Small plane crashes in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, killing all 14 people on board
Rio de Janeiro (AP): A small passenger plane crashed in Brazil's Amazon rainforest Saturday, killing all 14 people on board, Amazonas state Governor Wilson Lima announced.
"I deeply regret the death of the 12 passengers and two crew members who were victims of the plane crash in Barcelos on Saturday," Lima said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Embraer PT-SOG aircraft had taken off from Manaus, the Amazonas state capital and the biggest city in the Amazon, and was attempting to land in heavy rain when it crashed, local media reported.
The passengers were Brazilian tourists on their way to fish, the reports said.
Video footage posted by the Globo television network showed the plane lying on a muddy dirt track with the front part of the aircraft in green foliage. A couple of dozen people are seen standing nearby holding umbrellas.
The Brazilian air force sent a team from Manaus to collect information and preserve any evidence that could be used for the investigation into the crash, an air force statement said. (AP)
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Fact check: Viral ‘Santa drone show’ near Burj Khalifa was fake; Elon Musk also shared video
Dubai: A viral video claiming to show a giant Santa Claus created by thousands of drones near the Burj Khalifa during Christmas celebrations has been debunked as fake. The clarification was reported by Khaleej Times, which confirmed that the clip was created using visual effects and did not depict a real event in Dubai.
The short video, which amassed more than 36 million views across social media platforms, showed what appeared to be a massive Santa figure waving beside the Burj Khalifa. The clip was widely shared with captions suggesting it reflected Dubai’s inclusive and multicultural celebrations. Even Elon Musk, owner of the social media platform X, shared the video with a heart emoji, further amplifying its reach and lending it unintended credibility.
According to Khaleej Times, the video was originally created in 2023 by UAE-based VFX artist Fawez Zayati. Zayati later clarified on Instagram that the footage was entirely fabricated using visual effects. “I created this video two years ago; it’s fake,” he said, adding humorously that he could create a similar VFX clip featuring Musk if asked.
The video was designed to appear authentic, seemingly filmed from the Souk Al Bahar area near Dubai Mall, with pedestrians visible in the frame. This realism contributed to widespread confusion, despite the creator having initially disclosed that it was a VFX project. Due to backlash and concerns about misinformation, Zayati eventually removed the video and urged users to verify content before sharing it.
Khaleej Times noted that the episode highlights the growing challenge of misinformation in the digital age, particularly as advances in visual effects and artificial intelligence make it easier to create highly realistic but misleading content. The report also pointed to concerns raised by experts following decisions by major tech platforms, including Meta and X, to scale back professional fact-checking teams and rely more heavily on user-driven systems such as Community Notes.
