Curious where all that dramatic stock footage of one (or the other) side in the ongoing Egyptian (non-)coup comes from? Apparently quite a bit of it is from repeated takes of the best staged (counter) revolution that Straight-To-YouTube money can buy.

The following clip released by LiveLeak shows a Muslim Brotherhood "demonstration" in Egypt that was specifically staged to get the most dramatic poses, as the actors freeze their poses for the photographers. Injuries and even bloodstains are faked. Which is not to say only the MB is responsible for such drama: what is shown below is a prevalent tactic used across various ideologies and factions around the world to generate sympathy with the naive, gullible and easily influenced "western" audiences who are always willing to accept "reality" at face value.

The take home, if there is one?

Never trust anything you are told or shown, especially when national interests or intelligence agencies are involved and/or providing the funding. And always verify independently, preferably with numerous sources: after all the video below may well be a counter-provocation to discredit the MB, or not. Nobody knows for sure.

That, and of course just enjoy what is shown on TV for what it is: a thrilling, and often times very fictional, action movie which always has an agenda.