No, this viral TikTok video doesn’t show a UFO

The downing of four aerial devices by U.S. warplanes has launched conspiracy theories about the objects, their origin and their purpose. 

According to Google Trends data, people were asking “what is in the sky?” and “are aliens real?” “Extraterrestrial life” and “unidentified flying object” were also among trending topics. 

One video on TikTok has gone viral, showing a football-shaped beam of white light zooming through the night sky. The caption of the video, written in Thai and translated via Google Translate, says: “What happened what is it?” Commenters speculated that the video showed a UFO.

VERIFY viewer Emilia also texted us about UFO rumors.  

THE QUESTION

Does this viral TikTok video show a UFO?

THE SOURCES

• InVid and RevEye, footage forensics tools
• Video from September 2022
• News reports from September 2022
• NASA
• Google Maps
• The White House

THE ANSWER

No, this viral TikTok video doesn’t show a UFO. It shows a rocket launch. 

WHAT WE FOUND

Using InVid, a video forensics tool, VERIFY analyzed the keyframes of the viral video and conducted a reverse image search of the frames.

VERIFY was able to trace the video to a rocket launch over Kazakhstan, an eastern European country south of Russia. 

The video was posted to a Russian Telegram channel on Sept. 25, 2022, months before the U.S. military shot down the flying objects in late January and early February 2023. The caption of the video said it was filmed from the Balkhash neighborhood in Kazakhstan. VERIFY confirmed the location using Google Maps. 

NASA reported the launch of the Soyuz MS-22 crew ship from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sept. 21, 2022, four days before the clip was posted on Telegram. The rocket carried a crew to the International Space Station. 

Local news outlets also posted photos of the rocket launch and their coverage shows an object with the same shape and brightness.

As far as aliens are concerned – several U.S. officials shot down rumors extraterrestrials had anything to do with the recent uptick in balloon activity. 

“I just wanted to make sure we address this from the White House.  I know there have been questions and concerns about this, but there is no — again, no indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent takedowns,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Feb. 13. 

John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, also addressed the rumors.

“I don’t think the American people need to worry about aliens, with respect to these craft. Period. I don’t think there’s any more that needs to be said there,” Kirby said.