Fake News

False connections utilize real facts or images along with made up content (or vice versa).

You may have heard of the ‘Ghost of Kyiv’ stories that spread in the news shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There was no such Ukrainian pilot, but it did not stop the Ukrainian Armed Forces from circulating old photos of unidentifiable pilots from years prior claiming them to be the Ghost. Once the belief in the pilot became widespread, streaming content was altered to further validate the lie. Captured video game content was used and spliced into real video making the claim that it was indeed the ‘Ghost’ in action chasing Russian pilots. An abbreviated story about this, along the shared photos can be found through the Associated Press:

Ukraine Admits ‘Ghost of Kyiv’ Fighter Pilot is a Myth

Original falsified video