A video of commercial aircraft IL-76 has gone viral on social media, the aircraft can be seen flying at a very low level above the buildings.The video of the strategic airlifter IL-76 falsely has been connected with the ongoing Political crisis in Niger, a landlocked country in West Africa. The video is disseminated at a time when the country is facing political instability. In this composition, we are checking out the truth about the viral video.
An old video circulates with false claims
The decades-old video of the IL-76 military transport aircraft has been circulating by media personalities and social media influencers claiming to be from the ongoing political crisis in Niger. A Nigeria-based journalist and activist @jcokechukwu (J. C. Okechukwu) shared the video and said “Video Footage LEAKED barely an hour ago is presumably the landing of the IL-76 military transport aircraft in Niger, purportedly carrying Wagner PMC fighters. Authorities in Niger have officially confirmed the presence of Wagner fighters in the country.” The misleading post can be accessed here (Archived).
Research, Analysis and Fact
When the video faced us, we tried to know a little about the video and did a reverse image and keyword search that led us to the primary Source of the video. The same video was found on a YouTube channel named “MotorcycleDriveby” (Archived) and was uploaded 17 years ago in August 2006. According to the video description on YouTube “IL-76 was seen flying very low in Khartoum” Hence the video is not recent and has nothing to do with Niger as it was reported from Khartoum the capital city of Sudan.
However, according to the reports (Archived ) Niger’s new military junta asked for help from the Russian group Wagner as it faces a military intervention threat.
Intent
Social media influencers and media personalities are circulating decades-old videos with false claims to get the spotlight on social media and to mislead people who are keeping an eye on the political crisis in Niger.
Conclusion
Claim- Il-76 military transport aircraft flying low in Niger, carrying Wagner PMC fighters.
Fact- This is a 17-year-old video of IL-76 from Khartoum, Sudan.
Also Read: Old Image of Troops’ Dead Bodies from Nigeria Circulates as a Recent Incident: Fact-Check