No, This Picture Doesn't Show Ukrainian Ace Pilot 'Ghost of Kyiv'

An American comic's photograph was edited onto a US Air Force pilot's photo to push the false claim.

A photo of a pilot sitting in a fighter jet is being widely shared on social media to claim that it is the Ukrainian ace fighter pilot, dubbed as 'Ghost of Kyiv', who has been credited with shooting six Russian jets.

It further identifies him as one 'Samuyil Hyde'.

The claim comes against the backdrop of unverified reports of such an ace pilot shooting down enemy jets in Ukrainian airspace, amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Earlier, a simulation had gone viral claiming to show him shooting down the jets.

However, we found that the photo that's being shared is a morphed photo. The original photo, which shows US Air Force's late Captain Seth Nehring in a F-16 fighter jet has been morphed to add the picture of American comedian Sam Hyde.

CLAIM

The photo is being shared with a claim in English, that reads, "Ukrainian fighter-ace known as the 'Ghost of Kyiv's real name is Samuyil Hyde, a 36 year old who was identified as the Mig-29 Pilot accredited with downing 6 Russian Jets (sic)."

Archives of more posts on social media can be found here, here, and here.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

We looked for the photos of 'Samuyil Hyde' on Google and the results showed us one Sam Hyde, identified as an American comedian, actor, and writer.

We also found a Buzzfeed News video from 2019, which talked about how Hyde's pictures have been often used after mass shootings identifying him as a shooter since 2015.

In the video, senior journalist Craig Silverman noted how Hyde had become an "internet meme".

We also came across a photo of Hyde on Wikimedia Commons. Comparing the photo with the viral claim, we found that the face of the "pilot" was indeed that of Hyde.

Next, we carried out a reverse image search on the viral photo. Supplementing the search with the keyword 'pilot' led us to the original photo published on Air Force Magazine's article in 2018.

It identified the pilot as late Captain Seth Nehring and credited the photo to Senior Master Sergeant Chris Drudge.

As per this article, Nehring passed away in 2018 in Ukraine after his Su-27 fighter jet crashed during a military exercise.

Taking a cue from here, we used keywords that included the photographer's and pilot's names and found the same photo uploaded to the United States Air Force's official website.

While we cannot independently verify the existence of the 'Ghost of Kyiv,' we can confirm that the photo being shared as that of the 'Ghost' does not show a Ukrainian ace pilot.

Clearly, an American comic's photograph was edited onto a US Air Force pilot's photo and was shared to falsely claim that the 'Ghost of Kyiv' had been identified as 36-year-old Samuyil Hyde.

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