Careem ‘takes credit’ for fake slingshot video that went viral

Transportation technology company Careem has taken credit for a widely shared viral video showing a man being shot off the top of a building using a massive slingshot.
Since being shared on Saturday, the video has garnered over 114,000 views and over 2,200 shares on Facebook. It was also widely shared on Twitter and through Whatsapp.
The video depicts a man being catapulted off a helipad-equipped building near Dubai Marina using a large slingshot towards a target area in a far-off building, only to miss his mark and overshoot the landing area.
The viral video was quickly debunked by Dubai Police, who noted that the video was fake.
The video's origins, however, remained a mystery until Monday, when Careem took credit on its official Twitter account. The video, according to Careem, was part of the company's re-branding efforts.
"You got punked Careem-style! Come on, we had to launch with a BANG. Welcome to Careem 2.0" the tweet read. Additionally, the company posted a slightly longer version of the video, with a message from Careem and a video of the supposedly missing 'flyer' jumping into a pool.
Even before Careem took credit, many viewers expressed skepticism of the video's veracity.
"The one thing to me that gave it away is the mismatch to the law of physics closer to the end of the 'descent'," one viewer, Rami Yassin said in a comment. "Must say, good work for what I am assuming to be a local production."
A few, however, appeared to have been duped by the high-quality video.
"He passed the net! Oh my God, no way to try it unless it's safe!" one viewer said.
After Careem's confession, many social media users expressed relief that nobody was hurt.
"CareemUAE this was the coolest idea," Arsh Azim noted. "Scary but relieved now! Haha!"
"Whew! That is some brilliant campaigning," added a Twitter user going by the name Vidya.
In July, two professional skydivers successfully pulled off a similar stunt when they were catapulted 300 feet into the air before deploying their parachutes and landing safely on the ground near the Skydive Dubai drop zone.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com