Koi UFO Video 001: Helicopter films UFO over New York (SciFi)
Koi UFO Video 001 appears to show a UFO being filmed over New York from a helicopter near the World Trade Center.
It is one of the most viewed UFO videos online.
Dozens upon dozens of copies of this video have been posted on the Internet. One copy alone has been viewed over 8 million times. Comments are still posted in relation to copies of this video on Youtube, often consisting of the single word "FAKE" or "REAL".
In fact, as has been explained by numerous UFO researchers on countless occasions, this video was in fact an advertisement for the SciFi television channel in the USA. As detailed below, this was one in a series of advertisements for the SciFi channel (collectively referred to as the "SciFi Happens" adverts) and featured actress Barbara Sicuranza.
[DEBUNKED] Numerous copies of Koi UFO Video 002 appear on Youtube and elsewhere. One copy alone (with the title "Real UFO in Sarajevo Bosnia (8.10.2005)") has over half a million views.
The video appears to show a reporter in Sarajevo speaking to the camera when a UFO suddenly appears.
In fact, as detailed below, the video is an admitted hoax created as a commercial for The International Theater Festival in Sarajevo (specifically the 45th International Theatre Festival, the MESS'05, in 2005).
This is just one example of numerous videos that remains the subject of discussion online despite being admitted as a hoax years ago.
Koi UFO Video 093 : Small alien in snow in Siberia
[DEBUNKED]Koi UFO Video 093 appears to show someone leading a cameraman to the site of an alien body lying on top of snow near Irkutsk in Siberia.
Copies of this video had over 6 million views in their first few days on Youtube in 2011 and featured in media item around the world, including on the websites of various newspapers here in England (including The Daily Mail and The Telegraph).
In fact, as discussed below, the "alien" in this video was made by two Russians (Ivan Baturin and Artem Fedotov) out of plasticine and dough with a chicken skin stretched over it. Atrem Fedotov is seen in the video, which was filmed by the Ivan Baturin. Ivan Baturin and Artem Fedotov subsequently admitted the hoax and demonstrated on Russian television how they made the "alien" and where they filmed their video. A considerable amount of material relating to this hoax (including various Russian news reports detailing the admission of the hoax) has very helpfully been collated and translated by Yvan Defoy but those efforts appear to have largely gone unnoticed. Various copies of the relevant video continue to circulate online.
Incidentally, this video provides an example of an apparently hoaxed admission of a hoax. Some media reports uncritically reported that the hoax had been admitted by Timur Hilall and Kirill Vlasov but neither of those individuals looked anything like the individual seen in the video. This may be contrasted with the position in relation to the subsequent admission of a hoax by Ivan Baturin and Artem Fedotov, discussed below.
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 003 is a video that has been posted online with captions claiming that it shows scientists examining a UFO and being buried in snow.
This video generated a lot of discussion back in 2005-2007. It still gathers considerable numbers of views on Youtube.
In fact, as detailed below, the video was part of an award-winning viral advertising campaign for a Sony Playstation game ("Shadow of the Colossus").
One copy of the video on Youtube (with the title "Siberian UFO") posted relatively recently (in 2011) has over 2 million views as at September 2014. The true source of the video had in fact been revealed several years before that copy had even been posted.
Ufology often provides illustrations of people not letting facts get in the way of a good story!
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 094 appears to show a glowing white spiral light in a night sky.
Various videos and photographs were taken in Northern Norway (and Northern Sweden) of this spiral on 9 December 2009.
In fact, as discussed below, the glowing spiral was caused by the failure of the third stage of a RSM-56 Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile ("SLBM") from the Russian Navy submarine "Dmitri Donskoi" on 9 December 2009. The Russian Defence Ministry's press office told Itar-Tass news agency in December 2009 that the submarine-based Bulava ballistic missile failed when launched from the White Sea. Reuters quoted a Defense Ministry spokesman as saying "It has been established ... that the missile's first two stages worked as normal, but there was a technical malfunction at the next, third, stage of the trajectory,".
Koi UFO Video 005: Blair Witch style forest encounter (Toyota)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 005 is shaky footage appearing to show several young people in a forest encountering some UFOs.
This Blair Witch style "UFO" video was discussed on several UFO forums in 2006, with comments such as "oh my god i was freaking out when i saw this. all their emotions sound so real!!!!".
In fact, as discussed below, this video was part of a viral advertising campaign for Toyota (specifically for the launch of the new Toyota Camry). It formed part of a series of videos that made the link to Toyota increasingly obvious (with one video including supposed alien markings that look like Toyota's logo) with the final videos featuring the new Toyota Camry itself. These videos, and a related (fake) news website, were the first viral advertising campaign by Toyota and involved work by Great Urban Myth (an Australian creative advertising consultancy).
I find this an interesting case study in relation to the role of time in investigating UFO videos. While one person ("ArMaP" of AboveTopSecret.com) was able to discover in 2006 that this video was linked to Toyota, that required a bit of detective work on his part and (until the later videos emerged) was not entirely conclusive. In 2015, however, it is possible to simply read the story behind this video on the website of one of the advertising agencies involved. Many ufologists are aware that, in relation to the investigation of genuine UFO sightings, time is often of the essence - with memories and fading (or becoming contaminated) with the passage of time and physical "trace" evidence becoming increasingly meaningless. However, in relation to videos that are hoaxed or created as part of an advertising campaign, the passage of time can actually be surprisingly HELPFUL since those involved tend to become more willing to talk about matters or include relevant details on their own websites, e.g. advertising agencies using such videos to showcase their talents or actresses including the relevant project on their resume.
Koi UFO Video 095 : Morristown UFOs 2009 (flare hoax)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 095 appears to show a number of unidentified red lights in a night sky. They do not look very spectacular and resemble the (many) UFO videos of Chinese Lanterns that can be found online.
The video is only notable because it shows a deliberate UFO hoax (unlike most Chinese Lantern sightings, which commonly are launched as part of celebrations rather than deliberate hoaxes), which resulted in the hoaxers being fined and sentenced to community service. Some UFO hoaxed are arguably works of art, achieving millions of views on Youtube and continue to circulate for years. Other articles in this series highlight some beautiful pieces of work. This hoax isn't in the same league. Frankly, it was rather dull.
As detailed below, the hoaxers (Joe Rudy and Chris Russo) launched flare lights attached to helium balloons near Morristown and other towns in Morris County (New Jersey) during January and February 2009 (on 5 January 2009, 26 January 2009, 7 February 2009 and 17 February 2009). On 1 April 2009, Joe Rudy and Chris Russo came forward with video evidence proving they were the perpetrators of this hoax, claiming to demonstrate how easy it is to fool the so-called UFO "experts". While it is indeed easy to fool some ufo researchers, in fact few experts had been fooled by this particular hoax. Almost any researcher looking at the video would think about balloons or Chinese Lanterns. The claims made by the hoaxers as to the success of their hoax were, to put it politely, somewhat overstated.
Incidentally, the hoaxers could have achieved similar results with a LOT less cost and effort if they had simply used Chinese Lanterns... These are commercially available for just a dollar or two each. Chinese Lanterns commonly result in UFO reports and UFO videos when they are launched at weddings and other parties. The use of Chinese Lanterns at such parties (and resulting "UFO" reports") have been more common in the United Kingdom than the USA, but their popularity appears to have been increasing globally in the last decade. Videos of Chinese Lanterns appear online almost every week. Those videos are almost indistinguishable from those resulted from the hoax which Joe Rudy and Chris Russo put so much time and effort into.
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 009 is video appearing to show an aircraft (resembling a stealth aircraft) being shot down by rockets in London over the Houses of Parliament.
The video was posted on at least one UFO forum in 2005. Initial opinions on the video varied from "quite intriguing" and "fascinating without doubt", to "basic 'shoot 'em up' digitally blended rubbish".
In fact, as detailed below, the video was a viral advertisement for the "Act of War : Direct Action" computer game. This viral advertisement was produced and put on the Internet by a company in the UK called, Maverick Media.
Koi UFO Video 096 : Black triangle UFO (2007) - Jeff Wilson
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 096 appears to show a black triangle UFO with lights on its corners shining a laser or searchbeam down towards the ground.
This video was first uploaded to Youtube in September 2008 with the title "weird black triangle UFO with red lights with laser. Spaceship?". The accompanying text stated : "This is a video was on a cheap camera I found when Hiking in the Smokey Mountains. This is all that was on it."
The video gained considerable publicity when it was (incorrectly) associated online with entirely separate press reports in September 2008 that a senior garda officer (i.e. a policeman in the Republic of Ireland) had filmed a triangular shaped object with a camera phone at 10.35pm on 3 August 2008.
In fact, as detailed below, the video shows a large triangular model created by Jeff Wilson of Morristown (Tennessee) being lifted into the air in August 2007 by a large helium balloon as part of an annual "UFO contest" which was run by Joshua Warren to give researchers information on how to spot hoaxes.
Koi UFO Video 017 : UFO follows car in Australia, 2006 (Chris Kenworthy ufo wave videos)
Koi UFO Video 017 appears to show a family in a car being frightened by an approaching UFO. This is probably the most dramatic of a collection of 31 videos that were uploaded to Youtube in 2006 purportedly showing UFOs over Australia. Many of them were simply lights in the night sky or distant objects with no distinct shape.
In fact, as discussed below, the entire series of videos was a hoax (or rather an "immersive artwork" or "experimental digital video project") by director Christopher Kenworthy, funded by the Australian Film Commission. Incidentally, a statement on Christopher Kenworthy's website that "Nobody suspected it was a hoax until the end" is, um, questionable since several people (including me) had suggested it was probably composited imagery.
[DEBUNKED] Copies of Koi UFO Video 097 were posted online in 2011 with titles that suggested it showed a UFO being transported on a flatbed truck in Kansas. Similar footage has subsequently been posted with titles referring to Illinois and to Area 51 in Nevada.
One copy of this video on Youtube had approximately 2 million views as at March 2015.
In fact, as detailed below, the video shows a Northrop Grumman X-47b Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle ("UCAV") with its wings removed for transport, being transported by Diamond Heavy Haul Incorporated. X-47B UCAVs have been transported by road several times and has caused some excitement each time. One of these UCAVs was seen being transported in December 2011 (being shipped from California to the Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland) and one was seen being transported in June 2012 (near Pesotum, Illinois on I-57 heading North). The X-47b is designed for carrier-based operations. The UCAV is not a secret project and, indeed, can be seen during carrier flight tests in various videos online. So, it's not a UFO ... but it still looks cool.
Koi UFO Video 024 : Woman on alien operating table (KBAT746432)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 024 appears to be a video of a woman on some sort of alien" operating table.
This video was posted on various UFO forums in 2005 and 2006, with titles such as "Smuggled Russian Footage shows Alien Expermentation On Humans". It has since been reposted at irregular intervals, including in 2014.
In fact, as detailed below, this video was part of a viral marketing campaign for a little known science fiction movie called "Beings". This movie was written and directed by Fredrick Wolcott of Juniper Entertainment Corp. When I emailed Fredrick Wolcott in 2006 he stated that the "film was inspired by true events". That movie was eventually released on DVD a few years later and is available on Amazon. Trailers for the movie are also still online and (as shown below) include brief glimpses of the operating table in the viral marketing video.
While I hesitated to take/waste time posting my notes from 2005/2006 in relation to this viral marketing video, I have drawn some comfort from the fact that some other researchers spent a lot more time than me on this video. I have to feel a bit sorry for Italian researcher Antonello Lupino, since his website contains a detailed analysis of this footage which must have taken him quite a while to perform. I presume that detailed analysis was conducted without the benefit of seeing the official trailer for the movie "Beings" or contact with the producer of that movie.
Koi UFO Video 098 : Nazi Alien Autopsy (Outpost 31)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 098 was originally posted online in 2011 with the title "Alien Autopsy best evidence ever! 2012 *MUST SEE*". The video appears to show the autopsy of an alien, with an internal organ that looks remarkably like bubble wrap. (The "alien" also appears to be wearing false nails...).
This video was posted on UFO forums with a description claiming that it was "apparently shot at the Antarctic Nazi base during sometime in 1947".
In fact, as detailed below, this video was uploaded by some aspiring film makers that were seeking to produce their own (apparently rather low budget) movie entitled "Outpost 31". That planned movie was originally billed as a "remake" of John Carpenter's excellent "The Thing" (although later trailers changed the description to state that "Outpost 31" was inspired by John Carpenters' "The Thing"). The young film makers ("Dave 'n' Adam", i.e. David Robinson and Adam Clarke of "DRAC Productions") are based in Cardiff (in Wales) and have an interest in science fiction, with some of their other videos including a "remake" of "Back to the Future".
This hoax/advertisement was far less successful than many other "alien autopsy" videos and photographs, possibly because the close resemblance of an internal organ to bubble wrap was, well, a bit of a red flag to most viewers...
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 036 appears to show some people approaching some an outbuilding and then running away when some sort of alien being appears.
This video is almost invariably posted with a title that refers to a Chupacabra in Mexico. One copy of this video on Youtube had approximately 450,000 as at March 2015.
In fact, as detailed below, the video was created as part of a "mockumentary" film making project called "Unexplained Mysteries" in Colombia run by a group known as "Grupo Enmente". Grupo Enmente openly stated on its webpage in 2006 that this "mockumentary" project was one that "mimics all aspects documentaries and news programs but is based on fictitious events". The plan, as explained by Grupo Enmente on its website, appears to have been to use a website to seek raw footage from amateur film-makers and then include "special effects" to create "believable" video of with themes relating to UFOs, ghosts and the supernatural.
This is one of several "UFO"/"alien" videos in relation to which the true story was easier to find at the time of the videos original release. Several years on, relevant websites that clearly stated the "mockumentary" nature of the relevant film project are defunct and not all relevant webpages are archived. Hopefully, pages like this one will help make some of this information more easily accessible and partially overcome the problem of relevant websites fading away.
Koi UFO Video 099 : UFO at Baseball Game (Vancouver, 2013)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 099 appears to show a floodlit baseball game, during which a UFO with several lights is seen in the distance.
One copy of this video on Youtube, with the title "UFO at Baseball Game" and a caption stating "Video caught UFO at Nat Bailey stadium in Vancouver. September 3rd, 2013" had approximately 400,000 views as at July 2015. (The total number of YouTube views has been estimated as over 2.3 million).
In fact, as discussed below, the "UFO" was a drone in the shape of the H R MacMillan Space Centre in Vancouver, Canada. The Space Centre subsequently issued a press release admitting that the sightings were caused by "an elaborate hoax" created by the Space Centre working with Vancouver ad agency MacLaren McCann as an "extreme teaser campaign" for a "new planetarium viewer experience" at H R MacMillan Space Centre. The advertising agency gave details of their hoax on their website, including footage of the drone and details of the (considerable) success of their advertising campaign.
Koi UFO Video 041: "New" black and white alien autopsy footage (Ant and Dec movie)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 041 is black and white footage appearing to show an alien on a stretcher surrounded by men in military uniforms. It has been posted online with titles indicating that it shows an alien recovered at Roswell in 1947.
A copy of this video posted on Youtube in July 2006 had over 1 million views by October 2014. The footage has been repeatedly posted on various UFO discussion forums since 2006.
In fact, as detailed below, the footage was filmed by the producers of the movie "Alien Autopsy" - a comedy released in 2006 starring British entertainment duo "Ant and Dec" (i.e. Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly).
Koi UFO Video 100 : Creature crawling up apartment building (Daylight)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 100 appears to show a huge creature with extremely long legs climbing an apartment building in the daylight.
The earliest copy of the video on Youtube was posted by "DimanOperator" on 28 July 2014 with a title of "Something is crawling on the walls of houses in Samara" (as translated from Russian using Google Translate). That copy has over 2.6 million views as at July 2015. Another copy of the video was posted more recently (on 2 March 2015) by "Daily Paranormal" and that copy had gained approximately 5.5 million views as at July 2015.
In fact, as discussed below, the video was created by Dmitry Kataev of Samara, Russia, using several commercial software packages (specifically After Effects, Boujou and Lightwave). Dmitry Kataev has uploaded several entertaining high-quality videos of huge "monsters", including a monster attaching chasing him and a giant spider living under a bridge in Samara. The captions for several of the videos uploaded by Dmitry Kataev include links to an advertising company that creates animations and 3D graphics. Posts by Dmitry Kataev in relation to his "monster" videos on Youtube acknowledge that he created them using computer image software (specifically After Effects, Boujou and Lightwave). Dmitry Kataev appears to be very talented. I have seen FAR worse special effects in movies broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel!
Various individuals have asked online whether this video showed the girl's natural looks or involved some special effects, with a small number of people speculating that she may be an alien or "alien hybrid". As with many comments online about UFOs and aliens, it is difficult to be sure whether some of the comments were intended to be taken seriously or were just a joke.
The true position will probably unsurprising to most people.
As detailed below, the video in fact shows the relevant actress (Fiona Maclaine, photos of whom are included below) subjected to various special effects as part of a television advertisement entitled "Mental wealth" by Chris Cunningham for the Sony Playstation. The nature of the video was clear in the original advertisement, which ended by showing a link to a Playstation website.
Copies of the video which do NOT show that link to a Playstation website seem to be more popular on Youtube and also generate more discussion. I wonder what the implications of this fact are for ufology???
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 102 appears to show a strange cloud, apparently with tendrils resembling a jellyfish, being filmed from an airplane.
This video was posted on Youtube on 18 May 2015 by Anton Ilmyanov, with the title "Some crazy anomaly or a UFO?" and a caption stating "shortly after the departure from Queenstown, New Zealand". That video gained approximately 350,000 views in its first two months online.
As discussed below, about a week after the cloud jellyfish video was posted Anton Ilmyanov posted another video (on 26 May 2015) entitled "How UFO videos are made". In this video Anyon Ilmyanov admitted that his original upload had been a hoax and briefly demonstrated how he had created it. In his accompanying comments, Anton Ilmyanov stated that the original footage had been created using the Blender software package. Other videos created by Anton Ilmyanov demonstrate his (considerable) talents for creating science-fiction themed CGI (Computer Generated Graphics), again created using the Blender software package.
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 055 is footage which begins by showing a tumbling disc-shaped object falling towards the ground. The second half of the video shows a disc-shaped object partially buried in a desert.
Various copies of this video have been posted on Youtube with titles such as "UFO Crash Footage". One such copy has nearly 1 million views and is accompanied by a caption which states the following:
"This is the most amazing UFO crash footage ever captured and judging by the audio it was videoed by US Military. No more grainy out of focus UFO footage, This is crystal clear".
In fact, as detailed below, the video shows a sample return capsule from NASA's Genesis space probe crash-landing in Utah on 8 September 2004, after a design flaw prevented the deployment of its drogue parachute.
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 103 appears to show a list of numbers being written in the sky.
Copies of this video appeared online in 2012 with titles such as "UFO MAKES WRITING APPEAR IN SKY 2012".
As discussed below, relevant video shows skywriting was done as part of an "ephemeral installation" (or, in short, a type of art project) above the San Francisco Bay Area on 12 September 2012 by Californian artist Ishky collaborating with art and technology network Zero1. A team of five synchronized AirSign aircraft equipped with dot-matrix technology followed a flight pattern that wrote the first 314 characters of pi’s infinite sequence.
Koi UFO Video 057 : Los Angeles UFO 1984 (Olympics)
[DEBUNKED]Koi UFO Video 057 appears to show a large flying saucer, with various different lights, hovering in the night sky over Los Angeles.
This video was filmed during the closing ceremony of the Los Angeles olympics in 1984. Some ufologists, particularly conspiracy theorist Bill Cooper, have claimed that the saucer was under its own power. Several other individuals have posted online that it is difficult to obtain any information about the "UFO" , e.g. stating that if it was a hoax then one would expect some of those involved to have talked about it but in fact they "cant find any info anywhere".
In fact, as detailed below, the UFO was suggested by the Olympic's Director of Ceremonies, Tommy Walker, as a Ceremonies highlight. He requested the construction of a saucer with hundreds of lights on a 50 foot diameter giant saucer. The saucer was designed by John McGraw and John Miles. Bob Gurr (the designer of many of the rides at Walt Disney's Disneyland) was put in charge of the technical side of this "spaceship". Gurr arranged for Broggie-Elliot Company in North Hollywood to build themain flying saucer structure in a contract with UMF. The Olympic's team had a giant military helicopter that was painted black and flew with no lights of any kind. The spaceship was attached to the helicopter on a 100-foot black cable. The spaceship was reasonably light since it was not solid. It had lights in the outline shape of a spaceship with hollow areas between. Against a black sky, the naked eye perceived it as solid. It featured multicolored flashing lights and a giant spotlight that was powered by a small generator inside the spaceship. The spaceship was escorted by two smaller helicopters hovering around the spaceship, to cover up the sound of the big helicopter carrying the spaceship.
Koi UFO Video 104 : UFO Attacks China (Tanker explosion)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 104 appears to show a UFO causing a large explosion in front of a number of cars on a road, with people running away while talking in Chinese. It begins with a caption stating "May 2014. China SiChuan. Stange UFO causes chaos on the road...". The video has a round logo stating "Section 51" on the bottom right corner.
This video appears on Youtube with titles such as "UFO Attacks China" and "Attack UFO in China may 2014". Many copies of the video appear online, one of which had over 500,000 views as at October 2015.
As discussed below, in fact the video is edited to superimpose a "UFO" on footage of a tanker explosion in China. 5 people died in the relevant explosion. The logo on the video refers to "Section 51", which commonly appears on lists of known/probable hoaxers of UFO videos. "Section 51" is in fact is a a small team that has openly described itself online as "Internet-video creators specialized in dreaming up sci-fi, action YouTube videos, jam-packed with stunning VFX". They offer various incentives for those prepared to provide funding for their projects. For example, in return for a small fee, they offer to take the video of your choice and "we insert an original UFO on it".
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 058 is a video entitled “Case Tape 347". The captions on-screen indicate it was filmed on 14 February 2005 (i.e. on Valentine's Day 2005) and it appears to show a couple seeing a UFO crash while hiking. At the end of the video, a being appears to emerge from the crashed UFO/fireball.
Several copies of this video appear on Youtube (one of which has over 7 MILLION views as at September 2014) as well as on various other websites.
As detailed below, the relevant video is in fact a production by film-makers Kyle Rankin and Efram Potelle, both of whom are (or at least were) associated with Newborn Pictures. They reportedly have shown the film in several sci-fi and fantasy movie festivals since 2005.
The video of these Unidentified Fairground Objects ("UFOs") is frequently posted on Facebook, including in UFO discussion groups. Just in case anyone else wondered about its source, I thought I'd mention that this video (which features excellent special effects) is extracted from German filmmaker Till Nowak’s award-winning short mockumentary ‘The Centrifuge Brain Project’. The mockumentary was about experiments with bizarre amusement rides featuring the fictitious Dr. Nick Laslowicz and his Institute for Centrifugal Research.
Okay, maybe this doesn't belong in a list of infamous "UFO" videos and I'll admit that I've had to invent an acronym to justify included it here. But it is a cool video. Besides, other people regularly post videos of balloons and aircraft on "UFO" websites, so why shouldn't I post whatever the heck I like? :)
As with many hoaxed UFO videos, the abridged copy of the video (which does NOT indicate its true nature or give any credit to the film-maker) has MANY more views than the full video that made its origins clearer. Mystery, like sex, sells. (The fact that Till Nowak is not getting proper credit for this video on Facebook is one of my reasons for covering this video in my series of pages about infamous "UFO" videos...).
Koi UFO Video 059 : 2 Jet fighters escorting UFO (created by Oondyla)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 059 is a video appearing to show two jet fighters escorting a UFO.
As detailed below, it is a hoaxed UFO video signed (pun intended) by the hoaxer, "Oondyla".
Many UFO hoax videos in fact indicate their creator, in the same way that some crop circles were signed by their creators.
Many people that comment on such hoaxes/artwork don't seem aware of the fact that a game is being played, let alone the rules of the game or the identity of the major players in the game...
Koi UFO Video 106 : Small UFO near ground with shadow (Erik van Helvoirt)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 106 appears to show a small rotating UFO with numerous moving claws moving in the sky, giving an almost organic living appearance to the object. It moves around over a small clearing, with a shadow appearing to be cast on the ground.
In fact, as detailed below, this video was created in or around 2009 by Erik van Helvoirt, a talented concept artist at Guerilla Games. In 2015, he kindly provided me with details of the processes he used to create the video. He explained that the video was an exercise for him to composite computer generated objects on to real footage. He created the video in about 20 to 30 hours using several software packages (specifically, Syntheyes, Cinema4d and After Effects). This video has never, to the best of my knowledge, gone viral - despite being more convincing than many "UFO" videos that obtain hundreds of thousands of views. This may be due to the fact that the creator of this particular video, Erik van Helvoirt, has always made it clear that it was created using various software packages. Sadly, many UFO hoaxers are second- (or third-) rate computer graphics artists, creating UFO videos very quickly and with a lack of attention to detail, obtaining lots of views because they add deceptive descriptions to their videos rather than because of the quality of their work. It is all too rare for us to be treated to UFO created by people with a lot of talent or patience likeErik van Helvoirt (although my series of items on infamous UFO videos seeks to focus on the better artists rather than mass producing basic hoaxes...).
Koi UFO Video 060: Alien on stretcher (Ballahack Airsoft)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 060 is a video that zooms in and out of various parts of a still photograph which appears to show an alien on a stretcher, with a gun lying on top of it. Several people in military uniforms are near the stretcher.
The video begins with captions that state that "the military had taken a dead Alien".
A copy of this video on Youtube (posted with the title "UFO Crash, The military had taken a dead Alien") in August 2014 gathered nearly 750,000 views in just its first month online.
In fact, as detailed below, the video shows a rubber dummy used by Ballahack Airsoft for an airsoft scenario entitled "The Nokri incident" (sometimes spelt "Nokiri") in 2014.
(Ballahack Airsoft is the largest airsoft field on the East Coast. "Airsoft" is a sport in which participants eliminate opponents by hitting each other with spherical non-metallic pellets launched via replica firearms called Airsoft guns).
Koi UFO Video 107 : Massive UFO over India, Brazil and China (Jukka Korhonen "V for Victory")
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 107 discusses photographs of a "UFO mothership" that "appears semi-cloaked" which was supposedly seen by "multiple witnesses" over Manipur, India. The relevant photographs prompted several articles online in October 2015, including one on the website of The Express (a British tabloid newspaper). The relevant articles claimed that the photographs were taken in Manipur, India at around 1.30pm on 7 October 2015. Some of the articles claimed that it appeared to be a genuine photograph, and not edited, since a person is seen pointing at the object in one of the pictures. Some articles included very similar photographs said to have been taken over Brazil, China and elsewhere.
In fact, the "UFO mothership" seen in the photographs is a piece of computer artwork created in 2006 by Jukka Korhonen from Finland. He called that piece "V for Victory". (Jukka is a fan of that television series). The photographs circulated online in 2015 simply combine (or "composite") the UFO artwork into mundane photographs. This can be done in a matter of minutes (indeed, sometimes in a matter of seconds) using software such as Adobe's Photoshop. Creating such "composite" images has become much easier in the last few years, with mobile telephone software (or "apps") now being sold which come with images of "UFOs" which can automatically be added to photographs taken with a mobile telephone.
Incidentally, I found that Jukka Korhonen's "V for Victory" was the source of the UFO in these photographs in just a few minutes with kind assistance on Facebook from Curt Collins and Gilles Fernandez. As part of the relevant discussion on Facebook, French researcher Jerome Beau brought to my attention the fact that this UFO mothership" artwork created by Jukka Korhonen forms part of the "EndWar" series released for the "Camera360" mobile telephone app to make it even easier to create fake UFO photos.
It seems to me a bit of a shame that various people published articles about this "UFO mothership", including on the website of a major British newspaper, without similarly doing a few minutes research as due diligence before promoting this nonsense...
Koi UFO Video 061: Haiti UFO with palm trees (David Nicolas)
[DEBUNKED] UFO Video 061 appears to clearly show several craft flying over palm trees.
This video was originally uploaded to Youtube by an individual with the username "Barzolff814" in August 2007. The original title referred to Haiti (although as at October 2014 the video has a title that now refers to Mexico).
The Haiti UFO video has become one of the most-watched UFO videos on Youtube, with over 19.8 million views as at October 2014.
In fact, as discussed below, this video was created by French artist/animator David Nicolas using Vue 6 and other commercially available software on a MacBook Pro.
Koi UFO Video 108 : Alien on Moon ("Bean", mock advert)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 108 shows astronauts planting the US flag on the moon when an alien monster emerges from a crater and attacks them. One astronaut hides behind a rock but is given away when he breaks wind. In unedited versions of the video, the video finishes by showing a can of "Haynes" Baked Beans (sic) with the caption "Not For Astronauts".
On its face, this appears to an advert for baked beans. (Aliens and space are fairly common themes in adverts, with viral advertising being the source of some of the most popular UFO videos). Most copies of the video online have titles such as "Haynes Baked Beans Astronaut Ad".
However, this particular video is not an advert - or at least not an advert for "Haynes" baked beans. There is no such brand of baked beans (although it obviously sounds like, and is presumably intended to sound like, the well-known brand "Heinz"). In fact, this video was uploaded to Youtube by a visual effects and animation company ("Cinesite") in December 2013 to demonstrate their (obviously considerable) creature animation skills. The original copy of the video has received over 13.4 million views as at November 2015. Multiple other copies on Youtube also have numerous views. The video is regularly posted on Facebook in UFO discussion groups and elsewhere.
I found it amusing that we have now reached the stage that instead of merely having adverts which include fake images of aliens, we now have fake adverts with fake images of aliens. Welcome to the world of post-modern viral advertising. :)
Koi UFO Video 064: UFO seen from boat - Galicia, Spain
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 064 is footage of a UFO dropping into (or at least towards) the sea, with a helicopter and military jets flying in the area. The video appears to have been filmed from a boat (which appearing to be a fishing trawler) near Galicia (Spain).
The video was uploaded to Youtube in October 2009. By October 2014, the various copies on Youtube had a total of over 1.5 million views.
In fact, as detailed below, this video was part of a series of hoaxes created as a tribute to Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast by the Spanish "Terra" online media website.
Would you be surprised to hear that copies of a video by the hoaxers explaining how they made their hoaxed footage have a tiny fraction of the number of views of the hoaxed footage??
Koi UFO Video 109 : Ultimate baseball practice (Easton Baseball)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 109 (with "UFO" standing for "Unbelievable Filmed Occurrence", an acronym for which you can credit/blame ufologist Curt Collins...) appears to show two men engaged in baseball batting practice, with four "pitch back" baseball nets set out in a way which allows the baseball to be hit all four nets before making it's way back to the hitter. The original upload of the video has nearly 5 million hits as at November 2015 (with multiple other copies of the video also having substantial numbers of views).
An article on the "Last Angry Fan" website asking whether this video is "fake or not?" refers to the video as showing "some sort of batting practice perpetual motion machine culled from the mind of Ted Williams". Several online articles have questioned the plausibility of the physics involved in the video, with the Deadspin.com website pithily referring to the "egregious sodomy of physics" in the video. As with most UFO videos, even articles that have questioned the validity of the video have generally not gone on to credit the creditors of the video. Personally, I think the creativity involved in such videos deserves to be acknowledged.
In fact, this video was uploaded in August 2011 as part of a viral advertising campaign for Easton Baseball. (The "Easton" name appears prominently on the baseball bats in the relevant video). This video was directed and edited by Ross Harris (a versatile "Director / Photographer / Editor / Creative / VFX artist") with special effects by Joel Fox (who has created segments for the Yo Gabba Gabba show). The other viral video in the relevant advertising campaign is equally amusing, appearing to show someone batting baseballs to hit clay targets being launched from a skeet launcher.
Koi UFO Video 066 : UFO over Nowra, Australia (2010)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 066 appears to show a UFO moving around under clouds in the night sky, lighting up the bottom of those clouds. This video was originally posted online in 2010 with the title "UFO over Nowra, Australia Sept. 17, 2010 **ORIGINAL**".
The video was uploaded with a caption claiming that the footage was real.
In fact, as detailed below, the video shows a RAAF F-111 performing a "dump-and-burn" (in which a fuel dump is ignited) over Brisbane (not Nowra) as part of the Riverfire festival in September 2010. A dump-and-burn is a fuel dump in which the fuel is ignited, intentionally, using the plane's afterburner. A spectacular flame combined with high speed makes this a popular display for air shows or as a finale to a fireworks show. The sound appears to have been deliberately turned off in the "UFO" video to hinder identification of the true nature of the "UFO". After a member of the AboveTopSecret.com discussion forum ("gift0fpr0phecy") gave detailed evidence to support this view (including detailed comparisons between the "UFO" video and footage shot at another location of the "dump-and-burn"), the person that uploaded the video subsequently posted on Youtube that gift0fpr0phecy had been right and "this video is BS" and that he had "had a good lol" (laugh-out-loud). The uploader stated that "challenges are nice once in a while" and that "It's video's like this that separate those of us who have logic and those who don't".
That admission by the video uploader had he "had a good lol" (laugh-out-loud) about his upload and that "it's the last F-11 that will do a dump and burn over Brisbane" has been deleted from the Youtube comments. As with the apparently deliberate removal of the sound, the deletion of that admission appears to be designed to hinder identification of the true source of the video. The video remains on Youtube and continues to get views there.
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 109 (with "UFO" standing for "Unbelievable Filmed Occurrence", an acronym for which you can credit/blame ufologist Curt Collins...) was uploaded to Youtube on 3 August 2009 with the title "MEGAWOOSH - Bruno Kammerl jumps" and it appears to show a man going down a huge waterslide on the side of a hill before launching off a ramp at its base and flying through the air into a small paddling pool.
The original copy of the video had over 6.8 million views on Youtube as at January 2016. There are multiple further copies on Youtube. The video is regularly posted on Facebook, usually with no accompanying text. During 2015, I would estimate that I saw this video being posted (often in UFO discussion groups) about once every week or two.
In fact, the "megawoosh" video was a hoax created as a viral advertisement for Microsoft Germany by advertising agency MRM Germany. It was seeded onto more than 60 websites by viral marketing agency Elbkind, hired by MRM. Within a few days of the video being released on Youtube in August 2009, online discussion of the registration of one of the Megawoosh websites by an employee of the German subsidiary of marketing agency MRM Wordlwide quickly prompted MRM Germany CEO Alexander Ewig to state in a press release (emailed to Gigaom.com on 11 August 2009) that “We developed Megaswoosh as a viral campaign for Microsoft Germany”. Maik Koenigs of Elbkind told Janko Roettgers of Gigaom that the video was a case of creative compositing, combining several elements together to create a final video. Gigaom reported in August 2009 that it had been told that a stuntman slides down the slide, secured by a rope. Then there’s a body flying through the air, which is animated. And finally, the big splash. “He actually jumped from a wooden ramp into the pool,” explained Koenigs. Of course, you don’t get to see any of this in the final clip, thanks to careful editing that makes it look like a single take".
Despite the admission in August 2009 that the video was a viral advert for Microsoft, in 2010 it featured in an episode of Mythbusters (Season 8 Episode 8) in a segment entitled "Waterslide Wipeout". The Mythbusters team "busted" this video on the basis that a person would not have flown through the air to anything like the distance shown in the hoax video. The Mythbusters first built a scale model of the slide, and discovered that the concept was plausible. For some reason, the Mythbusters team neglected to mention that the hoax had been admitted long before they "busted" the video...
The video continues to circulate online. This is one of the best examples of a viral video that refuses to die. Since the video is amusing it continues to circulate in cyberspace even though the events on the video aren't real. Viral videos are simply the latest proof that people don't let the facts get in the way of a good story.
Koi UFO Video 067: Mazsalaca meteorite/UFO crash (Tele2)
[DEBUNKED] : Koi UFO Video 067 appears to show an object burning in a crater. Media around the world (including the BBC) reported the fall of a "meteorite" on the outskirts of the town of Mazsalaca in Latvia.
Some UFO websites suggested that a "UFO" had crashed into the Latvian countryside.
In fact, as discussed below, the Tele2 telecommunications company subsequently admitted that the entire event was a hoax designed by it. The Latvian government was distinctly unamused by the costs it incurred investigating the "crash" and indicated that it would be fining the telecommunications company for the hoax.
Koi UFO Video 111: UFO enters vortex over Large Hadron Collider
Koi UFO Video 111 appears to show some sort of aerial vortex sucking in clouds, which a UFO appears to enter. The video was uploaded to Youtube in December 2015 with a caption stating that it showed a UFO entering an "Interdimensional Portal over Geneva Switzerland - Dec 2015!!!". The video was accompanied by text stating "December 2015 - Geneva, Switzerland. US tourists filmed UFO/strange orb entering Interdimensional Portal in the sky of Geneva, just over CERN area."
The original copy of the video on Youtube had approximately 1.3 million views within the first month of it being online. The video was the subject of an article by a popular British newspaper, The Daily Mail, entitled "What IS going on over the Large Hadron Collider? US tourists claim to have filmed mysterious vortex of clouds and UFO orb of light flying into it above Swiss facility" and an article by another large circulation British tabloid newspaper, The Mirror, entitled "Does amazing video show UFO flying into swirling VORTEX above the Large Hadron Collider?".
In fact, the video was created by "Section 51" (as indicated by the prominent logo on the video). Section 51 have described themselves as small team that of "Internet-video creators specialized in dreaming up sci-fi, action YouTube videos, jam-packed with stunning VFX". They offered various incentives for those prepared to provide funding for their projects. For example, in return for a small fee, they offered to take the video of your choice and "we insert an original UFO on it". Mmm. Well, at least they were open about what they were doing. It is a bit sad that none of the press coverage of the video noted these facts about "Section 51", despite Section 51 putting these admissions on one of their own webpages (and my pointing out this information on my website and on Facebook repeatedly since mid-2015...). Section 51's success, and the lack of critical coverage of their videos, does tempt me to attempt my own UFO video creations...
Koi UFO Video 069 : Canadian Spiral (Kevin Martin)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 069 appears to show a white spiral developing behind a moving white light in a twilight sky. A sound of crickets can be heard on the video.
This video was posted in 2010 by "TheWeatherSpaceNews" with a caption claiming that this "UFO Spiral" had been "seen and heard across Western Canada". One copy of this video on Youtube had over 630,000 views at at March 2015.
In fact, as discussed below, relatively soon after the video was posted in 2010, Kevin Martin admitted that he had posted the video as a hoax to test whether Americans or Europeans were more gullible. The admission of a hoax surprised very few people, since most comments that had been made online regarding the video prior to the admission of a hoax suggested that it showed fairly basic Computer Generated Imagery ("CGI").
More surprising (indeed, incredible...) was Kevin Martin's subsequent claim that his admission of a hoax was false. Even if someone were prepared to give credibility to someone that admitted a hoax then said he had not been telling the truth when admitting a hoax (and also prepared to ignore the similarities of the video to basic CGI...), Kevin Martin's withdrawal of his admission of a hoax would still have to be considered in the light of his other public statements over the years - which include some pretty weird and wonderful "official" weather warnings that prompted the National Weather Service to issue a statement clarifying that Kevin Martin had no connection with it. The material released by Kevin Martin over the years provides more entertainment than it provides grounds for believing anything said by him.
Koi UFO Video 112: "Ball Lightning" UFO over Canberra (2016)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 112 appears to show a large ball of light appearing in the night sky above Canberra, which slowly fades away.
This video obtained approximately 485,000 views within its first 14 days online and featured in various press articles, including on websites of various high-circulation British tabloid newspapers (including The Daily Mail and The Sun). Some commentators on the video suggested it showed a UFO, while others suggested it showed ball lightning.
In fact, the video was a hoax. The hoaxer released a video admitting the hoax within a few days of uploading his original video. The new video was entitled "How i accidently created a hoax". It explained that the creator of the video had bought the Adobe After Effects video editing/compositing software the previous week and he ended up creating a hoaxed video by compositing a daylight shot of Canberra with a night shot of the same area, with footage of northern lights being added to the sky. The "vortex" in the video was a particle simulation created using the free "blender" software package. Additional image manipulation (e.g. shadows and highlights) were performed using Photoshop.
Media coverage of the admission of the hoax was more extensive than usual. I would estimate the number of relevant articles at about half those that covered the original "UFO" video (which is a lot better than usual...) . Similarly, while the number of views of the video admitting the hoax was rather high relative to most such confession videos, it still only received about half as many views as the original "UFO" video. I would be prepared to wager that the "UFO" video will circulate on Facebook and elsewhere during the coming year/years whereas the video admitting the hoax is considerably less likely to be remembered.
Koi UFO Video 070: F14B Tomcat / UFO Recovery ("The Orion Conspiracy")
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 070 ("The Orion Conspiracy") shows various still photographs (including the one below), apparently as part of a slide show in a secret briefing.
Some of those still photos (particularly the one below) have become popular on social media website such as Facebook.
As detailed below, the video is in fact a short fictional movie by Seb Janiak (a French photographer and director) containing numerous hoaxed photos (some of which were created for the video whereas others were hoaxes borrowed from other sources).
Koi UFO Video 114 : Alien caught on tape in sewer in England (What not to flush)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 114 appears to show a strange alien creature in a sewer under Liverpool, England. That creature appears to have glowing eyes as it peers around a corner.
The video was featured on the website of a newspaper in Liverpool, The Liverpool Echo, on 1 April 2011 under the title "Merseyside sewer monster hunt, after mysterious beast seen on CCTV". One copy of the video uploaded to Youtube had over 1.6 million views as at May 2016.
In fact, the date of the upload was a clue to the true nature of this video. It was an April Fool's Day joke by a Liverpool newspaper (The Liverpool Echo) and a water company, United Utilities. The joke was admitted the following day, on 2 April 2011. Weeks later, the video appeared on some UFO websites in stories which completely ignored the admission of the joke. Several years later, some people continue to leave comments on copies of the video on Youtube expressing opinions as to what the video shows (again, without referring to the admission of the joke...).
It remains to be seen whether this alien April Fool's Day joke continues to circulate after more than 50 years, as is the case with some previous April Fool's Day UFO hoaxes - such as Koi Alien Photo 01 and Koi Alien Photo 02 (both April Fool's Day hoaxes published in Germany in 1950 and both admitted to be a hoax a few days later, but which both continue to be included in UFO literature without any reference to the actual sources of the photos nor the admissions of a prank).
Koi UFO Video 071: "The Captive Gray" (Philipe Kling David)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 071 appears to show a stereotypical "grey" alien in a dark room making some unintelligible sounds, while Portuguese is spoken.
In fact, as discussed below, the "Captive Gray" videos were CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) artwork by Brazilian CGI artist Philipe Kling David . The videos were created by him as part of his story called "O relato de um MIB" ("The report of a MIB"). The video was created by Philipe Kling David using the 3dsMax software package, on a weekend.
Koi UFO Video 115 : Disgusting alien lifeform in North Carolina sewer (Tubifex worm colony)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 115 (which is not for the squeamish...) appears to show a horrible pulsating lifeform in a sewer in North Carolina.
Numerous copies of this video exist on Youtube, one of which (entitled "Unknown Lifeform in North Carolina Sewer!") had over 9.8 million views as at May 2016. The video of this nightmarish blob featured on numerous news websites in 2009. The media coverage in 2009 was universal in acknowledging the nightmarish nature of the video. A typical report, on the website of The Metro (a British newspaper), referred to the "sinister, pulsating, fleshy mounds of ichorous slime, which seem to be breathing in and out, and occasionally clench like a traumatised sphincter".
Apart from an alien lifeform and "alien egg sac", initial speculation included bryozoans, cnidarians and slime molds. In fact, this video was filmed by Malphrus Construction (a large construction firm in North Carolina) after it was contracted by York Properties, the owner of the sewer lines in the city of Raleigh in North Carolina, to inspect some sewer lines. Malphrus confirmed to the media in 2009 that the video is genuine. After quite a few different ideas were discussed in 2009 (e.g. bryzoans), expert views were sought and a very strong consensus emerged fairly rapidly that the video showed tubifex worms - a consensus that can be readily understood when watching some (pretty disgusting) videos of tubifex worms. (Many more recent online comments about this video appear to made without any awareness of the discussions in 2009, the relevant consensus that emerged or the reasons for it...).
Koi UFO Video 072 : Green Sphere (The Faking Hoaxer)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 72 appears to show a rotating green sphere moving in the sky, passing behind tree branches.
The creator of the video, an individual with the username "The Faking Hoaxer", posted a video giving an explanation of how he created the green sphere footage using compositing and video editing techniques. He has made a number of other impressive "UFO" videos, which he accompanies with statements that they are hoaxes. He has stated in interviews that he sometimes gets accused of hoaxing his hoaxes, i.e. suggestions that they are in fact real footage, despite showing how he created his videos. He has expressed rather dim views of "UFO nutters", who believe hoaxed videos because "they want to believe".
Koi UFO Video 116 : Teleporting girl or alien (Zhu Xian 2 computer game)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 116 appears to show someone teleporting a man on a rickshaw to safety when a truck rapidly approaches. Two copies of this video on Youtube have over 8 million views EACH as at May 2016, one of which is accompanied by text stating "Superhuman person or alien saves a man on a motorbike from complete destruction by teleporting him a few meters away in less than a second, and then flees the scene as quickly as possible". Most of the numerous copies of the video on Youtube include the words "teleportation", "alien" and/or "angel" in their title.
(Online discussions of the video usually refer to the rickshaw as a "bicycle" or "motorbike"...)
In fact, this video was made as part of a promotional campaign for an online video game, "Zhu Xian 2", by the Chinese based company "Perfect World" involving the character "Dragon Totem Girl". The video prominently featured a logo associated with that game and the video appeared on a website promoting that game.
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 073 appears to show a ring shaped flying object.
As discussed below, this video shows Linn Murphy operating a 3 foot ring-shaped remote controlled toy aircraft designed by Steve Zingali. Local media coverage in Orange County from 2007 suggests that the model aircraft "spiked Orange County's unidentified flying object sightings for the past three years" and had "fooled thousands" - although in fact I have so far been unable to find any "UFO" videos showing the model aircraft other than those put online to promote sales of the toy aircraft. I wonder if there was an element of hype involved by those selling the relevant toy aircraft. The toy aircraft was sold for US$ 1,000.
Koi UFO Video 117 : UFOs over Ramsgate Beach, South Africa (Blue Angels)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 117 appears to show UFOs flying over a beach. One of them flies so low it appears to make numerous beach umbrellas fly into the air. The video has a round logo stating "Section 51" on the bottom right corner. A caption on the video claims that it shows "two strange UFOs flying over Ramsgate Beach".
This video obtained over 127,000 views in the first few days after it was uploaded to Youtube at the end of May 2016 with the title "Amazing Footage shows UFOs flying over people in SOUTH AFRICA !!! May 2016".
As discussed below, in fact the video is edited to replace jet aircraft from the Blue Angels (the United States Navy's flight demonstration squadron) with computer generated "UFOs". The source footage of the Blue Angels was uploaded to Youtube on 11 July 2015, i.e. long before the "UFO" video was uploaded and allegedly filmed in May 2016.The Blue Angels participated in the Pensacola Beach Air Show on 11 July 2015. The original Blue Angels footage also made the headlines on various websites (including an article by The Daily Mail) in July 2015. (Ironically, the Daily Mail regularly publishes hoaxed UFO videos so - as at the time of writing this item in early June 2016 - I am currently waiting to see if that newspaper publishes this particular hoaxed UFO footage without referring to its own earlier story showing the original non-UFO footage...). By the time the UFO video was uploaded, the original footage had over 6 million views on Youtube.
Notably, the logo on the "UFO" video refers to "Section 51", a name which commonly appears on lists of known/probable hoaxers of UFO videos. "Section 51" is in fact is a a small team that has openly described itself online as "Internet-video creators specialized in dreaming up sci-fi, action YouTube videos, jam-packed with stunning VFX". They offered various incentives for those prepared to provide funding for their projects. For example, in return for a small fee, they offer to take the video of your choice and "we insert an original UFO on it".
Koi UFO Video 074 : UFO landing in New Mexico (by Oondyla)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 074 is a video appearing to show a UFO filmed from a moving vehicle. The UFO appears to go behind several buildings.
One copy of the video on Youtube (with the title "UFO landing in New Mexico") has over half a million views as at October 2014.
As detailed below, this is one of several hoaxed UFO video signed (pun intended) by the hoaxer, CGI artist "Oondyla". Other UFO viral videos created by Oondyla (and also signed by him) include one appearing to show two jets escorting a UFO (see Koi UFO Video 059). Both video have a sign with "Oondyla" on it. In the case of the jet video, the name appears on a road sign. In the case of the "UFO landing in New Mexico" video, the name clearly appears on a sign on a building in the foreground of the video.
Koi UFO Video 118 : Hexagonal UFO over Rio De Janeiro (Section 51)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 118 begins by appearing to show a 6 sided (hexagonal) black UFO hovering over the sea with a helicopter slowly moving away from it. Other footage showing the same UFO is then shown in the video. A caption at the beginning of the video states "-May 2016 - Brazil, Rio De Janeiro - Massive UFO Flying Over Rio De Janeiro during few minutes". A logo in the UFO video refers to "Section 51",
This video was posted online at the end of May 2016 by "Section 51" with the title "Massive UFO SIGHTING spotted over RIO DE JANEIRO !!! May 2016". Text accompanying the video stated "May 2016 - Brazil, Rio de Janeiro. Different videos show massive UFO flying over the beach of Rio de Janeiro."
This video obtained over 70,000 views in its first few days online.
As discussed below, the hexagonal UFO has been added to footage of a helicopter flying over Lagoa, Rio de Janeiro that has been on Youtube since April 2014 (i.e. 2 years before the UFO video was uploaded...). Rights to use that helicopter footage have been sold during those 2 years by Stockfootage.com.
As I've been trying to point out to the UFO community since about the middle of 2015, "Section 51" is a small team that has previously describe THEMSELVES as "Internet-video creators specialized in dreaming up sci-fi, action YouTube videos, jam-packed with stunning VFX". They offer various incentives for those prepared to provide funding for their projects. For example, in return for a small fee, they offer to take the video of your choice and "we insert an original UFO on it". Few of the discussions of Section 51's videos mention these facts, which I consider rather important to any meaningful assessment of the reliability of the many "UFO" videos posted by "Section 51" - several of which I have previously discussed...
Koi UFO Video 075: Los Rosques UFOs (Manbird12000 - Damien White)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 075 is footage which appears to show a large saucer-shaped craft flying over a building and a number of palm trees. A caption at the beginning of the video asserts that the footage was "taken from Los Rosques Isla los rosques at 8.32pm" on 15 August 2007.
The earliest copy of this video on Youtube was uploaded by "Manbird12000" on 15 August 2007. That video has had over 2 million years as at October 2014. Other copies of the video have also been posted on Youtube and elsewhere.
In fact, as discussed below, the video was created by Damien White, a "visual/audio/musical artist" and "visual effects creator and composer", in the USA. He has posted CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) videos on Youtube as part of his efforts to seek funding for a science fiction movie. It was created by Damien White using the Vue6 software, i.e. the same software used by French artist/animator David Nicolas to create the better-known Haiti UFO video.
Koi UFO Video 120 : Sphere UFOs over Bosnia (Section 51)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 120 appears to show several spherical UFOs hovering over a town which has a river flowing through the middle of it. A caption at the beginning of the video states "April 2016 - Bosnia & Herzegovina, Mostar - Mysterious Sphere UFOs spotted flying over the village...". A logo on the UFO video refers to "Section 51".
This video was posted online in late April 2016 by "Section 51" with the title "SPHERE UFOs fly over BOSNIA !!! April 2016". Text accompanying the video stated "April 2016 - Bosnia, Mostar. Sphere UFOs were filmed by tourist while flying over the village of Mostar few weeks after the discovery of mysterious giant sphere near Zavidovici."
This is one of Section 51's more basic videos and has been less successful than most of the other videos on this channel. After about 6 weeks online, this video still had been viewed less than 17,000 views times (which is a very modest number by Section 51's usual standards of success).
As discussed below, the spherical UFOs have been added to a photograph of Mostar, a city in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The relevant photo is featured in a video of Mostar produced by a travel agency ("Balkan Tour"). The angles of the items in the photographs and the shadows can be seen to be the same in the "UFO" video. The background in the "UFO" video has been cropped just above the travel agency's logo that appeared in the source footage.
As I've been trying to point out to the UFO community since about the middle of 2015, "Section 51" is a small team that has previously describe THEMSELVES as "Internet-video creators specialized in dreaming up sci-fi, action YouTube videos, jam-packed with stunning VFX". They offer various incentives for those prepared to provide funding for their projects. For example, in return for a small fee, they offer to take the video of your choice and "we insert an original UFO on it". Few of the discussions of Section 51's videos mention these facts, which I consider rather important to any meaningful assessment of the reliability of the many "UFO" videos posted by "Section 51" - several of which I have previously discussed...
Koi UFO Video 076: Stuttgart UFO attacks truck and flies into tunnel (Petronas adverts)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 076 appears to be a news report on the "PNC" television channel about a UFO lifting a truck off a road near Stuttgart, Germany. This footage is sometimes combined with a related video showing a "UFO" flying into a tunnel. Versions of the video are also online appearing to show the relevant footage on a Japanese television channel.
In fact, as discussed below, these "UFO" videos were produced by Malaysian production company Director's Think Tank as part of a science-fiction themed advertising campaign created by Leo Burnett for Petronas (a Malaysian energy company) and AMG Mercedes (which has its headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany). This has kindly been confirmed to me by Watchmen Productions, a German company that had provided local film services in Stuttgart for the filming of the main commercials in the advertising campaign and "team members were asked to help out spontaneously as 'cameo' actors for a teaser video".
Koi UFO Video 121 : UFOs over Montsegur Castle, France (Section 51)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 121 appears to show a UFO slowly hovering passed a castle. A caption at the beginning of the video states "February 2016 - France, Montsegur - Mysterious UFO flying over the castle of Montsegur...". A logo on the UFO video refers to "Section 51".
This video was posted online in early May 2016 by "Section 51" with the title "UFO SIGHTING spotted over Montsegur Castle - France !!! Febr 2016". Text accompanying the video stated "February 2016 - France, Montsegur. Amazing footage filmed by hiker showing mysterious UFO flying over the castle of Montsegur."
This is one of Section 51's more basic videos and has been less successful than most of the other videos on this channel. After about 6 weeks online, this video still had been viewed less than 19,000 views times (which is a very modest number by Section 51's usual standards of success).
As discussed below, the UFO has been added to a video of Montsegur Castle posted online in June 2013 (i.e. about 3 years before the "UFO" video...) by "SkilledSniper666". The original footage was accompanied by text which stated "View from the walls of Montsegur Castle III with commentary on the book by Svetlana Levashov - "Revelation". Panorama is from the walls of the castle Montségur III with the following comments The book of the Svetlana Levashov ", Revelation". English subtitles available."
As I've been trying to point out to the UFO community since about the middle of 2015, "Section 51" is a small team that has previously describe THEMSELVES as "Internet-video creators specialized in dreaming up sci-fi, action YouTube videos, jam-packed with stunning VFX". They offer various incentives for those prepared to provide funding for their projects. For example, in return for a small fee, they offer to take the video of your choice and "we insert an original UFO on it". Few of the discussions of Section 51's videos mention these facts, which I consider rather important to any meaningful assessment of the reliability of the many "UFO" videos posted by "Section 51" - several of which I have previously discussed...
Koi UFO Video 077: Alien attacks police officer (4400)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 077 appears to be footage from a dashboard camera (a "dashcam") showing a police officer approaching a car and then being incinerated.
This video appears online with titles such as "alien attacks police officer CNN BREAKING NEWS" and "Alien attacks police officer".
A copy of the video on Youtube uploaded by John Hutchison in July 2011 has over 3.8 million views as at October 2014.
In fact, as detailed below, the video was one of the "Promicin" series of online videos created to advertise a new season of the science-fiction series "The 4400".
Koi UFO Video 122 : US Navy Pilots film UFO over Pacific Ocean (Section 51)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 122 appears to show a UFO slowly hovering in the distance beyond some aircraft taking off from a naval vessel. A caption at the beginning of the video states "May 2016 - Pacific Ocean, Hawaii Area - US Navy Pilots filmed strange disc-shaped UFO flying over the Ocean". A logo on the UFO video refers to "Section 51".
This video was posted online in early May 2016 by "Section 51" with the title "US Navy Pilots filmed disc-shaped UFO over Pacific Ocean !!! May 2016". Text accompanying the video stated "May 2016 - Pacific Ocean, Hawaii Area. Exclusive footage from US Navy pilots show strange disc-shaped UFO flying over the ocean and suddenly leaving very fast its guests"
This video obtained over 194,000 views within its first 4 weeks online.
As discussed below, the UFO has been added to a video of the USS Boxer (a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship of the United States Navy). The video of USS Boxer was posted on 3 March 2016 on the Military.com website, i.e. several weeks before the "UFO" video was uploaded (indeed, several weeks before the "UFO" video was supposedly filmed...). The slightly unusual aircraft seen taking off from the naval vessel is a MV-22 Osprey.
As I've been trying to point out to the UFO community since about the middle of 2015, "Section 51" is a small team that has previously described THEMSELVES as "Internet-video creators specialized in dreaming up sci-fi, action YouTube videos, jam-packed with stunning VFX". They offered various incentives for those prepared to provide funding for their projects. For example, in return for a small fee, they offer to take the video of your choice and "we insert an original UFO on it". Few of the discussions of Section 51's videos mention these facts, which I consider rather important to any meaningful assessment of the reliability of the many "UFO" videos posted by "Section 51" - several of which I have previously discussed...
Koi UFO Video 078: Joke UFO over water (Trident missile launch)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 078 is an obvious joke, but since it has over 10 MILLION views on Youtube (as at October 2014), I thought I'd briefly cover it in my series of webpages on infamous "UFO" videos. This video appears to show a very large stereotypical flying saucer lifting off from a sea, with a rocket flame appearing to emerge from its underside.
I hesitate to say this video has been debunked since it was always clearly intended to be just a joke. The text accompanying the video says "(The "Einstein Award" goes to all of you who say it's "fake" lol)".
This video, in case anyone needed an explanation, is in fact an edited version of a Trident submarine missile launch. The creator of the footage ("TimelessDimensions") has also uploaded various other joke videos, including a version of this video which has a cow being superimposed over the missile in the same footage and also videos entitled "Zebra & Elephant breeding fail" and "Horse & Sheep breeding fail".
Koi UFO Video 124 : UFO Fleet in Area 51 (Section 51)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 124 appears to show several UFOs hovering above hangars in Area 51. A caption at the beginning of the video states "April 2016 - USA, Area 51 - Exclusive pictures showing three UFOs hovering over military hangars...". A logo on the UFO video refers to "Section 51".
This video was posted online on 11 April 2016 by "Section 51" with the title "UFO FLEET filmed in AREA 51 !!! April 2016". Text accompanying the video stated "April 2016 - USA, Area 51. New footage showing three huge UFOs hovering over hangars in area 51."
This video obtained over 400,000 views within its first two months online.
As detailed below, the "UFOs" have been added to a video of Area 51 uploaded to Youtube by "DAHB00777" in July 2015. That original video was taken from the top of Tikaboo Peak, 26 miles from Area 51, and did not show any UFOs. The angles (and, indeed, the cloud formations near the end of the original video) match those in the "UFO" video. Thus, the source footage was on Youtube nearly a year before the "UFO" video was purportedly filmed and uploaded.
As I've been trying to point out to the UFO community since about the middle of 2015, "Section 51" is a small team that has previously described THEMSELVES as "Internet-video creators specialized in dreaming up sci-fi, action YouTube videos, jam-packed with stunning VFX". They offered various incentives for those prepared to provide funding for their projects. For example, in return for a small fee, they offer to take the video of your choice and "we insert an original UFO on it". Few of the discussions of Section 51's videos mention these facts, which I consider rather important to any meaningful assessment of the reliability of the many "UFO" videos posted by "Section 51" - several of which I have previously discussed...
Koi UFO Video 079: UFO behind clouds (Brazilian marketing)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 079 appears to show someone stopping driving a car to film a UFO behind some clouds. After a flash of light, a smaller object dropping below the clouds towards the ground.
One of the copies of this video on Youtube (with the title "UFO Hiding behind the cloud São Paulo, Brazil 24 Feb 2011") has over 250,000 views as at October 2014.
In fact, as discussed below, this video was a hoax created by Atitude Comunicação, a Brazilian marketing firm, as part of a viral advertisement for Atitude Media Box (the Brazilian partner of German company PizzBoxx) - which sell advertising on pizza boxes.
Koi UFO Video 126 : Russian pilot encounters 2 UFOs (Section 51)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 126 appears to show two UFOs fly passed a jet flying high above the Earth. A caption at the beginning of the video states "July 2016 - Russia, Kursk area - Russian military pilot reported a close encounter with two UFOs filmed by on-board camera...". A logo on the UFO video refers to "Section 51".
This video was posted online on 14 July 2016 by "Section 51" with the title "Russian Pilot reported close encounter with Two UFOs !!! July 2016". Text accompanying the video stated "July 2016 - Russia, Kursk area - 60,000ft. Russian military pilot reported a close encounter with two UFOs, they were filmed by on-board camera."
This video obtained over 400,000 views within its first month online.
As detailed below, the "UFOs" have been added to a video entitled "MiG-29 Edge of Space flight - Outside camera #2 - full length" of a MiG 29 uploaded to Youtube by "MiGFlug" in October 2015. This was a popular video on Youtube months before the UFO video was supposedly filmed. Thus, the source footage was on Youtube for approximately 9 months before the "UFO" video was purportedly filmed and uploaded. It has received over 1.6 million views by the end of August 2016.
As I've been trying to point out to the UFO community since about the middle of 2015, "Section 51" is a small team that has previously described THEMSELVES as "Internet-video creators specialized in dreaming up sci-fi, action YouTube videos, jam-packed with stunning VFX". They offered various incentives for those prepared to provide funding for their projects. For example, in return for a small fee, they offer to take the video of your choice and "we insert an original UFO on it". Few of the discussions of Section 51's videos mention these facts, which I consider rather important to any meaningful assessment of the reliability of the many "UFO" videos posted by "Section 51" - several of which I have previously discussed...
Koi UFO Video 080: "UFO Over Santa Clarita" (Meni Tsirbas and Gnomon School)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 080 appears to show someone driving on a road through a desert when a UFO flies over the car and towards some power lines before a large UFO mothership suddenly appears and then disappears.
One copy of the video on Youtube has over 1.5 million views as at October 2014.
In fact, as discussed below, the video was a hoax directed by Canadian visual effects artists Aristomenis Tsirbas ("Meni Tsirbas") of MeniThings Productions in partnership with the Gnomon School of Visual Effects. Meni was responsible for direction, animation and lighting. Gnomon School students were assigned concept design, modeling and texturing. All the elements of the video are CGI ("Computer Generated Imagery"), including the landscape, sky, car and power-lines.
Koi UFO Video 127: Alien Interview - 1964 (Meni Tsirbas)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 127 appears to show an alien-looking being being interviewed. That being claims to be an "evolutionary descendant" of humans, from our future.
As at August 2016, one copy of the video on Youtube has approximately 0.5 million views and one copy of this video on Facebook has now got over 3 million views, having been shared 143,058 times.
Whitley Strieber (author of the book "Communion") wrote an article about this video on 21 August 2016 entitled "Profound Wisdom from an 'Alien Video' by Whitley Strieber" which stated "The material presented in this video is consistent with what I have learned in my close encounter experience over the past 30 years".
In fact, as discussed below, the various copies of this video can easily be traced back to an original upload to Youtube on 6 July 2016 by Canadian visual effects artists Aristomenis Tsirbas ("Meni Tsirbas") of MeniThings Productions. Meni Tsirbas has been a digital artist on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, various movies (including Hellboy and Titanic) and other projects. This is not his first excursion into the field of ufology. Meni was responsible for direction, animation and lighting of another well-known UFO hoax (see "UFO over Santa Clarita" on the page Koi UFO Video 080). He admitted that hoax and posted a video effects breakdown of it years ago and is well known as the creator of viral/hoax videos. His other uploads to the same Youtube account include an amusing viral video of a flying car. I find it somewhat bemusing that anyone could spent 5 minutes watching the video but not bother spending 1 minute looking into the uploader of the video, which would easily reveal these facts. I'm regularly bemused by the conduct of some people in ufology... So many things within ufology are the basis of speculation when a little bit of work reveals relevant facts. This applies to government documents in various archives as much as it does to "UFO" videos on Youtube. :)
Koi UFO Video 081: M5 Motorway Jet Chase (UK 2010)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 081 appears to show a UFO hovering above some parked trucks alongside a road. Two jets appear to fly passed the UFO.
This video was discussed in articles by The Sun and The Daily Mail newspapers during 2010, as well as in the media in several other countries. One copy of the video on Youtube has nearly 1 million views. Nick Pope told The Sun: ‘This is one of the best videos I’ve seen'
Koi UFO Video 129 : Air Force One escorted by UFO (Section 51)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 129 appears to show two UFOs flying alongside Air Force 1. A caption on the video states "August 2016 - USA Seattle - Air Force One Escorted By TR-3B UFO...". A logo on the UFO video refers to "Section 51".
This video was posted online in August 2016 by "Section 51". While virtually other Section 51 videos remain online indefinitely (even if clearly established as hoaxes), this video was taken down fairly quickly (possibly because of a copyright claim by the owner of the source footage onto which the "UFOs" had been superimposed). Copies of the video remain on other Youtube channels. For example, a copy on the "Alien 2016" channel on Youtube is accompanied by text stating "AIR FORCE ONE escorted by UFO TR 3B !!! August 2016".
As detailed below, a Youtube user ("ATCFDrrummer") found that the "UFOs" have been added to a video entitled "Air Force One - Chicago O'Hare ( ORD ) Approach & Landing [11.25.2014]" of Air Force One, uploaded to Youtube by "joseg2143" in November 2014. This was a reasonably popular video on Youtube well over a year before the UFO video was supposedly filmed. The source video had received over 0.3 million views by September 2016.
As I've been trying to point out to the UFO community since about the middle of 2015, "Section 51" is a small team that has previously described THEMSELVES as "Internet-video creators specialized in dreaming up sci-fi, action YouTube videos, jam-packed with stunning VFX". They offered various incentives for those prepared to provide funding for their projects. For example, in return for a small fee, they offer to take the video of your choice and "we insert an original UFO on it". Few of the discussions of Section 51's videos mention these facts, which I consider rather important to any meaningful assessment of the reliability of the many "UFO" videos posted by "Section 51" - several of which I have previously discussed...
Koi UFO Video 082: "Rubber Johnny" alien video (Chris Cunningham)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 082 appears to show a humanoid figure with a very large head. In some shots the figure is seated in a wheelchair. One copy of relevant footage with the title "E.T Capturado Pela Nasa" (Portuguese for E.T Captured By NASA) has over 2.6 million views as at October 2014. Another copy entitled "THE REAL LEAKED ALIEN FOOTAGE! WARNING: DISTURBING VIDEO" has over 1.7 million views. The video is regularly posted on UFO discussion forums and Facebook pages, inspiring many comments about the "creepy" and "disturbing" nature of the footage.
As detailed below, the footage in this video is extracted from a music video entitled "Rubber Johnny". The video was directed by Chris Cunningham and features music by Aphex Twin. The full video lasts 6 minutes and shows the relevant figure talking and dancing. The humanoid figure in the video is in fact the director, Chris Cunningham, wearing prosthetic makeup created by Neill Gorton.
Koi UFO Video 130 : Orb Fleet filmed by US Fighter Pilots (Section 51)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 130 appears to show balls of light near a fighter plane. A caption on the video states "August 2016 - USA Oregon - US Pilots Of F15 Fighter Jet Filmed Strange UFO Orb Fleet...". A logo on the UFO video refers to "Section 51".
This video was posted online in August 2016 by "Section 51" with the title "UFO ORB FLEET filmed by US fighter pilots !!! August 2016". It received over 100,000 views in its first month online.
As detailed below, a Youtube user ("ATCFDrrummer") found that the "UFOs" have been added to a video entitled "Luchtgevecht F-16 en F-15 boven Noordzee", uploaded to Youtube by "defensie" in June 2015. This was a reasonably popular video on Youtube over a year before the UFO video was supposedly filmed. The source video had received nearly 0.6 million views by September 2016.
As I've been trying to point out to the UFO community since about the middle of 2015, "Section 51" is a small team that has previously described THEMSELVES as "Internet-video creators specialized in dreaming up sci-fi, action YouTube videos, jam-packed with stunning VFX". They offered various incentives for those prepared to provide funding for their projects. For example, in return for a small fee, they offer to take the video of your choice and "we insert an original UFO on it". Few of the discussions of Section 51's videos mention these facts, which I consider rather important to any meaningful assessment of the reliability of the many "UFO" videos posted by "Section 51" - several of which I have previously discussed...
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 084 appears to show a meteor-like object in the night sky, emitting sparks and frequently changing direction. This is one of several very similar videos that are regularly posted on UFO discussion forums.
In fact, as discussed below, the video shows night skydivers with magnesium flares. Videos of some night-time parachute jumps (by teams such as the US Army Golden Knights team) are included below.
One of the problems within ufology is someone saying that a certain explanation (e.g. a meteor) does not explain the evidence, when no-one ever suggested that it was in fact a meteor! Basically, a "straw-man explanation" is set up and then attacked - rather than all possible explanations given proper consideration.
It is also amusing to note that many of the discussions of the above video immediately jumped to the conclusion that it clearly shows CGI (Computer Generated Imagery), when in fact that explanation is completely wrong. Some people have now become so jaded by "UFO" videos that, in the absence of any other conclusion being obvious to them, simply conclude it must be hoaxed footage. In fact, many "UFO" videos and photographs are not hoaxed but are simply misinterpretations of mundane objects or put online out of context (whether innocently or deliberately) .
Koi UFO Video 131 : UFO over Baalbeck (Section 51)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 131 appears to show a strange object hovering over the ruins of Baalbeck. A caption on the video states "July 2016 - Lebanon Baalbeck - Strange UFO filmed by searchers over megalithic stone...". A logo on the UFO video refers to "Section 51".
This video was posted online in July 2016 by "Section 51" with the title "Mysterious UFO over BAALBECK !!! July 2016". Possibly because the quality of this hoax is lower than that in most videos posted by Section 51, this video received a relatively modest number of views (only approximately 20,000 views in its first two months online).
As detailed below, a Youtube user ("ATCFDrummer") found that the "UFOs" have been added to a video entitled "Megalithic Enigmas Of Baalbek Lebanon: Part 1 Of 4: Quarry 1", uploaded to Youtube by "Brien Foerster" in May 2015. The source video was a reasonably popular video on Youtube over a year before the UFO video was supposedly filmed. The source video had received a quarter of a million views by September 2016.
As I've been trying to point out to the UFO community since about the middle of 2015, "Section 51" is a small team that has previously described THEMSELVES as "Internet-video creators specialized in dreaming up sci-fi, action YouTube videos, jam-packed with stunning VFX". They offered various incentives for those prepared to provide funding for their projects. For example, in return for a small fee, they offer to take the video of your choice and "we insert an original UFO on it". Few of the discussions of Section 51's videos mention these facts, which I consider rather important to any meaningful assessment of the reliability of the many "UFO" videos posted by "Section 51" - several of which I have previously discussed...
Koi UFO Video 085 appears to show a triangular craft causing a large explosion, with a tank in the foreground. It was uploaded to Youtube in May 2014 with a caption stating that it US marines had filmed a mysterious UFO attacking a Taliban cam in the Asadabad District of Afghanistan in March 2014. Many of the early comments on the video speculated that it should a TR-3B (a secret flying triangle aircraft operated by the US Air Force).
One copy of the video on Youtube has approximately 2.5 million views as at October 2014. The video was the subject of an article by a popular British newspaper, The Daily Mail.
In fact, the "triangular craft" was CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) inserted into footage of an explosion which had been online since 2007, i.e. for about 7 years before the "UFO" event supposedly occurred. The original footage is embedded below. Behind the Youtube username that uploaded this "UFO" video (i.e. Section 51) is a small team that describe themselves as "Internet-video creators specialized in dreaming up sci-fi, action YouTube videos, jam-packed with stunning VFX". They offer various incentives for those prepared to provide funding for their projects. For example, in return for a small fee, they offer to take the video of your choice and "we insert an original UFO on it".
Koi UFO Video 132 : Huge UFOs overs over Dresden (Section 51)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 132 appears to show several UFOs hovering over German city of Dresden. A caption on the video states "June 2016 - Germany Dresden - Huge UFOs Appear Over The City During Bilderberg Meeting...". A logo on the UFO video refers to "Section 51".
This video was posted online in June 2016 by "Section 51" with the title "Huge UFOs over DRESDEN during BILDERBERG Meeting !!! June 2016". It had received over 163,000 views by September 2016.
As detailed below, Scott Brando let me know that a Facebook user ("Diego de la Vega") had helpfully posted on Scott's "UFO of Interest" page that the "UFOs" have been added to a video entitled "Dresden - Zwinger Frauenkirche downtown 4K ultra HD Germany", uploaded to Youtube by "ebs" in December 2015. The source video of Dresden had only received about 6,000 views by September 2016.
As I've been trying to point out to the UFO community since about the middle of 2015, "Section 51" is a small team that has previously described THEMSELVES as "Internet-video creators specialized in dreaming up sci-fi, action YouTube videos, jam-packed with stunning VFX". They offered various incentives for those prepared to provide funding for their projects. For example, in return for a small fee, they offer to take the video of your choice and "we insert an original UFO on it". Few of the discussions of Section 51's videos mention these facts, which I consider rather important to any meaningful assessment of the reliability of the many "UFO" videos posted by "Section 51" - several of which I have previously discussed...
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 087 appears to show a ring of lights in the night sky above some trees, with lights appearing to fly in and out the ring formation. The video has a caption indicating it was filmed in Phoenix (Arizona) on 5th June 2005.
The video was posted in 2005 and gained considerable publicity, including via the rense.com website. The publicity prompted supportive comments from various ufologists and video editing experts, including David Sereda (famous for his analysis of NASA "UFO" videos).
In fact, Brian Bessent confessed in 2006 that he had hoaxed the video. He posted a diatribe on his ufotheatre.com website about the gullibility of the UFO community. He explained that he hoaxed UFO videos to make money and that this was very easy to do. He referred, in particular, to his use of the "Bryce" animation software plus "stoner techniques", which involved him getting stoned before filming. Apart from getting stoned before making his videos, he referred to getting stoned using the money he made from his videos - commenting that he "made thousands and bought hella dank .. and bongs shit i smoked so much i think i nearly died ... all thanks to rense!".
Brian Bessent commented that "making money off UFOs requires no talent other than a slightly higher intelligence than that of your intended market".
Koi UFO Video 133 : Large UFO over Iraq (Section 51)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 133 appears to show several soldiers in a desert looking at a large UFO hovering in the distance. A caption on the video states "September 2016 - Iraq, Bazian Area - US Soldiers Recon Squad Sent To Confirm Huge UFO Hovering Over Village...". A logo on the UFO video refers to "Section 51".
This video was posted online in September 2016 by "Section 51" with the title "Large UFO appears over IRAQ !!! Sept 2016". It had received over 73,000 views within its first week online.
As detailed below, Scott Brando let me know that he had found the source footage to which the "UFO" had been added. The source video (without any "UFO"...) had been online since October 2013 - i.e. nearly 3 years before the "UFO" was supposedly filmed and uploaded.
As I've been trying to point out to the UFO community since about the middle of 2015, "Section 51" is a small team that has previously described THEMSELVES as "Internet-video creators specialized in dreaming up sci-fi, action YouTube videos, jam-packed with stunning VFX". They offered various incentives for those prepared to provide funding for their projects. For example, in return for a small fee, they offer to take the video of your choice and "we insert an original UFO on it". Few of the discussions of Section 51's videos mention these facts, which I consider rather important to any meaningful assessment of the reliability of the many "UFO" videos posted by "Section 51" - several of which I have previously discussed...
Koi UFO Video 088: Cape of Good Hope, South Africa (2003) - Chris Oakley
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 088 appears to show a flying saucer hovering above the sea near a beach. The video has a caption indicating it was filmed on 19th September 2003. The video is usual accompanied by a description stating that it was filmed over the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) on 19 September 2003.
Quite a few copies of this video appear online, most of which have a relatively modest number of views. One copy has approximately 140,000 views as at March 2015.
In fact, as detailed below, the video was produced in 2004 by Chris Oakley (a video artist and filmmaker) and is included on a DVD of his video art work. His website describes this video as "referencing both contemporary media practices and Magritte’s famous painting The Treachery Of Images" and states that it "presents a fantastic image framed plausibly". Chris comments that "as the treatment of fictional and factual content converges in the mainstream media, our responses to media representations become ambivalent".
Koi UFO Video 134 : UFO over Rollercoaster (Section 51)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 134 appears to show a large disc-shaped UFO being chased by a jet aircraft filmed from a rollercoaster. A caption on the video states "September 2016 - USA, Maryland - UFO filmed by people over amusement park...". A logo on the UFO video refers to "Section 51".
This video was posted online in September 2016 by "Section 51" with the title "UFO filmed over Amusement Park in Maryland !!! Sept 2016". It had received approximately 40,000 in just its first week online.
As detailed below, Matt Bornong let me know that he had found the source footage to which the "UFO" had been added. The source video (without any "UFO"...) had been online since July 2010 - i.e. over 6 years before the "UFO" was supposedly filmed and uploaded.
As I've been trying to point out to the UFO community since about the middle of 2015, "Section 51" is a small team that has previously described THEMSELVES as "Internet-video creators specialized in dreaming up sci-fi, action YouTube videos, jam-packed with stunning VFX". They offered various incentives for those prepared to provide funding for their projects. For example, in return for a small fee, they offer to take the video of your choice and "we insert an original UFO on it". Few of the discussions of Section 51's videos mention these facts, which I consider rather important to any meaningful assessment of the reliability of the many "UFO" videos posted by "Section 51" - several of which I have previously discussed...
[DEBUNKED]Koi UFO Video 089 appears to show an unidentified flying object very similar to photographs circulated online in 2007 by "Chad" and others.
It's rare that I'd describe a UFO video as a thing of beauty, but I think this one qualifies.
As discussed below, this video was created in 2007 by Kris Avery, a British computer animation professional. He created a series of "drone" animations, including a music video featuring the voice of ufologist Linda Moulton Howe. (Personally, I think the artist merit of Kris Avery's videos far exceeds those of almost all other UFO videos).
Kris Avery's videos caused some confusion among "drone" researchers. Some researchers (including Linda Moulton Howe) appear to have believed that at least some of Kris Avery's drone videos were real. On the other hand, some skeptics have viewed the videos as evidence that all the drone photographs were hoaxed by Kris Avery. In fact, Kris Avery stated that he created his video based on the photographs which were circulating online. He has denied that he created those photographs and I am not aware of any evidence which contradicts that denial.
Koi UFO Video 138 : UFO near Warminster 2017 (AeroSparx pyrotechnics)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 138 appears to show an object giving off sparks cavorting in the sky above a hill. A caption on one copy of the video states "SOMETHING "CIRCLING" Over UK Skies 6/5/17".
This video was posted online on 30 May 2017 on a local news website ("Somerset Live") with the headline "UFO spotted hovering over Cley Hill near Frome". The video quickly spread via Facebook and other social media. Articles appeared on the websites of various tabloid newspapers in the UK, including The Daily Mail, The Mirror and The Sun. Most of the articles mentioned that the video was filmed near Warminster, "Britain's UFO capital" and referred to UFO sightings there in the 1960s.
One copy of the video received over 350,000 in just its first week online.
As detailed below, Tim Dews of a local company known as "AeroSparx" kindly confirmed to me that this video showed one of his company's "Twister" aircraft. AeroSparx uses "wingtip pyrotechnics" to perform a "formation firework at night, and coordinate ground-based fireworks with a flying display". Various videos of AeroSparx performing at several airshows can be found online. The "UFO" video shows one of Tim Dews' practice flights in an AeroSparx Twister. Tim Dews obviously found the coverage amusing. He posted on Facebook about the number of views obtained by this UFO video and stated "I am off to get an alien costume".
Rather unusually, one of the news websites involved (the "Somerset Live") posted a follow-up article briefly giving the facts behind this video, in a further article (entitled "UFO spotted over Cley Hill near Frome was not aliens"). Similarly, attempts by some other researchers with an interest in viral "UFO" videos (notably Scott Brando of "ufoofinterest.org") resulted in the explanation being given briefly in an article in The Express. Thus, the explanation of this particular video has received more publicity than is usually the case with debunked "UFO" video.
However, the articles containing an explanation, unlike the earlier "UFO" articles, have not gone viral and appear to have had little effect on the on-going spread of the relevant "UFO" video or the number of views being gained by the relevant "UFO" video.
Koi UFO Video 091: Armada of UFOs over Carmichael, California (2011)
[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 091, which lasts approximately 10 minutes, appears to show a mass of white objects in a blue sky. The video was first uploaded by Nolan Jorgensen in on 13 August 2011 with the title "UFO ? Mass Sighting" and was accompanied by a description which stated that the sighting took place "around 7pm" over his home in Carmichael, California (near Sacramento, California).
The original copy of the video had over 400,000 views as at March 2015. A further copy was uploaded on 11 March 2015 with the title "Armada of UFOs caught in daytime sky in California" (and no indication that it had been filmed several years earlier...) was circulated widely on social media websites such as Facebook and obtained over 90,000 views in the first few days after this copy was posted on Youtube.
In fact, as detailed below, the video is speeded up footage of a mass of balloons released from the Carmichael Park on 13 August 2011. Strings from some of the balloons are clearly visible at various points in the footage (with screen shots included below). The person that filmed the balloons, Nolan Jorgensen, himself subsequently confirmed with Carmichael Park that there was a release of balloons during a memorial at Carmichael Park that afternoon.
