Iraq Bans Fortnite and PUBG Because it Teaches them the Wrong Way to be Violent

Last we had anything to say about censorship, good ol’ PUBG was being banned in Nepal over concerns that it was addictive and causing increased aggression in the children who played it, which, as anyone who’s even remotely informed on the subject, is a load of bollocks: we know for a fact that games don’t cause aggression thanks to a number of studies on the matter, and I personally know that PUBG isn’t addictive because it’s a pile of wet moss. But apparently, Iraq saw what Nepal was doing and thought “yeah we want in on that,” because they’ve just now banned both PUBG and Fortnite on the grounds, again, that they could have a negative impact on their youth.

This was reported by Reuters, who clarified the ban:

"due to the negative effects caused by some electronic games on the health, culture, and security of Iraqi society, including societal and moral threats to children and youth."

A Shi'ite cleric and former head of the Mahdi Army militia Moqtada al-Sadr seems to be the driving force behind this ban, as he was campaigning for it for a while.

"What will you gain if you killed one or two people in PUBG? It is not a game for intelligence or a military game that provides you with the correct way to fight,”

...Gotta admit, that’s a criticism I haven’t heard before. It’s not “video games cause kids to be violent”, it’s “video games teach kids the wrong way to be violent”, which… okay, fair enough. But I really can’t shoot fireballs out of my hands, so does that mean we have to ban Street Fighter?

In any case, the people of Iraq are pretty unhappy with the news, so the story goes, but not for the reasons you might think: turns out the people there could give or take Fortnite, but they are pretty unhappy that the government is messing around with video game bans while they’re still struggling with sectarian violence, inadequate infrastructure, and political instability.

But hey, at least now we don’t have to worry about kids running into some nearby ruins, finding a AK-47, and killing their neighbor for a better backpack and a bigger clip.