2023 Chinese Spy Balloon

From January 28 to February 4, 2023, a massive Chinese-operated high-altitude balloon was seen in North American airspace. On February 4, the U.S. Air Force shot down the balloon over U.S. territorial waters off the coast of South Carolina, after it spent days traveling across the country.

Although the suspected spy Balloon has been shot down, rumors continue to spread in Taiwan.

A series of photos purported to show the remains of the balloon. But none of them is linked to the current news event. Our fact-check: https://tfc-taiwan.org.tw/articles/8756

Another video claimed to show the U.S. firing 3 missiles to shoot down the alleged spy balloon. However, 3 trails that appeared in the video were left by fighter jets. According to the U.S. Dept of Defense, a fighter fired 1 AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the balloon. Fact-check: https://tfc-taiwan.org.tw/articles/8757

You can find our fact-check on the suspected spy balloon (in Chinese) and an overview (in English) on this page.