# Players on online games with terrorist leader picture **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 21, 2015, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-on-online-games-with-terrorist-leader-picture/720468 "2015-05-21T02:13:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MaverocK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@MaverocK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaverocK)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-on-online-games-with-terrorist-leader-picture/720468/1 "2015-05-21T02:13:09Z")
I was playing an online game today. One of my teammates had an Osama bin Laden’s picture as his profile picture. Considered that National Security Agency has surveillance programs such as PRISM ([Link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_%28surveillance_program%29)), the very fact that I am in the same team with this guy with Osama bin Laden’s picture could likely anger the US authorities assuming they are conducting surveillance on game servers and Steam accounts as well, right? I want to make it clear that I have no sympathy or support for terrorist or illegal organizations. Just because I was in the same team with this guy, could I be put under surveillance or something? If it happens, how can I make it clear that I am not doing anything illegal or immoral and that I am a good person? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-on-online-games-with-terrorist-leader-picture/720468/2 "2015-05-21T02:14:21Z")
No. You are fine. They are looking for credible threats, not teenage pranksters. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-on-online-games-with-terrorist-leader-picture/720468/3 "2015-05-21T02:58:20Z")
> [@MaverocK](#): > > the very fact that I am in the same team with this guy with Osama bin Laden’s picture could likely anger the US authorities By what definition of “likely”? ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-on-online-games-with-terrorist-leader-picture/720468/4 "2015-05-21T03:32:37Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > No. You are fine. They are looking for credible threats, not teenage pranksters. Well, yes, but their software is not necessarily terribly good at distinguishing between the two, and some of their lower-level operatives appear to be similarly limited. There have been more than a few stories of people ending up on no-fly lists and the like for entirely spurious reasons. OP, it is possible that you will be flagged and subjected to some greater level of surveillance and scrutiny because of this, and that this will continue until your case comes to the attention of someone with sufficient (a) wit and (b) seniority to put an end to it, which might not happen for some time. There is nothing you can do to prevent this (other than not be on a team with this guy, or play in any game in which he also plays). ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-on-online-games-with-terrorist-leader-picture/720468/5 "2015-05-21T03:34:29Z")
The NSA can’t even catch actual terrorists - witness the clusterfuck in Texas.\* What makes you think they can catch your juvenile friend? \*Biker gangs or would-be jihadis at a Mohammed cartoon exhibit, take your pick. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-on-online-games-with-terrorist-leader-picture/720468/6 "2015-05-21T05:51:52Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > The NSA can’t even catch actual terrorists - witness the clusterfuck in Texas.\* What makes you think they can catch your juvenile friend? That never stopped them from infinitely harassing people who somehow land on their radar, as **UDS** explains above. It’s all just a crapshoot, of course, but it’s possible that OP is now doomed. Lately, the horror stories have revolved around cops who think anyone with a dollar in his pocket must be a drug runner, and summarily relieving said dollar-bearer of all his money and possibly his vehicle too. But we still see those spurious no-fly stories too, and it can take a few round trips to the deepest circles of Hell and back to get it cleared up (with no guarantees even then). ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-on-online-games-with-terrorist-leader-picture/720468/7 "2015-05-21T10:45:25Z")
Do we have any examples of someone getting on the no-fly list for anything remotely resembling the OPs situation? And do we have any examples outside of the no-fly list? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-on-online-games-with-terrorist-leader-picture/720468/8 "2015-05-21T11:19:07Z")
Well, the OP has not returned. Guess he was right. He was a quiet man. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-on-online-games-with-terrorist-leader-picture/720468/9 "2015-05-21T14:04:54Z")
It wasn’t actually that long ago that there was a sort of cachet in getting the authorities to put you on some sort of watchlist - I remember that it was somewhat popular in the 90’s to put so-called [NSA line eater food](http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/N/NSA-line-eater.html) in one’s messages. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-on-online-games-with-terrorist-leader-picture/720468/10 "2015-05-21T15:31:23Z")
> [@MaverocK](#): > > I was playing an online game today. One of my teammates had an Osama bin Laden’s picture as his profile picture. The fact that you posted a message on a message board with the name “Osama bin Laden” in it is much more likely to land you on a watch list than the fact they you played in an online game with someone who used him as an avatar. ---
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-on-online-games-with-terrorist-leader-picture/720468/11 "2015-05-21T19:41:33Z")
The NSA, FBI, CIA, etc. do not have the resources to monitor every idiot who uses bin Laden’s pic, let alone their friends and associates. What actually happens with programs like the one you mentioned is that relevant information (in this case, your friends postings with the osama photo, and probably the id’s of users he’s interacted with) goes into a large database that agents can search and review when they get curious about something. Right now, it’s unlikely a human has even noticed your friend. However, if there were a terrorist attack in your town, it hosted some event likely to draw terrorist attention, or a known terrorist visited your town, then your friend might get noticed. Logic tells me there’s probably some sort of automated scanning system that tracks how many suspicious events a person is tagged in and alerts human agents when a certain number is reached. source: followed the Snowden story, and actually read the published details about the specific programs. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-on-online-games-with-terrorist-leader-picture/720468/12 "2015-05-21T19:48:53Z")
:Checks thread. Sees 11 sincere replies: Isn’t the solution obvious? Change your avatar to a picture of Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-on-online-games-with-terrorist-leader-picture/720468/13 "2015-05-22T19:59:22Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Well, the OP has not returned. Guess he was right. > > He was a quiet man. Seemed like a nice guy, kept to himself. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-on-online-games-with-terrorist-leader-picture/720468/14 "2015-05-22T21:16:07Z")
I can’t tell you about all those things they say about him. Just that _I_ never saw any of that, when he visited our message board. Like I said, I don’t know what he was like on other message boards, but he never did anything out of the ordinary here. I can only report on the things I actually saw. ---
**Author:** ![Stempniak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Stempniak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stempniak)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-on-online-games-with-terrorist-leader-picture/720468/15 "2021-01-04T16:57:59Z")
Maybe, it’s important for you, but I am sure you are nothing to worry about! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-on-online-games-with-terrorist-leader-picture/720468/16 "2021-01-04T17:18:21Z")
**Stempniak** , welcome to the boards. Our policy in the General Questions forum is that old threads should be bumped only to provide new factual information. The post you are responding to is 6 years old. For that reason, I am closing this. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/players-on-online-games-with-terrorist-leader-picture/720468/17 "2021-01-04T17:18:30Z")
Closed on January 4, 2021, 5:18pm UTC