Pokemon Go BOOM!

Breitbart: State Dept.: Tweet Warning Pokemon Go Players to Avoid Landmines Not a Joke.

A tweet from the official U.S. State Department account warning Pokemon Go players in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam to avoid buried landmines has sparked outrage for its allegedly frivolous nature, but officials insist it is not a joke and intended to keep young players safe.

“Playing #PokemonGo in #Cambodia #Laos #Vietnam? Beware of #landmines or anything that looks like an old bomb! #UXO,” the State Department account tweeted earlier this week, with #UXO described by Time as “a blanket term for various explosives that were utilized but never detonated.” The image attached to the tweet featured what appeared to be a screenshot of the game being played in southeast Asia, featuring the common Pokemon Pidgey.

Liberal outlet Salon reached out to the State Department seeking clarification on whether the tweet was a joke. Experts they addressed certainly appeared to think so, calling the tweet tasteless given that many landmines were placed there by American troops decades ago. “Tens of thousands of people have lost their lives in Laos and Cambodia since the Vietnam war ended, as a result of the unexploded bombs the U.S. illegally dropped on those countries,” NYU professor Greg Grandin told Salon.

The State Department insisted this was not a joke, however.   MORE