2020 video of Goodyear blimp misrepresented as UFO sighting
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on February 14, 2023 at 19:39
- 4 min read
- By Bill MCCARTHY, AFP USA
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"UFO BREAKING: REAL ALIEN SPACECRAFT CAPTURED ON HIGHWAY," says one February 12, 2023 tweet sharing the video, which was viewed more than 4.6 million times.
The account that shared the clip has a history of sharing misrepresented visuals around the earthquake in Turkey and other events, as well as slogans and imagery associated with the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Similar posts shared the video in various languages and across Twitter, Facebook and other platforms after the United States shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon and three mystery aerial objects in just over a week, the latest taking place on February 12.
But the video is not recent, nor does it show an unidentified flying object.
Video shows Goodyear blimp in 2020
Reverse image searches conducted using various keyframes from the video revealed that the same video and other similar clips were shared on social media and featured in articles as early as September 2020.
The posts indicated the footage was captured in New Jersey on September 14, 2020, the same day that a Goodyear-owned aircraft was tracked in that area where the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers were playing at MetLife Stadium. Social media users also posted about witnessing a Goodyear blimp around the stadium.
The tire manufacturing company has for decades sent its iconic blimps sailing over sporting events to provide aerial footage and market its brand. Media reports from Insider and other outlets in 2020 said such an airship hovered over the stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey for the opening-week NFL game.
AFP reached out to Goodyear for comment through its website, but no response was forthcoming.
However, Shannon Miller, who witnessed the commotion in New Jersey over the flying object that day, confirmed to AFP that the clip being misrepresented online shows a blimp. Miller is the supervisor of administration and operations at Sure Thing Toys, an online retailer with warehouses located in the building seen in the video.
"I personally remember seeing the blimp this day on the way home from this location," Miller told AFP in an email. "I could with my naked eyes see that it was a blimp."
Locating the footage
Among the September 2020 social media posts AFP found were posts saying the footage was filmed from Route 21, a state highway in northern New Jersey. Another tweet from the time claimed the blimp was spotted soaring over Teterboro Airport, in New Jersey.
Using that information, AFP mapped out a region along Route 21 -- between MetLife Stadium and Teterboro Airport -- on Google Maps from which the video of the blimp was most likely taken.
AFP then reviewed Google Maps Street View images that were captured along the length of Route 21 and facing east toward the arena and airport, eventually identifying a building whose features and surroundings resembled those seen in the video.
The building is located at 1 Madison Street in East Rutherford, New Jersey, according to Google Maps and additional photos AFP found online.
Miller, of Sure Thing Toys, confirmed the location and said the loading dock and office with its lights on in the video is one of the online retailer's warehouses in the complex.
Steve Blyth, president of J.Racenstein Company, a cleaning products supplier, also confirmed the location in an email to AFP. "The building in the video is 1 Madison Street East Rutherford," Blyth said.
On the question of aliens, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said February 13 of the objects the United States shot down: "There is no -- again, no -- indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity."
AFP has debunked other misrepresented visuals, including here, here and here.
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