This video of a drone show at the Tokyo Olympics has been doctored
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on August 20, 2021 at 05:27
- 3 min read
- By SHIM Kyu-Seok, AFP South Korea
Copyright © AFP 2017-2025. Any commercial use of this content requires a subscription. Click here to find out more.
A video has been repeatedly shared on social media alongside a claim it shows drones spelling out the words "Trump Won" at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics. The posts claim the drones were "hacked". The video, however, has been doctored. The drone show at the opening ceremony did not include any such message about former US President Donald Trump.
The video was shared here on Facebook on July 26, 2021.
The post's Korean-language caption translates to English as: "The Tokyo Olympics drone show was hacked."
The video purports to show drones flying in formation to spell out the words "Trump Won."
A superimposed image of Trump dancing then appears in the clip.
The video was shared shortly after the opening ceremony of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo on July 23, 2021.
Comments on the post indicated some social media users thought the video was genuine.
One user commented: "This is shocking. It must have been President Trump's supporters who hacked [the drones] right?"
Another said: "If this is true, I like such hacking...It looks like [the Olympics] are controlled by the white hats."
Identical videos have been shared on Facebook here and here; and on South Korean online forum Daum Cafe here alongside a similar claim.
The claim is false: the video has been doctored.
A Google reserve image search of the video in the misleading post found the original video was shared on Twitter on July 23, 2021.
It was posted by Twitter user @Hendrikxjp.
1800 drones starting their formation to form a shiny globe as part of the Tokyo 2020 olympics opening ceremony #tokyo2020#dronespic.twitter.com/aRCkmpCW0d
— Hendrik (@Hendrikxjp) July 23, 2021
The Twitter user told multiple news agencies that he filmed and uploaded the video himself, as seen in tweets here and here.
The original video shows drones forming the shape of a sphere, which then transforms into an image of the globe.
The tweet reads: "1800 drones starting their formation to form a shiny globe as part of the Tokyo 2020 olympics opening ceremony #tokyo2020 #drones"
Below are screenshot comparisons of keyframes in the doctored video shared on Facebook (L) and the original video shared on Twitter (R):
There have been no credible reports or official announcements suggesting the drone show was "hacked".
Footage posted both by the official YouTube channel of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the official YouTube channel of the Olympics do not feature any pro-Trump message.
Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.
Contact us