Recently, the U.S. military released a video of an extremely close encounter between the U.S. Air Force jet and Russian military aircraft in the skies near Alaska. Now, a video showing a fighter jet flying closely alongside another has been circulated, claiming to be from the recent encounter between a Russian and a US fighter jet near Alaska. However, D-Intent Data has found that this video is not from the actual incident; it is a recreation created by DCS World and is unrelated to the real events.
Sharing the video on X (Formerly Twitter) @CaptCoronado wrote. “Russian SU-35 fighter jet harasses a U.S. F-16 fighter jet on patrol over Alaska. Russian pilot was ordered to intercept the US aircraft before its approach towards a Russian bomber!”.
Another user @SprinterFamily also shared the video and wrote, “A Russian Su-35 harasses an American F-16 in the skies over Alaska. The same flight from a different angle”.
Several other users and influencers have also shared the video and made similar claims. Their posts can be seen here, @bud_cann, @Syed_1109084
The truth about the viral video, Fact Check
As soon as the posts containing the video and claims came to our notice. Subsequently, we conducted research and analysis of the video and found that the video doesn’t depict the actual incident but it is a recreation video of the incident.
To verify the claims made by the users. We ran a relevant keyword search and found multiple reports (1, 2, 3) regarding the incident. We found that the visuals in the video do not match the original video released by the US military. Further, we performed a reverse image search of some key frames from the viral video on Google Lens. This led us to a DCS World’s YouTube video containing the same visuals. Digital Combat Simulator World (DCS World) is a free-to-play digital battlefield game. DCS World offers authentic and realistic simulations of military aircraft, tanks, ground vehicles and ships.
Therefore, it is evident from D-Intent Data’s Fact Check that the shared video doesn’t depict the actual incident of a fighter jet encounter near Alaska, but a recreation video of the incident by DCS World.
Intent
Social media users and influencers are circulating simulation videos with misleading claims to get the spotlight on social media.
Conclusion
Claim– The video depicts a real incident of a Russian fighter jet flying close to a US fighter jet near Alaska.
Fact– The video doesn’t depict the actual incident, but it is a recreation video of the incident by DCS World.
