FACT CHECK: Did The Jordanian King’s Daughter Shoot Down Five Iranian UAVs?
A post shared on X claims that the daughter of King Abdullah of Jordan shot down five Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on April 13.
Jordanian Report picked up in Israel — King Abdullah’s daughter Salma involved in downing five Iranian UAVs pic.twitter.com/NdcCeEcrsP
— Matthew Levitt (@Levitt_Matt) April 14, 2024
Verdict: Misleading
There is no evidence for this claim.
Fact Check:
Several Arab states, including Jordan, helped to defend Israel from Iran’s missile and drone attack, according to NBC News. Jordan helped shoot down several drones that appeared over Jordanian airspace, the outlet reported.
Social media users are claiming that King Abdullah’s daughter, Princess Salma, shot down five Iranian UAVs. One user wrote, “Jordanian Report picked up in Israel — King Abdullah’s daughter Salma involved in downing five Iranian UAVs.”
However, there is no evidence for this claim. If she had, credible news outlets would have, yet none have. Several news outlets, such as the New Arab, Newsweek, News 18 and NDTV have published articles casting doubt on the claim.
A Jordanian source told Newsweek that the claim was false. (RELATED: Image Does Not Show Recent Tehran Explosion)
“Any reports or social media posts published on this issue are fabricated. Jordan has been the target of a systematic disinformation campaign. This is clearly part of that campaign. We unequivocally affirm that this claim is baseless,” the source said to the outlet.
The claim appears to originate from an altered screenshot of an Emirates Woman article. The original article is from April 10, three days before the April 13 attack.
Roi Kais, the Arab Affairs correspondent for Kan, said that the claim was “fake” in an April 14 tweet.
אין שום דיווח שהנסיכה סלמה, בתו של מלך ירדן, השתתפה ביירוט כטב”מים איראניים הלילה הינדסו כתבה עליה מלפני כמה ימים.. פייק וכו pic.twitter.com/2nnk5Q1NX9
— roi kais • روعي كايس • רועי קייס (@kaisos1987) April 14, 2024
“There is no report that Princess Salma, the daughter of the King of Jordan, participated in the interception of Iranian drones tonight Hindso wrote about her from a few days ago.. Fake etc.,” Kais tweeted.