Fact Check: Did a vigilante shoot down the Chinese spy balloon? Claims debunked

An Instagram post is being widely circulated online amidst the ongoing Chinese spy balloon controversy. The post was shared by an Instagram account @deinfringe_, where a man can be seen posing with a gun and standing next to a white balloon, which looks like it just crashed.

The post read, "BREAKING: A local man has SHOT DOWN the CHINESE SPY BALLOON in an EXTRAORDINARY act of vigilantism."

The man seen in the viral post has been identified as Sam Hyde, a comedian. He is popular for his alleged involvement in public pranks and internet hoaxes, and the aforementioned post is his latest prank.

According to Chicago Tribune, the photo of the balloon that is now being widely shared on Instagram was taken in 2015. At the time, a 240-foot helium-filled balloon broke loose from a U.S. military facility in Maryland. It traveled about 150 miles on its own, before deflating and crashing to the ground.

---

Who shot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon?

The Chinese spy balloon was shot down by a US fighter jet on February 4 from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia off the coast of South Carolina. It is reported that the balloon was around 200 feet tall, which is taller than the Statue of Liberty.

Meanwhile, the video of the gigantic balloon being shot by a US fighter jet was also shared on Twitter, and it could be seen that the aircraft fired a single AIM-9X missile to shoot down the balloon.

The missile was fired from an altitude of 58,000 feet and as per reports, the suspected spy balloon was traveling at a height of 18,000 to 19,800 meters.

The suspected spy balloon entered Alaskan airspace on January 28 and then flew over Canada. Later, on January 31, the balloon returned to US airspace over Idaho and on February 4, it was shot down by a US fighter jet.

After the spy balloon was shot down on February 4, President Joe Biden congratulated the fighter pilots, saying:

"They successfully took it down. And I want to complement our aviators who did it."

While talking about the spy balloon, President Joe Biden said:

"I mean, look, it's totally … it's a violation of international law. It's our airspace. And once it comes into our space, we can do what we want with it."

Biden also received major flak from some Republicans and Democrats as they said the President should have taken the decision to shoot the balloon down sooner.

Llyous Austin, the US secretary of defense, said that the operation of shooting down the balloon was a lawful action that took place in response to China's “unacceptable violation of our sovereignty."

The FBI is currently investigating the remains of the Chinese spy balloon. The FBI also said that much of the evidence remains underwater in the Atlantic Ocean.