The BBC on Wednesday night showed a grim sight: Russian forces invading Latvia, forcing a response from the British government and NATO. The situation quickly escalated until nuclear weapons began flying.
But, of course, none of it was real.
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The program that aired on BBC2, "World War Three: Inside the War Room," was a mix of produced faux-dcoumentary footage and shots of very serious men and women in a room, running what's known as a war game — a scenario designed to game out a country's options when responding to a crisis.
As the Daily Mail describes it, "retired senior military and diplomatic figures convene around a table in a war room, just as a Cabinet Office committee would give their advice to the Prime Minister."
That's all well and good, but what has Latvians less than thrilled isn't just the target country in the scenario — it's how it all unfolds.
Despite being fictional, the program had already prompted serious discussion in Latvia before it even aired. One general said that the game showed that NATO countries were totally willing to defend the Baltic states against Russia.
Ģenerālis: BBC raidījums parādīs Krievijai, ka tās iebrukuma gadījumā NATO aizsargās Baltijas valstis https://t.co/ssIGsmyxGp
And though the program didn't air outside of the United Kingdom, Latvians still found a way to stream it less than legally online.
Starp city, nebiju domājis, ka pienāks diena, kad puse Latvijas politiskās elites internetā pārkāps BBC instelektuālā īpašuma tiesības
Some wondered why their country was the target at all, like this user who wondered why the scenario's designers didn't have Russia aim bigger, like Sweden or Turkey.
BBC 2 filma par Putina iebrukumu LV ir ļoti mīļi protams. Tikai -kāpēc tik pieticīgi? Kas vainas, teiksim, Zviedrijai? Vai Turcijai?
At least one person got totally freaked out by the whole thing.
Noskatījos BBC filmu par to kā Krievija,iespējams,iekarotu Latviju. Johaidī, vienā brīdī noticēju un baisi palika. Tik beigas palaidu garām.
Translation: "Watched the BBC movie about how Russia, possibly, would wage war in Latvia. For a moment believed it and got scared. Only missed the ending."
And no less a personality than the Latvian Foreign Minister took to Twitter to air his grievances with the show.
Watched BBC2 World War 3: Inside the War Room, while scenario of separatists in Latgale is rubbish, overall many lessons to learn for all
As it turns out, though, nobody is happy with the war game: Russian media feels dismayed at Moscow being cast in the villain's role.
