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An image shows the Blue Angels performing a maneuver called the “Hand of God.”

false false

The U.S. Navy's Blue Angels Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets are seen during the Fort Lauderdale Air Show at Fort Lauderdale Beach on May 8, 2021. (AP Images)

Noah Y. Kim

Image of Blue Angels performing the “Hand of God” is an illustration, not a photograph

If Your Time is short

• The image is a piece of digital art, not a photograph. ​

The U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels, a flight demonstration squadron, can do backflips, 720-degree rolls, loops and other sensational aerobatic feats at speeds up to 1,000 mph

Social media users shared an image that purports to show the squadron performing a maneuver called the "Hand of God," which depicts five planes curving in different directions to create a smoke trail resembling a giant hand. 

"The Blue Angels perform the ‘Hand of God,’" reads the caption above the image. 

Featured Fact-check

Viral image

stated on April 28, 2021 in a Facebook post

true false
By Ciara O'Rourke • April 28, 2021

The Blue Angels really do perform a maneuver called the "Hand of God," which resembles the image. But the image being shared on social media is actually a piece of digital art, not a photograph.

It was created by Kiev-based artist Alexander Zienko, who posted it to the online art gallery Deviant Art on March 9, 2015. Zienko’s original artwork doesn’t reference the Blue Angels. 

The image shows a piece of digital art. It is not an actual image of the Blue Angels performing the hand of God maneuver, as the post says. We rate this post False. ​

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