Johnny Dinar Posted September 15, 2020 Report Share Posted September 15, 2020 A digital ad released by a fundraising arm of the Trump campaign on Sept. 11 calling on people to “support our troops” uses a stock photo of Russian-made fighter jets and weapons. The ad, which was made by the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, features silhouettes of three soldiers walking as a fighter jet flies over them. “That’s definitely a MiG-29,” said Pierre prey, who helped design both the F-16 and A-10 planes for the U.S. Air Force. “I’m glad to see it's supporting our troops" He noted the angle of the aircraft’s tail, the way the tail is swept far back, and the spacing of the engines, along with the tunnel between them. Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies in Moscow, confirmed that the planes are Russian MiG-29s, and also said the soldier on the far right in the ad carries an AK-74 assault rifle. The Trump Make America Great Again Committee is run by both the Republican National Committee and the campaign. Most of the low-dollar and digital donations raised by the committee goes to the campaign. The image in the ad is a stock photo available on Shutterstock.com with the title “Military silhouettes of soldiers and airforce against the backdrop of sunset sky.” The creator of the image, named “BPTU,” says they are based in Andorra, but did not respond to a Facebook message. After this story was published, the creator of the image, Arthur Zakirov, confirmed in a Facebook message that it shows a 3D model of a MiG-29, and that the soldiers were Russian models. He said it was a composite photo created five years ago and taken in three different countries showing Russian sky, Greek mountains and French ground. “This is a completely recreated scene from various photographs of mine,” said Zakirov, a 34-year-old oil company analyst and hobbyist photographer based in the Russian city of Perm, about 700 miles east of Moscow. “Today you hear about the Kremlin’s hand in U.S. politics. Tomorrow you are this hand,” he joked, saying he found the fact that his photo ended up in a Trump fundraising ad “pretty funny.” “Everything happened through inattention,” he said, adding that the campaign had “bad fact-checking.” The MiG-29, a twin-engine fighter jet designed in the Soviet Union that first flew in 1977, is the Russians’ mainstay fighter jet and has been sold all over the world. It was developed during the Cold War specifically to counter American F-15 and F-16s, and the U.S. even obtained a few to play the adversary in war games. The planes have recently been spotted at a Russian air base in Syria and also Libya. Russia has also exported them to a number of countries, including North Korea, Syria, India and Uzbekistan. Iran also acquired 68 of the MiG-29s at the end of the Soviet Union. In 1997, the U.S. even bought 21 “nuclear-capable” MiG-29 planes from Moldova to keep them from getting in the hands of adversaries such as Iran. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment. The RNC declined to comment. Politicians have gotten in trouble in the past for running ads or creating content that featured Russian or other countries’ military equipment. Last October, Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) tweeted a picture of the Russian battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy with the comment: “Happy birthday to the US Navy. To the men and women who serve to keep our waters safe, we thank you.” His office later took the tweet down. Marc Caputo contributed to this report. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/14/trump-ad-asks-people-to-support-the-troops-but-it-uses-a-picture-of-russian-jets-414883 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coorslite21 Posted September 15, 2020 Report Share Posted September 15, 2020 Darn Staffers.......😮 Or perhaps the intent was asking to protect the troops from the Russians... You know they are everywhere! A non-story! CL 2 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shabibilicious Posted September 15, 2020 Report Share Posted September 15, 2020 Typical...I remember a few years ago when german soldiers were used in a Trump ad also. GO RV, then BV 1 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Dinar Posted September 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2020 25 minutes ago, coorslite21 said: Darn Staffers.......😮 Or perhaps the intent was asking to protect the troops from the Russians... You know they are everywhere! A non-story! CL It appears his marketing people are not the best... JMHO 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nstoolman1 Posted September 15, 2020 Report Share Posted September 15, 2020 Complain because he excludes people, complain when he includes people. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLadiesDaddy Posted September 15, 2020 Report Share Posted September 15, 2020 41 minutes ago, nstoolman1 said: Complain because he excludes people, complain when he includes people. I like it when ol Johnny boy pretends he's just a middle of the road average American disgusted with all politicians. Liberals are so used to being deceitful that they don't even know they are. 2 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coorslite21 Posted September 15, 2020 Report Share Posted September 15, 2020 I guess really in the words of HRC.... Nothing burger....... Who cares! CL 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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