ABC News Mistakes Footage of Kentucky Gun Range for Turkish Assault on Kurds

Authors Current Events Jordan Michaels This Week

Anchors and producers for several ABC News programs found themselves in hot water this week when they mistook (or intentionally misrepresented) footage from a gun range in Kentucky for battlefield video from the conflict between Turkish and Kurdish forces in Syria.

Both World News Tonight Sunday and Good Morning America aired footage of heavy nighttime gunfire and explosions while anchors described the devolving situation between Turkish and Kurdish fighters.

“This video right here appearing to show Turkey’s military bombing Kurdish civilians in a Syrian border town. The Kurds, who fought alongside the U.S. against ISIS. Now, horrific reports of atrocities committed by Turkish-backed fighters on those very allies,” said ABC News anchor Tom Llamas.

But after Twitter user Wojciech Pawelczyk noted the striking similarity between ABC’s footage and a video from the Knob Creek Gun Range in Kentucky, the story began to unravel.

SEE ALSO: JPFO: Media Promote Spree-Murder Contagion Again, Senseless Reports Contain Little News

The footage ABC aired appears to be zoomed in on the explosions, but a comparison between the two videos shows clearly that the videos are one and the same.

The Knob Creek Gun Range hosts a biannual event called the Machine Gun Shoot and Military Gun Show, which includes a night shoot featuring tracer rounds and explosives.

ABC News issued an apology but has not explained how the mix-up occurred.

“We’ve taken down video that aired on World News Tonight Sunday and Good Morning America this morning that appeared to be from the Syrian border immediately after questions were raised about its accuracy,” a network representative told the Washington Examiner, which first reported this story“ABC News regrets the error.”

The Knob Creek Gun Range has taken the incident in stride.

“We’d like to thank ABC news for the free advertising on our Bi-Annual Machine Gun Shoot and Military Gun Show!!” the range wrote on Facebook. “Keep up the good work ABC News!!”

SEE ALSO: Renowned Criminologist: When Media Can’t Demonize Guns, It Ignores Mass Killings

This isn’t the first time a news outlet has mistakenly identified war footage.

In one incident, an Egyptian news anchor tried to pass off video game footage for Russian airstrikes against ISIS. As Twitter users pointed out at the time, the grainy footage was actually from a game called Apache Air Assault.

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  • Rich October 15, 2021, 5:11 am

    What a shit show. Knob Creek is one of the best shows ive personally experienced 20 yrs ago and many years after with 0 incidents that im aware of to date. A peaceful family of gunloving law and order advocates imo. What a shame with all the crime and hate in this country currently that the news has nothin better to do than fabricate shit about people who are simple enjoying what they do.if fake news and Biden yacks continue this agenda on Americans. They can experience what the end results are of pissin off millions of ameicans! This kind of bullshit needs to stop.

  • Ti October 18, 2019, 3:34 pm

    This story is an example of what the msm is. Nothing new.

    Ricky B. repeats bs fed back thru msm as fact.

    Too understand this twisted media elite thinking go watch ‘Citizen Kane’ w Orsen Wells. I understand this is POTUS favorite movie. Probably one of the very few that are strong enough to withstand the ignorance thrown at him! Had to be fascinating watching this sh@t zoo while working with scum NBC. All the while learning first hand, what he needs to do.

  • Godfrey Daniel October 18, 2019, 12:01 pm

    Mistook? Really? If you believe that one, I’ve got this bridge…

  • Ricky Price October 18, 2019, 10:17 am

    I was there during the day. ABC new people what a bunch of dummies.

  • john in DFW October 18, 2019, 9:47 am

    two guys are fighting , you try to break them up , now they are both fighting you ! This is America for the last century. We send money , troops and play the world police . You may not like that Trump wants our troops back , unless you son or daughter is over there putting their lives on the line… for what exactly? you LITERATELY stop for one day and the fight resumes…. that in itself should be an enlightening that we are doing this for nothing . Everybody hate us , we created the Taliban , trained them , and now they try to kill us . So what is so wrong with just saying , you know what go ahead, we are not going to put our kids in the middle of never ending fights !

  • Mark October 18, 2019, 8:54 am

    This is not an error. This is deliberate. Did anyone else notice the very careful, very specific (obviously very planned) phrasing? No ABC person claimed this video was OF the Kurds getting slaughtered. They said (over and over), this video “appearing to show” the Turks shooting up the Kurds. They knew damned well that they were planting a misimpression — and it’s exactly what they intended to do.

    Personally, I think it’s time to reconsider New York Times v. Sullivan — the case that makes it almost impossible to sue a news outlet when they screw up. I’m all for the First Amendment, but you should also be responsible for what you say. The press isn’t, because of that case.

    This debacle from the same network that identified video of an Italian cement plant as Chernobyl. Guess I shouldn’t expect more from them. None of the others are better. CBS took an obviously forged document and tried to use it to prove that George W. Bush was a draft-dodger — and then when they got called on it, anchor Dan Rather said the network “stood by” the fake story! NBC planted explosives in a GM pickup to prove that they exploded when T-boned in an accident. After trying two or three times unsuccessfully to make it happen, they planted a bomb and then used the resulting footage. Again, fake. Oh and is Katie Couric fired yet from NBC for the “editing error” that INSERTED 9 seconds of silence between her question and the answer when interviewing gun rights supporters, so that they looked like they were confused and dumbfounded by the question rather than having the right answer at hand? I don’t think so.

    Bottom line: the news media in this country is absolutely untrustworthy. I’m afraid that those who depend on them are as poorly informed of the truth as the Russian population who depended on Pravda for so long . . . .

    Oh and one more thing — to the commenter earlier who asked if I wanted them to drop a live journalist into the fighting between the Turks and the Kurds? YES. If they want to do the story, and they want video to go with it, you’re damned right I want them to go in and get the video. Is it dangerous? Sure is. Journalism, done right, IS a dangerous business. Not that any of the party goers who populate that industry now know that.

    And if that journalist gets him- or herself popped trying to get the video. That’s too bad . . . but it’s also one more “journalist” that I don’t have to worry about lying to me every day!

  • Lee October 18, 2019, 8:51 am

    HAHAHAHAHAHA! Wow….. You remember that kid in school who got caught plagiarized everything. Guess where he got a job?

  • Gary Hull October 18, 2019, 8:35 am

    Our news media will report anything that is made up, completely fake or attacks Trump and his administration. This perfect example no checking, verification or anything done to make sure article was legit. Journalism is dead. Gary

  • Jorge October 18, 2019, 8:34 am

    These Trump & USA hater’s will do and say anything to make him look bad. A fucking discrace

  • Wally October 18, 2019, 8:30 am

    I have to agree with Ricky B., this presidency is a disaster and continues daily. He ignores People like General Mattis, thumbs his nose at our allies and continues his “loving” friendship with Putin and Kim Jong-un. If this presidents conduct doesn’t bother you, then anything I have to say will not. Saw an interesting bumper sticker the other day, PUTIN / JONG-UN for TRUMP 2020. Sorry Trumplicans, the man is a con who will sell you to the highest bidder……

    • Pete October 18, 2019, 9:11 am

      Nice try wally,or should I say “Beto”?

    • JD October 18, 2019, 9:13 am

      You forgot to put \”allies\” in quotes. They\’re \”allies\” as far as they can get us to protect them and cover their butts, beyond that, they don\’t want to pay for their own protection and they\’ll gladly work with or enemies that we protect them from to save a few $.And we\’ve already been being sold to China by our leaders for the past 3 decades.

    • D.J. October 18, 2019, 12:17 pm

      My , my , my …………. Subversion runs quite rampant today .
      If one seeks domicile within communist confines , no one
      here seems to be detaining them .
      I , however , choose to remain here , and consider those whom
      would attempt to alter our form of government as enemies .

  • Riverwolf October 18, 2019, 8:28 am

    It wasn’t a mistake. They thought no one would notice. Fake news fabricated to meet an agenda. Just like most everything they put out, pure propaganda. They have lost all credibility with the public.

  • Chuck October 18, 2019, 8:14 am

    Par for the Media course!

  • Michael Hayes October 18, 2019, 7:26 am

    Mistake my ass, new where this was, Trump haters.

  • maxsnafu October 18, 2019, 7:21 am

    How do you make a “mistake” like that? That was deliberate.

  • Jay October 18, 2019, 6:54 am

    It was No Mistake, it was done on purpose to make Trump look bad for wanting to pull troops out of Syria. You can see how they cropped the film to take out people around the scene with cell phones filming it! The news media is apart of the NWO take over of America!

  • Bill H. October 18, 2019, 4:43 am

    Bad headline. They didn’t, “mistake” the video for an assault. They hoped their viewers were too stupid to figure it out. The MSM and ABC have an agenda and they don’t care what it takes to further their notion of what this country ought to be. It is a shame that true journalism is dead. The world could be so much better if the media told the truth and let the reader/viewer figure out how to deal with things and make changes, but those days are gone forever.

  • Ricky B. October 16, 2019, 3:53 pm

    First of all, why don’t we have any shit like that at my local gun ranges? That looks like a blast, literal & figurative! I’m going to have to discuss this with the management at my local ranges to get them to step up their game.

    I’m not sure why the use of “b-roll” in a news broadcast is at all shocking or surprising… Not exactly like it’s some big conspiracy. Would you prefer they drop a live journalist onto the battlefield in Syria just so we get a front row view of the Kurds who helped us defeat ISIS getting slaughtered by our enemies?

    Donald Trump is an incompetent coward who is working for Vladimir Putin! Why else would that clown defy the advice of our own military leadership at the Pentagon in order to betray our allies and leave them to be slaughtered by our enemies? It’s really sad that we lost the service of a great American patriot like General Mattis to this reality TV joke’s treachery, but I totally understand why this was the absolute last straw for General Mattis.

    Donnie the Douche’s explanation for betraying America’s interests in service to Russia… “The Kurds are no angels”, he says.

    We’ve gotten to the point where you can no longer pretend to be both a real American and a Trump supporter at the same time!!! All you Trump supporters need to contact the Kremlin and see about applying for your Russian citizenship. If you agree to be one of Putin’s whores like Donnie, they may allow you take at least one of your guns with you. Good luck you commie loving cowards!!!

    • Michael October 18, 2019, 6:11 am

      BWXT = Nuclear fuel rods. Ukraine corruption is the DNC. Maybe get your head out of your ass ? You do realize we weren’t invited to Syria ? Turkey = Nato ally. Who tried a coup on Turkey ? Let Russia deal with it. They support Turkey & Syria. How do you think that will play out ? It kind of put Putin in the middle didn’t it ? From past experiences being in the middle as a mediator never turned out well for me. Both sides get mad at you. Look at Paul Harvey as an example, lol. And as far as Putin. I don’t see him trying to disarm me. Now the media planting FAKE NEWS I guess is all right with you ? As long as it fits the narrative.

    • Shop Owner October 18, 2019, 6:29 am

      Wow another Beto supporter speaks out,, looks like the meds wore off.

    • Jay October 18, 2019, 6:58 am

      So your in favor of endless wars, wars that have never been declared by congress, to just continue killing and maming our young men and women, all the while most of these wars are just regime changes and have absolutely nothing to do with protecting and defending the USA. Put troops on our border not other countries!

    • D.J. October 18, 2019, 10:28 am

      Well , Ricky B. , so we hear from our comrade in the neocommunist
      propaganda section .
      If memory serves me correctly , troops were sent into Syria in 2014 ,
      at the behest of the sympathetic Bolshevik called Obama . Do you dispute
      that point ?
      They were to be involved for a limited time in those affairs , do you agree ?
      Troops were still there in 2019 , and the President finally removed them
      from operations in that A.O. You seem to take offense to that ?
      You communists really entertain me . No grasp of reality , just blind dedication
      to a subversive agenda .
      As another frequenter of this site once posted ; ” I do not understand your
      brand of stupid , but I admire your dedication to it . “

  • SuperG October 16, 2019, 10:29 am

    I have no expectation of accuracy from our liberal controlled media. Wait until the fake anti-Trump videos start appearing.

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