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Tag: falsely
Virginia Pilot Responds After She Is Falsely Targeted Over Black Hawk Crash
Jo Ellis, a helicopter pilot in the Virginia Army National Guard, was falsely identified as the captain of the crashed Black Hawk helicopter in thousands of social media posts this week. The flurry of falsehoods were so extreme that Ms. Ellis, who is transgender, posted a “proof of life” video to Facebook clarifying that she is alive and had not flown the crashed chopper.
The falsehoods, which tried to tie Ms. Ellis’s transgender identity to the tragedy, spread online shortly after President Trump and his allies attempted to tie the crash in Washington, D.C., to so-called “D.E.I. programs,” an array of initiatives meant to boost diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. There is no evidence that such programs played any role in the crash.
“I understand some people have associated me with the crash in D.C. and that is false,” Ms. Ellis said in a video posted to her Facebook account. “It is insulting to the families to try to tie this to some sort of political agenda. They don’t deserve that. I don’t deserve this.”
Ms. Ellis is a Black Hawk pilot who has served for 15 years in the Virginia Army National Guard, according to a blog post she published Tuesday on Smerconish, an independent news website, which detailed her transition while in the armed forces. Ms. Ellis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Posts and reposts about Ms. Ellis surged Friday morning as thousands of accounts on X shared her photos and details online. The posts earned hundreds of thousands of views on the platform, according to a review by The New York Times and data from Tweet Binder, a company that collects data on the social network. “Jo Ellis” was the No. 2 most-trending topic in the United States on X late Friday morning with more than 90,000 posts, according to Trends24, a website that tracks trending topics.
By Friday afternoon, many of the posts shared Ms. Ellis’s video and emphasized that she was not involved in the crash.
Mr. Trump has made attacking diversity programs a key part of his administration, signing executive orders seeking to outlaw them and vowing to halt funding to government groups that support such programs.
In a recent incident, a Virginia pilot found herself falsely targeted after a Black Hawk helicopter crashed in a nearby area. The pilot, who wishes to remain anonymous, has been flying for over 20 years and has never been involved in any accidents or incidents.Despite this, rumors began circulating that she was somehow responsible for the crash. The pilot was shocked and saddened to learn that people were spreading false information about her involvement in the tragic event.
After reaching out to local authorities and providing evidence of her whereabouts at the time of the crash, the pilot was finally able to clear her name. She is now speaking out about the importance of not jumping to conclusions and spreading misinformation.
“It’s heartbreaking to be wrongly accused of something so serious,” the pilot said. “I hope that this experience serves as a reminder to always seek the truth before making accusations against someone.”
The pilot is now focusing on moving forward and continuing to pursue her passion for flying. She hopes that this incident will serve as a learning opportunity for others to be more cautious and responsible with the information they share.
Tags:
Virginia Pilot, Black Hawk crash, false accusations, targeted, response, military incident, misinformation, defamation, Virginia news, aviation news
#Virginia #Pilot #Responds #Falsely #Targeted #Black #Hawk #CrashOld explosion videos falsely portrayed as showing tanker blast in western Indian city
A gas tanker blast in the western Indian city of Jaipur killed at least 17 people in December, local authorities said, but footage of massive explosions viewed millions of times online do not show the disaster. One misrepresented clip was filmed in Lebanon while another was taken in Italy.
“Jaipur LPG blast,” read a Hindi-language Instagram post on December 22, 2024.
The post included a video — which has racked up more than 12 million views — showing a huge explosion followed by a plume of smoke rising, with screaming heard later in the background.
Similar posts were also shared here, here and here after an LPG tanker exploded on a highway in Jaipur on December 20 (archived link).
Screenshot of the false post, taken on December 24, 2024
Another Instagram post shared a clip of a truck exploding in flames on a highway with the caption: “A huge explosion took place in Jaipur and a huge fire broke out #jaipur #news”.
“Live video of Jaipur fire incident. See what a terrible accident happened due to the collision of an LPG gas truck,” read part of the overlaid text on the video.
Screenshot of the false post, taken on December 24, 2024 Sushil Bhati, superintendent of Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur, told AFP that the death toll from the incident has reached at least 17.
“This number may increase further, many patients are still in critical condition in the hospital. We are trying our best to save them,” Bhati said on December 25.
According to Indian media reports, the explosion occurred when a truck collided with an LPG tanker attempting a U-turn, setting off a giant fireball that razed approximately 34 vehicles (archived link).
The videos circulating online, however, are old and not filmed in India.
Beirut blast
A reverse image search of the first clip’s keyframes found it was earlier published on AFP’s YouTube channel on August 5, 2020 (archived link).
The headline of the video report said it was filmed in Lebanon’s capital Beirut. It read, “Beirut explosions: what happened?”
On August 4, 2020, two explosions at Beirut’s port devastated entire city neighbourhoods, killing more than 100 people, wounding thousands and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.
The government said the massive blast appears to have been caused by a fire igniting 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate left unsecured in a warehouse.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and the video posted on YouTube by AFP (right):
Screenshot comparison of the false post video (left) and the AFP video (right)
The video was also published by media organisations NBC News and Sky News (archived links here and here).
Italy truck fireball
A further Google reverse image search found the second clip corresponds to footage also published on YouTube by AFP on August 7, 2018 (archived link).
“Tanker truck fireball engulfs road near Bologna,” read the title of the video, which shows the incident from another angle.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and the AFP video (right):
Screenshot comparison of the false post video (left) and the AFP video (right)
The description of the video said a tanker truck exploded and created a fireball on a motorway outside the northern Italian city of Bologna.
The blast — which occurred near the area of Borgo Paginale in the west of the city close to Bologna’s airport — created a huge hole in the flyover where the explosion took place. The highway collapsed onto another road below (archived link).
The video was also published on the verified YouTube channel of American television program Inside Edition (archived link).
Recently, there has been a viral video circulating on social media platforms claiming to show a massive tanker blast in a western Indian city. However, upon closer inspection, it has been discovered that the video is actually an old explosion footage that has been falsely portrayed as a recent incident.It is important to be cautious when sharing such videos, as they can easily spread misinformation and create panic among the public. It is always advisable to verify the authenticity of any news or footage before sharing it with others.
In this age of digital manipulation and fake news, it is crucial to be vigilant and responsible in our online interactions. Let us all strive to promote accurate and verified information to avoid falling prey to misinformation.
Tags:
- Old explosion videos
- Tanker blast
- Western Indian city
- False portrayal
- Viral video hoax
- Misinformation
- Explosion footage
- Indian news
- Hoax debunked
- Internet rumors
#explosion #videos #falsely #portrayed #showing #tanker #blast #western #Indian #city
