Does a widely shared Facebook post with an image of dozens of jets show the aircraft used by attendees of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland? No, that's not true: Although some reports have estimated that more than 400 jets were used to transport the conference's high-profile guests, the picture used to make the claim was taken 8 years earlier, at an airport in Louisiana before the 2013 Super Bowl.
The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on November 1, 2021. It featured a picture of several jets and text that read:
These are the 400 jets used by #COP26Glasgow attendees to get to a conference on reducing emissions and fossil fuels. Clearly there will be fierce competition here for the Hypocrisy Awards
This is what the post looked like on Facebook on November 2, 2021:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Tue Nov 2 16:44:32 2021 UTC)
The picture used in the post was originally taken in 2013. It showed several aircraft at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport ahead of Super Bowl XLVII. A screenshot of the original use of the image is included below:
(Source: AIN screenshot taken on Mon Nov 1 22:10:21 2021 UTC)
To the post's point, there have been reports stating that around 400 jets were used to transport various attendees to COP26, including dignitaries such as U.S. President Joe Biden. Lead Stories reached out to the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority and NATS, formerly known as National Air Traffic Services, neither of which could provide us with a figure. We also contacted the UK Department for Transport and will update this story with any relevant response.
