WATCH: Pranksters accused of trying to start WWIII after flying balloon over Chinese Embassy
Luke Gentile
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A pair of pranksters in the United Kingdom are being accused of attempting to start World War III after they flew their own version of a “spy” balloon over the Chinese Embassy in London.
The video of the prank conducted by Josh & Archie went viral on TikTok after it was posted Monday.
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The footage of the pair flying their helium-filled balloon over the embassy has garnered over 1 million views.
“We thought that, considering the Chinese are such fans of these balloons, that they would have liked it,” said Josh Pieters, who conducted the prank with Archie Manners.
The prank was carried out on Feb. 8 in the wake of the fallout surrounding America’s decision to shoot down a UFO believed to have been a spy balloon sent by the People’s Republic of China, according to a report.
https://www.tiktok.com/@josh_and_archie/video/7199681422158810374
It was meant to be “a bit of a tit for tat,” Pieters said.
“We saw a balloon was shot down in the USA, so we thought if China can spy on the West, then why can’t the West spy on China?” he said. “Flying to China would take a while, and it’s expensive, so we thought, ‘What’s an easier way?’ And that’s to fly a balloon over the embassy, as that’s technically China.”
In the viral video, both Pieters and Manners are shown ignoring the warnings of a lawyer before buying all the materials they need to carry out the high-flying prank.
The balloon flew over the embassy with its camera “staring into the windows of China.”
It came to an end when the police arrived on the scene and the pranksters popped the balloon.
“It seemed that there was a very fast response to bring the balloon down, and we think that has something to do with the Chinese noticing our spy balloon and not being happy about it. We knew this sort of thing was high-level stuff, so we were prepared for a high-level response, but when we saw the armed police officers, we did get just a tiny bit scared,” Pieters said.
“When they ordered us to bring the balloon down, we had already done our spying, so we did.”
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While many laughed off the prank, several commentators bashed the pair for trying to cause an international incident.
“A lot of people say we could be the start of World War III, but we wouldn’t want to do that. It was just a gathering mission. The intelligence could be quite important,” Pieters said.