Video shows rocket launch in South Korea, not a UFO in Poland
The video shows a rocket launch in South Korea that happened in December 2022.
(Reuters) - A video of a rocket launch in South Korea from December 2022 has been miscaptioned by social media users in posts claiming that it shows a UFO in Poland.
One post includes a caption that reads, “The air force shoots down a UFO in Poland. See by many witnesses. What do you think of this footage?” Another example with over 1.3 million views can be seen on Twitter.
A reverse Google Images search of the keyframes in the video reveals it was posted on YouTube on Dec. 30, 2022 with a caption in Korean saying it shows an unidentified aircraft.
Reuters was also able to discern people speaking Korean in the video.
A Google search for the words “South Korea UFO” (bit.ly/3Ivw0Zq) reveals many news reports of a rocket launch in South Korea causing a UFO scare among residents who had no knowledge of it.
A photograph taken by the Associated Press from a different angle shows the same smoke pattern and light seen in the video.
The caption reads, “The light trail is seen in Goyang, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 30, 2022. South Korea’s military confirmed it test-fired a solid-fueled rocket on Friday, after its unannounced launch triggered brief public scare of a suspected UFO appearance or a North Korean missile or drone flying.”
Reuters reported on Dec. 30, 2022 that the country’s defense ministry said that it had conducted “ successful test flight of a solid-propellant space launch vehicle” and that earlier in the day local media had reported about an unidentified flying object.
VERDICT
False. The video shows a rocket launch in South Korea that happened in December 2022.
