This 2016 video shows a remote-controlled toy aircraft performing stunts

This article is more than one year old.
Published on August 10, 2020 at 10:00
2 min read
By AFP India

A video has been viewed thousands of times in multiple Facebook and Twitter posts alongside a claim it shows a real Dassault Rafale fighter jet, a French-made aircraft model. India recently procured 36 Dassault Rafale fighter jets from France, the first batch of which arrived in India on July 29, 2020. The claim is false; the video, filmed in 2016, shows a remote-controlled miniature aircraft built by a US-based toy manufacturing company.

The two-minute 50-second video was shared on Facebook here on July 13, 2020.

Screenshot of misleading Facebook post

The post’s caption states: “Yes, that’s Rafale Fighter Plane.
Don’t miss the ending - Awesome !!”

The video has also been shared here, here, here and here on Facebook; and here, here, here and here on Twitter alongside an identical claim.

The claim, however, is false.

A closer analysis of the video found a red logo that reads ‘FLEX’ on the tail of the aircraft. Below is a screenshot of the logo circled in green by AFP:

Screenshot of Facebook video showing logo

A search on Google by keywords ‘flex’ and ‘aircraft’ found this website of a company called Flex Innovations.

According to the company's website, Flex Innovations is a US-based company that deals in “innovative technology, aircraft control systems, toys, electronics, and RC (remote control) hobby products”.

Photos of several toy aircrafts, including the one seen in the video shared in the misleading Facebook post, are shown for sale on the website.

Screenshot of website showing the toy aircraft on sale

A further search found a longer version of the video shared in the misleading Facebook post was published here on Flex Innovations’ YouTube channel on August 19, 2016.

The part of the video shared in the misleading Facebook post can be seen from the three-minute mark of the YouTube video.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video shared in the misleading Facebook post (L) and the YouTube video (R):

Image comparing screenshots

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