Fact Check-Image of UFO on back of truck dates to at least 2018, shows haulage company promotion

The old photograph was shared online after bright flash was seen across the skies in Kyiv on Apr 18

 (Reuters) An image that dates back to at least 2018 of a UFO prop transported on a flat-bed truck in Ukraine is being linked online to an unexplained flash of light over Kyiv, but the truck’s owner, Kyiv-based haulage company Express-T, told Reuters that it uses the miniature spaceship as a promotion.

While the source of the old photo is unclear, the scene shows the promotional prop on an Express-T truck and long predates the light phenomenon over Kyiv in April 2023.

The old photograph was shared online after a bright flash was seen across the skies in Kyiv on April 18, still unexplained at the time of writing (here).

 

— Saint Javelin (@saintjavelin) April 19, 2023

One user shared the image on April 19 with the caption: “Can someone please check what’s happening in Kyiv, for the love of God?” (here), archived (archive.is/wip/4QACC).

Although some saw the post as humorous, others questioned whether the photograph was connected to the flash of bright light on April 19.

One user commented beneath another post featuring the same image: “What exactly is this? It looks like a cartoon UFO” (here).

An online search reveals that the image has been online since at least 2018 (here), archived (archive.is/wip/1gHCQ).

Reuters was unable to trace the photograph to its original source.

The UFO model has been repeatedly used as a promotional prop by a Kyiv-based haulage company, Express-T (www.instagram.com/express_t/).

In an Instagram message, the company confirmed to Reuters that the image shows a promotional prop used at various events.

The company published another photograph of the model aboard an Express-T truck in a flooded parking lot, viewable (here), archived (archive.is/wip/qq3G7).

The same prop appears in posts on the company’s Instagram in August 2020 (here), archived (archive.is/wip/ekyXG). Reuters also photographed the promotional prop in May 2021 (here).

VERDICT

Missing context. The photograph dates back to at least 2018 and shows a promotional prop used by a Kyiv-based haulage company.

This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work (here).