Critics lash out after Trump suggests gaming leads to violence

Critics lashed out at United States President Donald Trump, after he suggested that gaming leads to violence.

The President highlighted extreme violence in video games with the help of a stomach-churning compilation including a video game massacre in a Moscow airport, according to television network RT.

The video compilation and a subsequent roundtable discussion were billed as part of the Trump administration's response to the recent mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 students and staff dead.

The compilation included controversial gameplay from Modern Warfare 2, in which the player, taking on the role of an undercover Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent, participates in a mass shooting at a Moscow airport.

This disturbing sequence was the subject of intense controversy in Russia, and Modern Warfare's developer, Activision, ultimately decided to remove the level entirely from the Russian version of the game.

However, the game once again made headlines in Russia a year after its release, following a suicide bomb attack that killed 37 and left some 180 injured at Moscow's Domodedovo International Airport in 2011.

President Trump's compilation also featured gore-filled clips from other popular titles including Wolfenstein; Dead by Daylight; Sniper Elite; and Fallout 4.

The video montage was reportedly shown during a White House roundtable discussion attended by representatives from the video game industry, lawmakers, and video game critics.

After playing the video for the roundtable attendees, President Trump said, "This is violent, isn't it?," The Washington Post reported.

President Trump's apparent belief that violent video games have a corrupting influence on America's youth was not well received by representatives from the gaming industry.