An Israeli jet shooting down a Hezbollah drone? No, video is digital creation | Fact check

The claim: Video shows Israeli fighter aircraft shooting down a Hezbollah drone

[ En Español : ¿Un avión israelí derribando un dron de Hezbolá? No, video es creación digital ]

A Sept. 25 Facebook post ( direct link , archive link ) shows a video of an aircraft shooting down a flying object.

“The Israeli Air Force is giving 100% to protect its people, working 24/7,” reads the text in Spanish.  “Incredible images of a plane destroying a Hezbollah terrorist drone.”

The same video was shared on Instagram and X, formerly Twitter , where it was reposted more than 150 times. A similar, English version of the claim was also shared on Facebook .

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Our rating: Altered

The video was posted on YouTube and TikTok five months ago and was digitally created. It does not show an Israeli aircraft fighting a Hezbollah drone.

The video is digitally created, not a real event

Lebanon experienced its single deadliest day in decades on Sept. 23 as fighting between Israel and the military group Hezbollah intensified , escalating a conflict that has been brewing for a year, as USA TODAY has reported. Back-and-forth airstrikes have fueled fears of an all-out war .

Fact check : Detonation of Hezbollah devices did not include iPhones

But contrary to the posts' claims, the video is not real and does not show Israeli fighters shooting down a Hezbollah drone.User Winder Shot , who describes themselves as a gaming video creator, posted the video on their YouTube and TikTok accounts on April 14. The user describes the video as an F-15 taking out drones and indicates the video was from Digital Combat Simulator, a digital game.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources:

• @windershot, April 14, Tiktok video
• WinderShot (YouTube), April 14, F-15 takes out two drones | DCS

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: An Israeli jet shooting down a Hezbollah drone? No, video is digital creation | Fact check