The urban myth of the ‘Ghost of Kyiv’ has gathered pace in recent days
Footage claiming to be of legendary ace pilot, the ‘Ghost of Kyiv’, shooting down Russian planes is actually from a video game.
In the latest example of misinformation being spread online – whether deliberately or not – it seems like the ‘Ghost of Kyiv’ is as real as ghosts themselves.
The myth of this crack pilot started on the second day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when it was reported by a number of news outlets that a Ukrainian pilot had downed six Russian aircraft.
CNN reported that the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army had noted five fighter jets and one helicopter had been shot down. This sparked rumours that this was the work of one legendary pilot, coming to the aid of his country to repel the Russian attacks.
People then began searching for footage of the ‘Ghost’, and soon clips appeared online claiming to show him in action.
Official accounts then jumped on this story, with the official Ukrainian Twitter account tweeting out footage of the ‘ghost’ to its 1.5m followers.
People call him the Ghost of Kyiv. And rightly so — this UAF ace dominates the skies over our capital and country, and has already become a nightmare for invading Russian aircrafts. pic.twitter.com/lngfaMN01I
— Ukraine / Україна (@Ukraine) February 27, 2022
🔥A #Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 shoots down a #Russian Air Force Su-35 fighter pic.twitter.com/0sjQsUwIhS
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) February 25, 2022
The problem is, it turns out this isn’t real footage. It’s actually from the 2013 video game, Digital Combat Simulator: World, Kotaku reports.
The clip was uploaded to YouTube by Comrade_Corb as a tribute to the myth of the ‘Ghost of Kyiv.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBBJ_JzV8u4
In the caption for the video, the YouTuber makes this clear as well, writing: “This footage is from DCS, but is nevertheless made out of respect for ‘The Ghost of Kiev.’
“If he is real, may God be with him; if he is fake, I pray for more like ‘him.'”
As clips and footage claiming to be from Ukraine continue to emerge across the internet, it’s vitally important that fact is separated from fiction.
This isn’t the first time that video game footage has been taken as real-world footage of events in Ukraine.
Just a few days ago, footage from the military strategy game ArmA III was circulated on social media claiming to be from Ukraine.
Some of these clips racked up thousands of views and reactions, before being debunked as fake.
Whether there is a ‘Ghost of Kyiv’ who has proved to be the scourge of Russian pilots is still unknown.
One thing’s for sure, you haven’t seen footage of him in action – you’ve just watched a video game.
Related links:
- Russia set to be banned by FIFA following invasion of Ukraine
- People are discovering Ukrainian President Zelensky voiced Paddington Bear
- Ukrainian brewery is now making beer that’s easy to turn into Molotov cocktails
