An image shows the Blue Angels performing a maneuver called the “Hand of God.”
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The U.S. Navy's Blue Angels Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets are seen during the Fort Lauderdale Air Show at Fort Lauderdale Beach on May 8, 2021. (AP Images)
Image of Blue Angels performing the “Hand of God” is an illustration, not a photograph
If Your Time is short
• The image is a piece of digital art, not a photograph.
The U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels, a flight demonstration squadron, can do backflips, 720-degree rolls, loops and other sensational aerobatic feats at speeds up to 1,000 mph.
Social media users shared an image that purports to show the squadron performing a maneuver called the "Hand of God," which depicts five planes curving in different directions to create a smoke trail resembling a giant hand.
"The Blue Angels perform the ‘Hand of God,’" reads the caption above the image.
Featured Fact-check
The Blue Angels really do perform a maneuver called the "Hand of God," which resembles the image. But the image being shared on social media is actually a piece of digital art, not a photograph.
It was created by Kiev-based artist Alexander Zienko, who posted it to the online art gallery Deviant Art on March 9, 2015. Zienko’s original artwork doesn’t reference the Blue Angels.
The image shows a piece of digital art. It is not an actual image of the Blue Angels performing the hand of God maneuver, as the post says. We rate this post False.
Our Sources
Jacksonville.com, Guide to fast and furious aerobatics of the Blue Angels, Nov. 23, 2011
Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, Blue Angels and the Hand of God, Mar. 13, 2021
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Image of Blue Angels performing the “Hand of God” is an illustration, not a photograph
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