The Las Vegas Sphere Refutes Showing Israeli Symbols in Flag-Like Deception
The official Twitter account for Las Vegas Sphere's entertainment venue denied showing an Israeli flag image on Wednesday, despite claims on social media. A popular video sharing a fake image was actually doctored, according to the account.
The clip, supposedly showing a rotating blue Star of David against a white background on the 366-foot dome, garnered thousands of likes and shares with titles like "The Vegas Sphere shows impressive support for Israel."
Reuters reported that a Facebook post of the video had been shared over 70 times, leading to the Sphere account dealing with numerous requests to respond and clarify the situation.
Widespread Misinformation
Ever since Hamas' attack on Israel on Saturday, Twitter has been swarmed with false claims and manipulated content. Among these include fabricated stories like Israel bombing a church in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu getting injured by Palestinian rockets, or a fake photo of footballer Cristiano Ronaldo with a Palestinian flag. Additionally, numerous clips of the Syrian civil war are also circulating, presented as recent events.
The Las Vegas Sphere's video is clearly false. A YouTube channel broadcasting a 24/7 livestream of the Sphere confirmed that at no time was the Israeli flag displayed, according to Reuters.
The Original Poster
The original poster of the video was a Twitter account named "Tallywood," housed by Tal Cooperman, a former clothing designer dating Carmen Elektra and now the executive creative director for Station Casinos. In an informal tone, Cooperman, an Israeli native, disavowed any intentional misinformation or representation of the video as the truth.
Cooperman explained, "I posted a VFX video of an Israeli flag on a ball. I was trying to raise awareness of what's going on in my country. My 2 cousins were at a festival where hundreds of people were slaughtered and murdered. I wanted to create noise and be heard. But I always said VFX."
Unfortunately, another user took the video out of context and spread it as truth.
