September 22, 2021

FALSE: the image does not show the Ethiopian Air Force in action

HAQCHECKFact checking

The image happens to be from a 2017 military training.

Avatar: Kirubel Tesfaye
By Kirubel Tesfaye

Kirubel works as a fact-checker at Addis Zeybe for HaqCheck. He is interested in learning and expanding his writing and journalistic skills.

FALSE: the image does not show the Ethiopian Air Force in action

Facebook page with more than 100 thousand followers posted two similar images on September 12  with an explanatory phrase claiming, “ the Ethiopian air force in action”.

The post had been shared more than 163 times including different public groups until the time this article was published. 

However, HaqCheck looked into the credibility of the images and finally rated the post as False.

This post is among misinformative images that had been circulating across social media following the ongoing armed conflict between the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) since November 2020. Given some claims that the Ethiopian Air Force is backing up the battle in Tigray, and its employment of modern drones, the Air Force happened to become a center of attention.

However, a reverse image search of the picture led to a youtube video posted on June 15, 2017. The video entitled “how quickly can the nato forces react?  Military exercise in Romania with NATO VJTF “ has more than 15 million views. The footage shows a military training named “Exercise noble jump 17” held in Romania.

Hence, though there are various reports claiming military operations are being held on TPLF, the image doesn't actually show the Ethiopian Air Force in action, making the post to be rated as False.