Clip shows video game, not fighter jets escorting Trump in Air Force One
A Feb. 20 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) includes a video of what appear to be multiple military jets flying near Air Force One.
'Donald Trump's security team keeping 47 safe in the sky,' text on the video reads.
The Instagram post received more than 16,000 likes in five days. The claim also circulated widely on Threads.
More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page
The footage predates Trump's term as the 47th president by more than a year. The social media user who first shared it said the footage came from a video game.
The Instagram video appears to show eight fighter jets flying near a larger aircraft that resembles Air Force One, and at one point, two jets zoom ahead of it. Text in the video includes a common reference to Trump's status as the 47th president.
But that's not Trump's 'security team" in the clip. That footage circulated on social media more than a year before the beginning of the presidential term it references.
Fact check: Video of 'Trump Force One' buzzing airport from video game
The clip in the post was previously shared to Instagram and YouTube on Oct. 17, 2023. Both posts have captions stating the videos consist of recorded gameplay from Digital Combat Simulator, a combat flight simulation game. The captions also include references to an acronym for the game and identify the clips as virtual reality. USA TODAY found no record of it online prior to that date. The social media user who shared it at the time told USA TODAY in an email that the footage was captured from the video game.
USA TODAY previously debunked false or misleading claims that clips taken from video games show authentic footage from the Israel-Hamas war and the Russia-Ukraine war.
USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the clip but did not immediately receive a response.
Check Your Fact also debunked the claim.
Iceman Fox 1, Feb. 24, Email exchange with USA TODAY
@iceman_fox, Oct. 17, 2023, Instagram post
@iceman_fox (YouTube), Oct. 17, 2023, SPOTTED: Air Force One flying today with extensive fighter escort, somewhere in the Middle East
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USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Clip misrepresented as Trump's Air Force One security | Fact check
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