Does a video show a US F-16 fighter jet being shot down by Russians?

A video clip of fighter jets has been shared in Chinese-language social media posts that claim it shows an American F-16 fighter jet being shot down by Russian planes over the Black Sea.

But the claim is false. Experts told AFCL that none of the planes seen in the video is an F-16 fighter jet, adding the footage might have been taken from a video game. The U.S. Department of Defense also dismissed the claim. 

The video and the claim were shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Aug. 30, 2024.

“Breaking news! Russia shot down a U.S. F16 fighter jet over the Black Sea!” the claim reads in part. 

The 19-second video appears to show fighter jets engaged in an exchange of fire.

The Chinese-language text superimposed on the video read: “A Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova announced the incident at a press conference on Aug. 28.” 

The same video alongside similar claims was also shared on X and Douyin, a Chinese version of TikTok. 

But the claim is false. 

Different planes

Hsiao-Huang Shu, an associate researcher at the Taipei-based Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said none of the planes seen in the video is an F-16 fighter jet.

Shu explained it would be unlikely for the U.S. to send F-16 fighter jets to the Black Sea since most are deployed in Germany and Italy.

The U.S. has stopped flying warplanes over the Black Sea to avoid any possibility of  being drawn into the Russian-Ukrainian War, Shu added. 

While U.S. aircraft are operating near the conflict zone to provide intelligence support to Ukraine, they will not engage in combat on their own initiative, according to Shu. 

Shu also noted that the footage seems to have been taken from a video game, pointing out the fuzzy picture quality and the unrealistic appearance of smoke and fire coming from the plane as it is shot down. 

No Russian statement

A review of a recorded video and transcript of the Russian foreign ministry’s press conference on Aug. 28 found no mention of a U.S F-16 fighter jet. 

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not responded to inquiries as of press time.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Defense told AFCL that the claim was false but clarified that it does not authenticate video footage from sources outside its organization.

Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Shen Ke and Taejun Kang.

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