A photo claiming to show an eagle snatching a drone at the final Azimio La Umoja rally in Nairobi is False. The photo emerged online on Saturday, as Kenya’s two main political movements held their final rallies.
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Reports shared on social media, mainly through WhatsApp, indicated that an eagle had disrupted the rally after it snatched a drone being used to capture video and photos at the event. One report indicated that the eagle snatched the drone “and disappeared into thin air”, while another Facebook post alleged the drone belonged to Citizen TV and the incident disrupted the broadcaster’s live coverage.
A Google reverse image search has, however, established that the photo was taken by Koen Van Weel, a photographer with AFP, in March 2016. The photo documents a trained eagle, from the Guard From Above company, wrapping its talons around a drone during a police exercise in the Netherlands.
The image is available on Getty Images, where it has been captioned, “An eagle of the Guard From Above company, grasps a drone during a police exercise in Katwijk, on March 7, 2016. The bird of prey can get drones from the air by catching them with his legs.”
The photo has also been fact-checked and flagged by a number of platforms online. Also, a 2016 video report from BBC News shows the eagle in action with a drone.
This fact-check was produced by BUSINESS TODAY with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck, African Fact Checking Alliance network and the United Nations Development Programme.
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