Fact Check: British RAF plane is not being painted pink for Pride Month
A satirical social media post saying a plane from Britain's Royal Air Force will be painted all colours of the rainbow flag during the LGBT community's Pride Month in June is being taken seriously online.
'Photo of the Day: This F22 from 7175Sqn has been painted pink to celebrate that start of Pride Month,' read a June 1 post on X, opens new tab sharing a picture of a pink plane, which received more than 1.1 million views. 'It will be repainted every 4 days to a different colour of the rainbow at a cost of just £80,085 per paint.'
Comments on this post and a caption on an identical one on Facebook suggest some took it seriously.
'Starmer prepares for war, meanwhile what's the real preparation going on in real time here in the U.K,' read a post, opens new tab on Facebook sharing the claim and photograph.
'Putin will be quaking in his boots, pathetic,' read, opens new tab one comment under the X post.
A spokesperson for the Royal Air Force said there were no plans to paint a plane for Pride Month, and that 7175 squadron did not exist.
In September 2024, the Royal Air Force hosted a ceremony, opens new tab to recognise and apologise to LGBT personnel who served before the lifting of ban on them, opens new tab being in the military in January 2000.
RAF_Luton, the X account that posted the claim and photograph, says on its page, opens new tab that it produces satirical content. Its biography reads: 'The assumed Official Twitter account of the world's most mysterious & secret (and fictitious) military base.'
The account did not respond to a request to comment. The Royal Air Force also said there was no real base called RAF Luton.
The photograph of the pink plane has a watermark of flightsim.to, opens new tab, a website that allows flight simulator enthusiasts to create add-ons or contribute their own creations. The website did not respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not independently verify if the photo was created on the simulator site.
Satire. The RAF said it has no plans to paint a plane for Pride Month. The account that made the claim regularly posts satirical content.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.
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