Numerous social media users have shared a close-up video they claim shows an oversized moon rising over the North Pole and eclipsing the sun.
“The moon is in the North Pole, where the day lasts 24 hours and the moon appears in only 30 seconds completely and blocks the sun for only 5 seconds and then disappears, a breathtaking view,” reads the April 26 tweet, which generated more than 300,000 likes and 60,000 retweets.
An April 27 Facebook post also shared the video and garnered more than 100 shares within two days.
But, the video is an animation. It was created by Aleksey Patrev, a computer graphics artist based in Ukraine. Social media users should also be tipped off by the clip's foreground of dry grassland, given that the North Pole is covered in ice.
USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook and Twitter users who posted the claim for comment.
The video can be linked back to Patrev's social media accounts, which feature the use of computer-generated imagery.
Patrev has posted several animations similar to the moon rising video on his social media accounts. In May 2021, the video first circulated on TikTok and on YouTube called "Supermoon."
The extensively manipulated footage depicts unrealistic natural events.
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