Fact Check

No, Object Shot Down Over Alaska Airspace Wasn't PR Stunt

The claim comes from a satire website.

by Izz Scott LaMagdeleine, Published Feb. 15, 2023


White smoke drifts from a mountain area. A lake area is below the mountains, near a forest area.

Image courtesy of Lance King / Stringer via Getty


Claim:
The U.S. government shot down an "aerial target drone" over Alaska for PR purposes.
Rating:
Labeled Satire

About this rating


On Feb. 14, 2023, Real Raw News published an article claiming that the U.S. government shot down a drone over Alaska to make President Joe Biden look good:

Alaska Shootdown Was PR Stunt

The "object" shot down over Alaskan Airspace on Friday was a USAF "aerial target drone," not a balloon or extraterrestrial spacecraft, sources in General Eric M. Smith's office told Real Raw News.

The last week has seen a spate of so-called shootdowns of unidentified objects over North America.

The "story" isn't real. Real Raw News is a satire website. The website describes its content as satire on its about page:

"Information on this website is for informational and educational and entertainment purposes. This website contains humor, parody, and satire. We have included this disclaimer for our protection, on the advice on legal counsel."

On Feb. 10, an unidentified object was shot down over Alaskan airspace. White House officials are still working on identifying what the object was, according to a press conference held on Feb. 13.

For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.

 


By Izz Scott LaMagdeleine

Izz Scott LaMagdeleine is the web producer/production editor for Snopes.


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