This video is a Nigerian artist’s animation of a drone delivering instant noodles
A video has been viewed more than a million times after being shared in multiple posts on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter alongside a claim it shows a drone delivering a box of instant noodles before collecting a card payment. The claim is false; the video is actually an animation created by a Nigerian visual effects artist.
The video was published on August 28, 2020, here on Facebook. It has been viewed more than 1.2 million times.
It purports to show a drone delivering a box of Indomie instant noodles before collecting a card payment.
Its caption, written in traditional Chinese characters, translates to English as: “The era of unmanned aerial vehicle transportation and card swiping is approaching.”
Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post taken on September 24, 2020
The video was also shared in Indonesian on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter; and in a Malaysian post with a similar claim.
Facebook posts, such as this one and this one, also shared the video along with a claim in English that it was taken in Nigeria.
The claim, however, is false; the video is actually a 3D visual effects animation.
A reverse image search using keyframes generated by the InVID-WeVerify verification tool found the same video posted on Twitter here on August 26, 2020.
The Twitter user, Uche Anisiuba, describes himself as a co-founder of a Nigerian content production company, Quadron Studios.
The Twitter post’s caption reads: “So I ran out of Indomie yesterday, needed to make a quick restock, never knew we had a drone delivery service in Lagos,” followed by a laughing emoji.
So I ran out of Indomie yesterday, needed to make a quick restock, never knew we had a drone delivery service in Lagos ?.#visualeffects #redshift3d #nollywood #africarising #africatech #nigerian #3Danimation #motiondesign @IndomieNigeria @myaccessbank @AccelerateTV @burnaboy pic.twitter.com/TyYGBOXnf8
— Anisiuba uche (@Anisiuba_Uche) August 26, 2020
Below is a screenshot of the video in the misleading Facebook post (L) and Anisiuba’s tweet (R):
Screenshot of the video from the misleading Facebook post (L) and Anisiuba’s tweet (R)In response to a question about the clip on Twitter, Anisiuba said that the video was a “3d visual effects. Like the type they use in Avengers.”
He later tweeted this footage, which compares the video before and after the special effects.
I hear some people have been energetically arguing if this is real or not. Let me help you out. Here is a before and after ?. Sorry, not sorry ? pic.twitter.com/sUapRMTftl
— Anisiuba uche (@Anisiuba_Uche) August 28, 2020
Anisiuba explained in detail how he created the animation in this video on the YouTube channel of Artfrocentric.com, an online platform that showcases African digital arts.
