"Ukrainian civilian fleeing Kyiv captures footage of downed Russian tie fighter."
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A stormtrooper is in front of a to-scale Star Wars TIE fighter during the South by Southwest Film Festival on March 13, 2016, in Austin, Texas. (AP)
Footage shows a Star Wars aircraft, not fighting in Ukraine
If Your Time is short
• The footage is from a 2014 short video by a German TV network, and the aircraft is a TIE fighter from Star Wars.
A viral Facebook video that says it shows a downed Russian plane is fictitious.
"Ukrainian civilian fleeing Kyiv captures footage of downed Russian tie fighter," says the caption on the March 2 video, which has been viewed 1 million times.
The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
The footage is from a 2014 short video by a German TV network, and the aircraft is a TIE fighter from the Star Wars franchise. One version of the video posted on YouTube is captioned, "Star Wars TIE fighter crashes on a German highway."
Featured Fact-check
The video also was mistakenly used by Israel’s Channel 13 news, which said it showed a downed Russian plane.
"Viewers see what appears to be the remains of an aircraft on a major highway captured by the dashboard camera of a passerby," Israel Today reported. "But if the clip is slowed down just slightly, it becomes clear that the wreckage is that of an Imperial TIE Fighter, and its crew, two Imperial stormtroopers, are waiting patiently next to it for a ride."
We rate the claim that a Ukrainian civilian captured footage of a downed Russian plane False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, March 2, 2022
Facebook profile, accessed Jan. 24, 2022
Israel Today, "Star Wars, or Ukraine? Fake War Footage Infiltrates Even Mainstream Media," March 3, 2022
PolitiFact, "COVID-19 vaccines do not contain graphene, are not experimental and have published ingredients," Jan. 24, 2022
YouTube video, April 2, 2015
Wookieepedia, "TIE/LN starfighter," accessed March 9, 2022
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Footage shows a Star Wars aircraft, not fighting in Ukraine
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