Fact Check: Video of Air Force One With Fighter Jets Makes a False Claim about Joe Biden Travelling Home
Video of US President Joe Biden returning back to his country after attending the G20 summit is fake. Viral footage is not real, but from DCS World, a combat flight simulation video game
A video of Air Force One - the official aircraft for the United States President - being escorted by fighter jets is viral on the internet.
Netizens claim it shows US President Joe Biden returning back to his country after attending the G20 Summit held recently.
The video is being shared with a caption: "President Joe Biden returning to USA after attending d G-20 summit in New Delhi....What a Security! (sic)."
The same clip has been shared on WhatsApp as well.
FACTCHECK:
A reverse image search led to finding the same video uploaded on an Instagram account named 'loveaviations'. The video was uploaded with a caption that said, "Real or Fake."
Several users in the comments stated that the video is fake and the footage is from Digital Combat Simulator (DCS) - a combat flight simulation video game. Users also stated that the aircraft seen in the viral video did not match the specifications of the Air Force One's Boeing 747-200B models.
We compared the aircraft in the viral video with images of the Air Force One and found several differences. This clearly indicated that the viral video did not show a real Air Force One taking President Biden back to his country after attending the G20 Summit.
Another reverse image search led to finding the video being shared on TikTok on January 25, 2023, with the caption, "POV: President Trump returning to the White House shortly after winning the 2024 election."
The user also added hashtags like #dcsworld, #videogame, indicating that the footage was taken from the video game DCS World. Moreover, the account’s bio mentions that the user posts "Realistic DCS videos".
This confirms that the viral footage is not real, but from DCS World.
While we could not independently verify the source of the video, it is clear that it does not show President Biden returning after attending the G20 summit.
The video has been on the internet since at least January 2023, which predates the G20 Summit.