Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Pa.) is one of several lawmakers critical of the government’s response to the mysterious drones reportedly flying over New Jersey and parts of the eastern U.S.
“It is inconceivable that the federal government has no answers nor has taken any action to get to the bottom of the unidentified drones,” he wrote on social media on Dec. 16, comparing the situation to the Chinese surveillance balloon that flew over the U.S. in early 2023 and demanding answers.
Mastriano’s post included an image of what appears to be an aircraft loaded on a trailer. Text with the image reads, “Breaking News: Crashed drone in Orange Beach retrieved from water and taken to undisclosed location for further investigation.”
THE QUESTION
Does the image show a recovered drone?
THE SOURCES
- StarWars.com
- Images posted to Imgur and Reddit in 2023
- Sen. Doug Mastriano social media posts
- TinEye, a reverse image search tool
- John Kirby, Pentagon press secretary
THE ANSWER
No, the image doesn’t show a recovered drone, it’s a replica of a Star Wars aircraft.
WHAT WE FOUND
The image shared by Sen. Doug Mastriano doesn’t show a recovered drone. It is a replica of a Star Wars TIE fighter, a spacecraft that only dogfights in a galaxy far, far away.
Using TinEye, a reverse image search tool, VERIFY confirmed the image of the Star Wars TIE fighter strapped down to a truck has been online since at least Feb. 26, 2023. This version posted on Imgur is titled “Who ordered the TIE Fighter!?” and doesn’t mention drones. We also found the image on Reddit, where commenters noted the prop was seen in the 2023 Almond Blossom Parade, held annually the last weekend of February in Ripon, California.
A video from the 2023 parade posted to YouTube shows the TIE fighter at the 1:12 mark. The green GLENN flatbed trailer in the video is the same as the one in the image. The trailer seen in the viral image of the Star Wars prop also has California plates, consistent with the parade’s location.
On Dec. 17, a day after sharing the image, Mastriano confirmed the image showed a Star Wars replica, and said he was aware it was a prop.
“I posted a statement about the drones and used an obvious Star Wars prop as a meme. The Philadelphia Inquirer just called asking if I knew it was a prop. Hilarious. Modern day ‘journalism,’” Mastriano’s post on X says.
Mastriano also shared the image on Facebook on Dec. 16. He edited the post the next day, adding, “And yo. Katie Bernard of the Philadelphia Inquirer. This is a Star Wars prop. Not a drone.” VERIFY reached out to Mastriano’s office for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
This viral image comes amid a wave of interest in mysterious drone sightings in parts of the eastern U.S. VERIFY fact-checked a viral video claiming to show someone shooting down a drone, which turned out to be fake. Viral claims the Pentagon confirmed the drones “are NOT of earthly origin” are also false.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said based on various agency assessments of the drone sightings, what’s been seen “include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and even stars that were mistakenly reported as drones.”
Senior officials from the FBI, Pentagon, Federal Aviation Administration, and other agencies have stated the drones don’t pose a national security threat or safety risk and are not the handiwork of foreign actors.
The VERIFY team works to separate fact from fiction so that you can understand what is true and false. Please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter, text alerts and our YouTube channel. You can also follow us on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Learn More »
