10 Most Historically Inaccurate War Movies Ever Made

This CIA-sponsored propaganda film is a classic of the spoon-feeding War on Terror genre. It tells the story of the greatest ever manhunt for the orchestrator of the 9/11 attacks, Osama Bin Laden. Except, that’s not really true. Better put, it tells the story of how the CIA would’ve liked the hunt for Bin Laden to have played out.

The most controversial issue with the film is its praise for the so-called ‘Enhanced Interrogation Techniques’ (torture methods) used by the CIA on terrorist prisoners. The film shows how the information obtained by these dissidents during their torture was essential in discovering the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden. In fact, a 9-year report published by US Senator Dianne Feinstein in 2014 showed how this was completely false.

Indeed, it revealed that in no instances did torture result in new knowledge from prisoners and that in rare occasions where new intelligence was given, this was made-up information said in order for the torture to stop. All of this is aside from the fact that it was a gross violation of human rights, for which there can be no justification.

For better or for worse, films that retell history are hugely influential, as they boast a greater reach than textbooks, scholarly works and documentaries. Getting a few details wrong about the type of artillery used in a battle is no great wrongdoing, but re-writing history is a license nobody should have, and should be confronted wherever possible.