Pentagon: Video doesn’t show U.S. pilots arriving in Palestine

A recent Instagram post worries about the possibility of "World War Three" as the Israel-Hamas war causes death and suffering in the Middle East. 

"U.S. Navy pilots arrive in Palestine," reads the text above a video in the post, which shows about a dozen aircraft flying in tight formation. 

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

After Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, the United States started moving warships and aircraft to the region to help the country. The Pentagon has also ordered warplanes to bolster squadrons at bases throughout the Middle East, The Associated Press reported. But this video doesn’t show U.S. Navy pilots arriving in Palestine, according to the Pentagon. 

"This is false," a spokesperson for the U.S. defense secretary’s office told PolitiFact. 

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We looked for, but couldn’t find, where this video originated. However, an archived version of a  deleted TikTok post appears to show a still of the video and suggests it was fabricated. 

"BREAKING," the TikTok post said. "A large Israeli offensive is underway in retaliation for Hamas attacks." 

The post used hashtags including #virtualreality #shorts #edit #cinematic and said "Filmed with Digital Combat Simulator."

We rate this post False.