That fighter pilot selfie isn't a selfie — it's a screenshot from a video

Twitter

That fighter pilot selfie isn't a selfie — it's a screenshot from a video
(Image credit: Twitter)

Ellen's (er, Bradley Cooper's if you want to be technical) reign of having the internet's coolest selfie was quickly dethroned by a fighter pilot who allegedly took one from his F-16 cockpit while firing a missile. The problem is, it's not a selfie at all, according to the fact checkers at ABC News.

The pilot's identity has been revealed as Thomas Kristensen, a decorated pilot from the Royal Danish Air Force who has flown thousands of hours over dozens of countries for the unit. The debunked selfie is actually a "well-timed screenshot" from a video posted by the Air Force in October 2012. ABC News has posted the video so you can see the exact moment the air-to-air missile was launched and calm your fears that he was slacking off on the job. --Jordan Valinsky

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us

Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.