War Thunder is a free-to-play vehicle combat simulator made by Gaijin Entertainment, a Russian founded company now based in Budapest. Players use jets, attack helicopters, tanks, artillery, and other weapons to battle opponents.
"But some idiots take stuff like this way too seriously and if they have access to classified documents that prove their point in a discussion they will leak it." When discussing the plane's flight and weapon control systems, one forum member posted details about a system known as the Stores Control Panel and supported their argument with more documents, including the pilot's user handbook.
"People think the online and offline worlds have separate, different relationships. But both create friendships with a sense of community and belonging," says Rachel Kowert. "So to win an argument or to impress people they've developed a friendship with online, they take things further. One way to do that? Posting classified documents."
In June 2022 Chinese military secrets made it online, in this case a type of anti-tank ammunition used by China's army.