There's apparently been another whoopsie on the War Thunder forums -- classified specs for the French Leclerc Tank were allegedly leaked in a post on the forums due to an argument.
Gamers who love to roll around in tanks and cause chaos have no shortage of fun games to play these days. Whether it's free-to-play titles like World of Tanks (which got some major UI improvements earlier this year) or cartoony action like the indie game Tank 51, there's plenty of fun to be had.
Understandably, fans of these war machines can sometimes be a little... overenthusiastic. That enthusiasm can sometimes have real-world consequences, and it looks like an unfortunate incident happened today on the War Thunder forums: a forum user is alleged to have leaked classified tank specs.
War Thunder Forums Argument Led to Alleged Leak of Classified French Tank Specs
As UK Defence Journal reports (via Reddit), the alleged leak of classified tank specs on the War Thunder forums is the apparent result of an argument between users over how the French Leclerc tank was portrayed in the game.
The discussion in question took place in a thread titled "Leclerc S1 vs S2" on the War Thunder forums. The alleged leak of classified information has now been censored and the forum's moderators have posted a warning in the thread, once again reminding users not to, you know, post classified military information on a forum for a video game.
"Guys [it's] not [funny] to leak classified Documents of modern equipment you put the lives of many [at] stake who work daily with the Vehicles!" read a post from a moderator named JagdEnte. "Keep in [mind] that those documents will be deleted immediately alongside sanctions. Thanks for reading!"
As one might expect, France has laws against mishandling classified information. One such law has severe penalties including up to seven years of imprisonment and a €100,000 fine.
This isn't the first time the War Thunder forums have allegedly hosted classified military information, either; earlier this year, a Challenger 2 commander was alleged to have uploaded classified specs for the British main battle tank. The incident was severe enough that Gaijin Entertainment received confirmation from the UK Ministry of Defence that the documentation in question was indeed classified.
It's unclear what legal penalties (if any) will be faced by the user who allegedly talked about classified information; Gaijin Entertainment has a policy of sanctioning users who breach these rules. In fact, the company doesn't appear to be certain whether or not the information actually is classified, but it's treating the posts in question as such out of an abundance of caution.
"[It's] not for us to clarify what each [government/authority allows]," read a comment from the game's Community Manager Smin1080p. "Put simply, we will not handle, pass, or allow any form of classified [documentation/source] and we will follow any legal procedure that follows said documentation. Unless clear [authoritative] approval is posted that the source is not classified, we will treat it like it is and act on it as such with the necessary process as per any legal perimeters or requirements."
It's totally okay to be enthusiastic about a game, but you should probably draw the line at breaking the law and potentially risking the lives of people in the real world. You can play War Thunder for free on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and other platforms via its official website.
What do you think of classified tank information allegedly leaking on the War Thunder forums for the second time in a year? What's your favorite game featuring modern tanks? Let us know in the comments below!
