On June 13 2019, @Complex tweeted the following footage, purportedly showing a ride called “Gyro Drop” and its “swing” feature:
The tweet was viewed more than 13 million times in just 24 hours. @Complex did not include any additional information about the “Gyro Drop” ride, such as its location.
However, replies to the tweet addressed whether the clip was genuine. One user shared a different video of the “Gyro Drop” ride that did not include the “swing” at a stomach-dropping height:
Research…
Ride: Gyro Drop
addy: Seoul, South Korea
Located: “Lotte World” (amusement park)
Oh and it’s fake????
Original ride goes up while spinning and down. No swings. pic.twitter.com/16Re3QiiqD
— •yktv• (@Ur_Usual_Bomber) June 14, 2019
That reader claimed “Gyro Drop” was located in Seoul, South Korea. A 2006 YouTube video showed the same ride in the same location, but without the swinging effect:
Popular debunking Twitter account @HoaxEye sent several tweets in response to the many versions of the Gyro Drop video, explaining that the most notably portion of the clip was computer generated:
The UK’s Independent explained the function of the edited version of Gyro Drop versus the actual ride:
In the footage, the tower extends to a quite alarming height and as the carousel rises up the seats drop down and effectively become swings and begin to rotate before dropping back down to the ground.
[…]
Rather than having dangerous looking swings drop down from the carousel, the seats remain in place as the ride spins around before dropping again.
A version of the clip tweeted by @Complex appeared on YouTube, but that iteration was labeled as creative fiction:
Gyro Drop is a real ride, but the video in which social media was awash in June 2019 is completely false. Riders of the thrill ride remained seated flush to its center pole.