The only real thing about "fake news" is that they are real and getting worse by the day. The most recent proof of the sensationalist phenomenon is the circulation of a fake video that claimed to be a recording of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and seven other people aboard.
As soon as the news of the crash was made public, online users began sharing an unrelated video of the assumed crash. In the video, a helicopter can be seen spiraling down in a desert-like mountainous area. It eventually crashed into the mountain and erupted in flames.
Several users on Twitter have been sharing this video and claiming it to be "live footage" of the moment the chopper fell and killed the Bryant family. One of the users - @OfficialKito - shared the video and amassed over 100K views on his post. It seems double-checking the facts is not as important as views, re-tweets, and attention. Except that it is. Sharing such graphic content will certainly get the attention of hundreds of thousands ... but at the cost of authenticity, truth, and ethics.
The video in circulation is actually one of a crash that took place in the UAE in 2018.
In December of that year, a rescue helicopter crashed on Jebel Jais mountain in Ras Al Khaimah, killing four crew members aboard. The helicopter spiraled down after clipping a zipline - the longest in the world - on the mountain, which is considered to be the UAE's highest peak.
The chopper was on a rescue mission prior to the incident. It crashed down before reaching the injured man it was set out to help.
At the time of the incident, video footage of the crash emerged, showing the moment the helicopter went into a tailspin and burst into flames. That footage is now being used to sensationalize Bryant's death.
Different videos of the Jebel Jais incident circulated at the time it happened. The YouTube video below - posted in January 2019 - is the very same video that's now being shared by social media users in relation to Bryant's death.
Many Twitter users are outraged by the spreading of fake news during such a tragic time. Some have pointed out that even if the video were a depiction of the most recent helicopter crash, it shouldn't be shared out of respect for the victims and their loved ones.
AFP Fact Check on Twitter was quick to point out the error, confirming that the video is unrelated to the most recent crash. In a tweet, the news agency linked to a 2018 BBC report from which the video in question was taken.
Others joined the news agency in debunking the false linkage between the UAE crash and the helicopter crash that killed Bryant.
"This is not the crash"
"Stop spreading lies"
"I don't understand why there has to be video proof for this"
"Even if this was factual footage why would you even post this on social media?"
The cause of the most recent helicopter crash is not yet known.
The former NBA player was traveling with one of his daughters when the crash happened in Calabasas, California. The 41-year-old and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Maria Onore Bryant, were on their way to the Mamba Sports Academy for a basketball game. Gianna was scheduled to play in the game; Bryant was meant to coach.
The tragic death of the basketball legend came as a shock to many. Yet, some people had the decency to run fake videos as though they were real all for the sake of popularity. And that's not even taking into consideration the problems that come with the sharing of graphic content, something that has been a debate since the rise of social media.
