Posts misleadingly claim Ethiopian innovator built intercontinental ballistic missile
The text in Amharic that accompanies the post reads: 'A young Ethiopian has built an intercontinental ballistic missile that surpasses the North Korean one.'
The post was published on Facebook on May 25, 2025, and has been shared more than 1,300 times.
The post contains a three-minute video showing what looks like a missile on display in public. Text written in Amharic on a banner in the background reads: 'Ethiopian National Skill Competition and Exhibition.'
The video begins with a presenter introducing a young Ethiopian innovator named Haile Selassie Abera.
'The young man explained that he has been inspired by the North Korean Hwasong 19 to build a new model of ballistic missile,' says the presenter.
Haile Selassie explains: 'I modelled it on the North Korean Hwasong 19 intercontinental ballistic missile.'
'In the course of development, I identified some limitations of the North Korean model and improved them in my innovation model,' he said.
He further claims that his model would produce less carbon.
At 1'25' in the video, the Ethiopian Labour Minister, Muferihat Kamil, speaks about training programmes.
'We believe that the technique and skill development programs are not limited to developing skills,' she says 'They aim at achieving productive citizens and a competitive economy as well as promoting indigenous technological advancement.'
A similar post was also shared here on Facebook.
Ethiopia is ramping up its military development amidst regional rivalries with neighbouring countries over access to the Red Sea.
In March 2025, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed inaugurated an ammunition factory, noting that the country has improved its capacity to produce ammunition domestically and is now able to export its production (archived here).
In the same month, Abiy also launched Sky Wing Industry, a company that manufactures unmanned drones for civilian and military purposes (archived here).
However, the claim that the video shows an Ethiopian intercontinental ballistic missile is misleading.
AFP Fact Check used the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify to conduct reverse image searches on keyframes from the video.
The results included the original video by Gazette Plus, a YouTube channel run by the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA). It was published on May 19, 2025 (archived here).
The video is originally a 16-minute-long news report on the 4th Ethiopian National Skills Competition and Exhibition held in Addis Ababa from May 5-10, 2025 under the theme: 'Bright Minds, Skilled Citizens.'
The video starts with the news presenter briefly talking about the evolution of intercontinental ballistic missiles around the world.
At 2'02', one of the participants is interviewed.
'Haile Selassie learnt from the experience of the great powers and created a model of missile technology that fits Ethiopia's current technological progress and gives hope for the future destiny of his country,' the presenter says.
This statement was removed from the misleading Facebook video, omitting the crucial fact that the video shows a model of a missile, not a real one.
From 4'55' to 6'36', we hear Haile Selassie's explanation of the model he built based on the North Korean Hwasong-19 ICBM, as well as the labour minister's comments. This part remains unchanged in the misleading video.
A comparison of photos of the North Korean Hwasong-19, obtained from the NK News website, with the model created by Haile Selassie shows notable differences in size and design (archived here).
At 8'56' in the original video, Haile Selassie clarifies that the model he created is not a functional missile.
'I want the support of the government so that I can attend a better school where I can get practical lessons and continue my innovations,' he said. 'If I get proper support, it will be possible to build the missile using the model.'
At 10'18', Haile Selassie also describes the materials he used.
'I obtained leftover materials from five different sources: construction materials, electronics maintenance shops, automotive repair shops, carpentry shops, and various discarded materials I collected from garbage bins.'
The misleading video again omitted these details to create the incorrect impression that it showed a real, functional ICBM.
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