FACT CHECK: Viral Video Claims To Show The Presidential Limo Driving In Reverse On A Racetrack
A video shared on Facebook over 49,000 times purportedly shows the driver of the armored presidential limousine going 60 miles per hour in reverse on a one-mile course.
Verdict: False
The video is actually a scene from the video game “Forza Motorsport 6.”
Fact Check:
The video starts by showing a limo, purportedly that which transports President Donald Trump, at the starting line of a racetrack. The limo then speeds away while in reverse, creating smoke clouds as it makes turns at a high speed. The Facebook post purports Trump’s limo driver is the one operating the vehicle.
“Trump’s limo driver, capable of 60 mph in reverse in a 12,000 lb vehicle, this over a one mile course,” reads text accompanying the video.
While Secret Service agents do train for driving at high speeds, the video actually depicts a scene from a video game. Through a reverse image search of a still from the video, Check Your Fact found that it comes from a video, titled “Forza Motorsport 6 – Presidential Drift | 300 MILLION+ VIEWS on Facebook,” that the YouTube channel Don Jeowon Song posted in 2016. The channel, run by Joe Leech, features hundreds of videos from racing games.
“Yes, this video is mine and was indeed created back in 2016,” Leech told Check Your Fact in a Twitter direct message. “It’s on a game called Forza Motorsport 6 on the Xbox One console.” (RELATED: Viral Image Claims To Show Train Car With COVID-19 Marking)
The video, along with the false claim, first gained traction in 2016, according to Snopes, and appears to resurface every couple of years.