Video of shots fired at New Jersey drone is doctored
- Published on December 19, 2024 at 18:15
- 7 min read
- By Bill MCCARTHY, AFP USA
Copyright © AFP 2017-2025. Any commercial use of this content requires a subscription. Click here to find out more.
"BREAKING: People Are Literally SHOOTING at the Drones in New Jersey Now!" says a December 13, 2024 post on X.
The post includes a grainy video of gunshots being fired at what appears to be a drone flying over trees, telephone lines and houses at night.
Similar posts spread across X and other platforms, such as Facebook, Threads and Instagram -- where several users shared an inverted, zoomed-in version of the clip and claimed it showed New Jersey police trying to shoot down the aircraft.
The Daily Mail also published the video, and Joe Rogan, whose Spotify podcast is the most popular in the United States, appeared to reference it during a December 17 episode.
"Have you seen the video, it looks like cops are shooting them down with shotguns in New Jersey?" Rogan asked his guest, who replied that it could be fake.
The footage comes as reports and videos of unidentified aircraft flying over New Jersey and other states continue to clog social media, stoking fears among residents. President-elect Donald Trump suggested a government cover-up may be underway and called for shooting some down, even as US government agencies have said the drones spotted in the northeast pose no threat to national security or public safety.
The Federal Aviation Administration on December 18 issued a temporary ban prohibiting drone flights over parts of New Jersey, save for those authorized for national defense, law enforcement or disaster response.
But the clip purporting to show someone firing at a drone hovering overhead is altered.
Fake gunshots
Reverse image searches uncovered an earlier version of the video published December 4 on YouTube and X that does not include any gunfire (archived here and here).
The clip comes from Robert Earl White, who bills himself as "The Drone Hunter" and operates a YouTube channel with content about UFOs and extraterrestrial life.
Text over the footage says it was filmed December 4 in Bridgeton, New Jersey and that it was "enhanced." AFP geolocated the clip to County Road in Bridgeton (archived here).
White shared with AFP the original file of the video he uploaded to YouTube, which contains metadata confirming it was recorded the evening of December 4.
White also shared screenshots and screen recordings from his iPhone indicating he filmed the footage from approximately the same location AFP identified via Google Maps.
He said in a December 19 email that "the drone video is absolutely real" and that he has sent it to the FBI. But the version featuring gunshots is doctored -- White said he edited it himself.
He first shared the altered clip in a December 13 X post that says: "Yes the gun fire is fake in this video but the drone I recorded is very much real" (archived here).
Since the government won’t shoot down the drones in New Jersey I thought I would give it a go!
— Robert Earl White | Order Of Light (@WATDOOL) December 13, 2024
Let’s go Jersey Boys, Take these things down!
Yes the gun fire is fake in this video but the drone I recorded is very much real. pic.twitter.com/UCZ8K8juaO
He told AFP he created it to provide "an example of what could happen if this problem isn't solved."
"The whole point of me making this video was to put pressure on our government to handle this situation before it gets out of control and using CGI to show a real life application of what could happen," he said. "I took my drone video and I overlaid AK-47, trace rounds and gunshots shooting at the drone."
But the manipulated clip quickly took off online without White's disclaimers.
As other social media users shared it out of context, White posted a lengthy statement to X clarifying that he had added the fake gunshots (archived here). He urged his followers not to shoot at drones and uploaded a video explaining what happened on YouTube (archived here).
"People stole this video and did not add the context," he told AFP. "I have seen thousands of channels share a video I created out of context without giving me credit."
He said his corrections did not receive nearly the same engagement as the misleading posts and that the incident shows "how easy misinformation can spread."
No shooting reports
Shooting at a drone is illegal under federal law, which says anybody who "sets fire to, damages, destroys, disables, or wrecks any aircraft" in US airspace could face a fine and up to 20 years in prison (archived here).
Michael Gaimari, chief of the Bridgeton Police Department (archived here), told AFP in a December 18 email that his team had received no reports regarding the drone in White's video or any such shooting. He said there was no "substantial indication" of it happening in the city, though he said the New Jersey State Police cover some outlying areas of Bridgeton.
In a joint December 16 statement with the FBI's Newark field office, the New Jersey State Police warned people against aiming lasers and "possibly firing weapons" at manned aircraft mistaken for drones (archived here).
Contacted by AFP, the state police directed questions to the New Jersey governor's office, from which a response was not forthcoming.
Governor Phil Murphy has urged concerned residents to "calm down" and said there is "no evidence of anything nefarious."
Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.
Contact us
