Air Force One Graffiti Hoax
Wednesday April 19, 2006
A popular video that has been making the rounds on the Internet shows graffiti artists tagging Air Force One with the slogan "Still Free." The grainy, two-minute video clip features hooded pranksters scaling barbed-wire fences and evading guards with dogs as they approach what appears to be President Bush's jumbo jet. The video, however, turned out to be an elaborate hoax -- the brainchild of graffiti artist Marc Ecko, who bought a 747 cargo jet, parked it at San Bernardino's airport, and painted one side to look like Air Force One. The footage looked so authentic that it even fooled the Air Force.
Real or not, it was still an impressive stunt. Watch the video.
For the scoop behind other notable hoaxes, visit About.com's Urban Legends and Folklore site, run by the incomparable David Emery.
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Comments
Mark Ecko gave an interview and explained why he graffitied Bush’s plane:
“The President is the leader of this country. His highest responsiblity arguably is to protect our freedoms, and the first among those is our right to speech. That’s why I tagged the President’s plane. The President can’t fly around like a rock star, talking about how America is the greatest country in the world but ignore what makes it great. I thought the idea of spraypainting the President’s plane would be a great way to open a dialogue and encourage a new way of thinking.”