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend"
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell for TheWrap
Styled by Jordan Grossman. Dress by LUBLU Kira Plastinina, earrings by Suzanne Kalan, rings by Suzanne Kalan and Sylvie Collection.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Rachel Bloom, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend"
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell for TheWrap
Styled by Jordan Grossman. Dress by LUBLU Kira Plastinina, earrings by Suzanne Kalan, rings by Suzanne Kalan and Sylvie Collection.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Rebecca Rittenhouse, "Blood & Oil"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Dress by LUBLU Kira Plastinina, rings by Royal Jewelry, earrings by Zoe Chicco.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Rebecca Rittenhouse, "Blood & Oil"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Dress by LUBLU Kira Plastinina, rings by Royal Jewelry, earrings by Zoe Chicco.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Rebecca Rittenhouse, "Blood & Oil"
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell for TheWrap
Styled by Jordan Grossman. Dress by LUBLU Kira Plastinina, rings by Royal Jewelry, earrings by Zoe Chicco.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Rebecca Rittenhouse, "Blood & Oil"
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Photographed by Corina Marie Howell for TheWrap
Styled by Jordan Grossman. Dress by LUBLU Kira Plastinina, rings by Royal Jewelry, earrings by Zoe Chicco.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Mehcad Brooks, "Supergirl"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Suit and button-down by Burberry.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Mehcad Brooks, "Supergirl"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Suit and button-down by Burberry.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Mehcad Brooks, "Supergirl"
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Styled by Jordan Grossman. Suit and button-down by Burberry.
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Corina Marie Howell/TheWrap
Mehcad Brooks, "Supergirl"
See exclusive interviews, photos and video in complete coverage of TheWrap's Fall TV Issue
Photographed by Corina Marie Howell for TheWrap
Styled by Jordan Grossman. Suit and button-down by Burberry.
Jussie Smollett (“Empire”), Jack Falahee (“How to Get Away With Murder”), Katharine McPhee (“Scorpion”), Ryan Guzman (“Heroes Reborn”), Keke Palmer (“Scream Queens”), Justin Baldoni (“Jane the Virgin”), Jaimie Alexander (“Blindspot”), Rachel Bloom (“Crazy Ex Girlfriend”) Rebecca Rittenhouse (“Blood & Oil”) and Mehcad Brooks (“Supergirl”)
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