(UPDATE) The mystery of the “Ghost of Kyiv”—real flying ace or meme?—continues. While Snopes reports that a video supposedly of the Ghost (one *never published by this feed*) is fake, it cannot discount that one pilot *may* have downed 4 Russian jets in the first day of fighting. 
(PS) This topic really confuses people. No one is saying the *phrase* “Ghost of Kyiv” is anything but a meme. Nor is anyone doubting Ukraine really *did* claim it downed 6 Russian aircraft in a day. The *only* question—and it’s unresolved—is how many pilots downed those aircraft.
(PS2) If it turns out four of those Russian aircraft were downed by one pilot, that pilot *is* the “Ghost of Kyiv” (meaning, the meme the internet created correctly attaches to a single Ukrainian pilot). This is one of the strange ways that digital culture interacts with reality.
(PS3) I guess this is my way of saying that I’m a university professor who teaches digital culture and that I have been writing about Ukraine for years now, so while I appreciate the DMs about how the “Ghost of Kyiv” meme developed, I already know what you are telling me, thanks.
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