Elizabeth Warren and Elon Musk traded punches on Twitter after Musk was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. On Dec. 13, Warren shared a link to an article about the title and said the United States needs a change to the tax code so Musk wouldn’t “freeload” off others.
Musk responded on Dec. 14, saying he “will pay more taxes than any American in history this year.”
After the exchange, a video was shared across Twitter showing Warren deboarding a private plane. One tweet said: “This is the person talking about Elon Musk paying his fair share of taxes as she and her Entourage deplane from their private jet while sticking up for the little guy…”
The video had more than 1 million views as of Dec. 17. Many Twitter users are calling her a hypocrite for presumably riding in a private jet shortly after she called Musk a freeloader.
THE QUESTION
Was the video of Elizabeth Warren deboarding a private plane taken recently?
THE SOURCES
- Elizabeth Warren
- Elon Musk
- Federal Election Commission (FEC)
- Google Maps
- RevEye, a reverse image search tool
- Twitter Advanced Search
THE ANSWER
No, this video is almost two years old. The video was actually taken in Des Moines, Iowa, ahead of the Iowa Caucus in February 2020.
WHAT WE FOUND
Using both RevEye, a reverse image search tool, and Twitter advanced search functionality, VERIFY found the video has been online since at least February 2020.
The video was sent by a viewer to Fox News, according to an article published on Feb. 4, 2020. According to the article, it was recorded as Warren stepped off a private jet in Des Moines ahead of the Iowa Caucus.
According to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Warren commissioned a plane from a company called Advanced Aviation on Jan. 30.
The earliest version of the video we could find posted to Twitter was shared on Feb. 4, 2020.
The same buildings seen in the background of the video can be seen using Google Maps street view from Des Moines International Airport.
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