Captain Disillusion is back, but this time, he’s not deconstructing and busting viral videos anymore.
Edutainer and YouTuber Captain Disillusion, born Alan Melikdjanian, is known for debunking many of the most viral video tricks on the internet. From breaking down the famous video of a penguin slapping another penguin to busting down the magic behind seemingly perfect trick shots, Captain Disillusion never fails to explain how these videos can be made with clever editing and photo-realistic visual effects.
Captain Disillusion has since been “disillusioning” these videos on his YouTube channel since 2007. Donning a 1980s tracksuit with his half face painted in metallic paint, this independent filmmaker can spot any tricks in these hoax videos with his knowledge of special effects and computers, while doing so entertainingly and humorously, and promoting critical thinking and skepticism.
Now, the viral video buster has returned after a month. However, instead of another episode of him trying to break down the illusion behind viral videos, Captain Disillusion is explaining why he’s no longer debunking these kinds of videos as of late, which seemed to boil down to one reason: some people on the internet still believe these hoax videos even though they’ve been debunked by the YouTuber.
“Years ago, I covered the Escherian stairwell video. It made the rounds again last month,” Captain Disillusion explained in a YouTube short. “I did an elaborate breakdown of the marble sorting machine effect [but] another one went viral just the other week.”
Captain Disillusion also mentioned how one of the viral videos he debunked, the Chinese invisibility cloak hoax, had resurfaced once again online.
In the recent clip that went viral, a woman can be seen demonstrating and lifting an invisible cloak.
https://twitter.com/Enezator/status/1592978211423805445?t=CM-Pee3jivRwKE9y-7s7SQ&s=19
The said tweet also claimed that Japanese scientists had invented an invisible cloak. But with the help of fact-checking, Twitter added that the video was not “scientifically possible” and was only done using editing.
“And now this invisible cloak thing again,” said Captain Disillusion. “I made an epic examination of one just like it [with] 6 million views! But that doesn’t matter.”
The video buster continued to explain how this illusion became possible with the magic of the green blanket and a touch of editing—and no, it doesn’t have anything to do with the green line in the video, as said by Captain Disillusion himself, Redshot.
He then went on to add that due to his frustration, he retweeted the video with a caption that only says: “I’m so tired.”
I'm so tired. https://t.co/5t4PKM5QYY
— Captain Disillusion (@CDisillusion) November 17, 2022
“Frustrated, I accidentally retweeted the fake clip with no debunking or explanation of any kind, and you know what happened? It was my most successful tweet of all time!” Captain Disillusion exclaimed.
True enough, his post indeed went viral on Twitter. Some users were sympathizing and understood how Captain Disillusion felt, while others were making a meme out of it.
Captain Disillusion when he's asked to debunk the same type of effect he already debunked 13 or so years ago pic.twitter.com/E8F8zMoPzY
— Sketchman911 (Currently Inactive) (@Sketchman911) November 17, 2022
Don't forget your blanket when you take your nap. pic.twitter.com/LhAOxFmChS
— Ẑ͚͔͍̻̤̟ä̶̼̗̟͔́̿̾̓n̬͙̫̿͑͊̈̚d̡̰̭̞͖̟̖̟ͬ̚ê̺͖̂ͩ̀̉ͣrͪ̓ (@mmsword) November 17, 2022
But-but-but it must be real, it's on video! No one would like on the internet
— Raymond Garrett (@RazmaRay) November 17, 2022
Captain Disillusion when asked if he could debunk the same video for the God knows how many times: pic.twitter.com/JQDwXNsPxP
— 🍞Bread Hensil 🍞 (@brad_hensil) November 18, 2022
UPDATE: Japanese scientists lost invisibility again and can't remember where they put it
— Beni Andermatt (@RealAndermatt) November 17, 2022
On the other hand, some also seemed to still believe that the invisible cloak was indeed real.
How is that possible? How can you see the background through her? How can you see through a human?
I would think when she covers up there would be no image of the background just a solid nothing— Nikita6050.thor. xrp🔅🔆Flare TDE (@greenthumbniki) November 17, 2022
Absolutely incredible! Is this real or a deep fake?
— Pati ⚖️♎️🌎☕️🎶🗽 (@plwin49) November 17, 2022
https://twitter.com/ideyhere01/status/1599870382944661504?t=H2Pomqay7TNaOOz_7x-QwQ&s=19
This only exposed how too much social media consumption can lead to some users believing what they see on their news feed is real, especially in the case of these kinds of viral videos. And with the rise of more advanced editing software that makes fake videos appear to be real, these doctored videos are getting easier to create and even harder to spot, making us doubt whether what we see is a reality or all just an illusion.
While they are amusing, verifying whether these videos are a hoax or real is much needed, especially now that most of these manipulated videos are flooding our social media feeds.
As Captain Disillusion once said: “Suspension of disbelief is super fun, but only as long as you can tell the difference between the belief and reality. Reality is real, your beliefs are in your head.”
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