The fake story of a Saudi Arabia man who accidentally bought two Airbus jets worth approximately $300M for his son’s birthday became an instant social media hit.
Satire Website "Thin Air Today's" Story On Saudi Man Accidentally Buying Two Aircraft Takes Off https://t.co/qIS2ETRa21 via @boomlive_in
— Sahara (@JustFabulous_S) August 27, 2019
The story originally appeared on Thin Air Today , an aviation news satirical website. The fake story of a Saudi Arabia man claimed that he bought the planes for his son who’s into aviation. The unnamed man had thought all along that he was buying small scale models for the plane. The mistake was realized months later when the Airbus manufacturers called him to say that the planes were ready for delivery. The story went on to say that when the unnamed man first heard of the $300M price tag, he ‘thought it was a bit expensive, but still reasonable’.
It quickly went viral with netizens sharing a screenshot of the story across different platforms. Many people believed it because it is not uncommon for some Saudi Arabians to be extremely wealthy. It was also quickly republished by different major news organisations across the world who later made corrections.
[ Accidentally ] pic.twitter.com/1xoyxjmU3j
— Ramy and 3 others (@Ramyatrouny) August 27, 2019
Courtesy: Thin Air Today
After some fact checking, however, the story was found to be fake. Airbus officials also came out to clarify that it wasn’t that easy to buy on of their planes, and a lengthy process would have to be followed including involving the government. If the story were true, the man would actually have paid double for the Airbus jets.
Featured Image Courtesy: Middle East Monitor