World Smit-ten with flydubai pilot who saved Israelis, beat social media hijacking
A mid-air emergency on a flydubai flight led to a wave of misinformation on social media before the pilot's heroic actions were confirmed. The incident also prompted political commentary from Donald Trump regarding the structural integrity of the Boeing 737 Max.
Why it matters
The event highlights the speed at which misinformation spreads during crises and how political figures leverage such events to promote corporate interests.
WASHINGTON: The old saying that lies go halfway across the world before truth gets its shoes on was on full display in the hours after the Fly Dubai hijacking episode. What began as a genuine mid-air emergency on flydubai Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv rapidly spawned a swirl of inaccurate claims, misidentifications, and social-media distortions, and it wasn’t until Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went public with details of the heroic act by the pilot, Capt Smit Macchchar, whom he clearly identified as Indian, that the world began to acknowledge an extraordinary feat of courage.Even US President Donald Trump briefly acknowledged the bravery of the pilot before digressing into a vivid description of how the attacker was taken down by Israeli passengers.
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