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Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
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.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Photo of Russian intercontinental ballistic missile falsely shared as belonging to Ethiopia
The post, published on March 12, 2025 reads: 'Ethiopia's Most Powerful Intercontinental Ballistic Missile in the World #Ethiopia'. The post contains two images of a large missile being transported on a snowy road. Upon closer inspection, it appears to be the same photograph used twice, but one image is flipped and cropped more tightly. Similar posts were also shared here and here on Facebook. On March 5, 2025, during a visit to a local ammunition factory that recently underwent an expansion, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that the country has improved its capacity to produce ammunition domestically and is now able to export its production (archived here). Several days later, on March 8, 2025, Abiy inaugurated Sky Wing Industry, a company that manufactures unmanned drones for civilian and military purposes (archived here). The developments came amid tensions in the conflict-ridden Horn of Africa due to landlocked Ethiopia's pursuit of access to the Red Sea, which has angered neighboring Eritrea. Abiy recently said that his country would not invade Eritrea to gain access to the sea (archived here). However, the photos do not show an intercontinental ballistic system belonging to Ethiopia. The first clue that the photo may not have been taken in Ethiopia is the snow-covered road, as snow is a rare occurrence in the country. AFP Fact Check conducted reverse image searches on the image and found the original photo published more than four years ago. The Russian defense ministry originally published the photo on February 25, 2021 (archived here). The photo was captioned 'A column of Yars mobile ground-based missile systems marches from Ivanovo Oblast to Moscow Region to prepare for a military parade on Red Square'. Ivanovo is a region in western Russia, northeast of Moscow. The photo, credited to the ministry (here and here), was also used in several reports about Russian ballistic missile systems (archived here and here). Mark Cancian, senior defense and security advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, confirmed to AFP Fact Check that the photo shows a Russian missile system. "This is a doctored photo of a Russian Topol (SS-27) in the snow," Mark said. 'There is no way Ethiopia has an ICBM [intercontinental ballistic missile].' In the false post, the original photo was edited to add the Ethiopian flag. The RS-24 Yars, also referred to as SS-27 Mod 2, is a Russian intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 10,500 kilometres that has been in service since 2010 (archived here). The Arms Control Association, a US-based research and advocacy group, lists countries that own ballistic missiles. Ethiopia is not among them (archived here). Ethiopia's government has never mentioned owning any type of intercontinental ballistic missile.
AFP
27-03-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Photo of Russian intercontinental ballistic missile falsely shared as belonging to Ethiopia
The post, published on March 12, 2025 reads: 'Ethiopia's Most Powerful Intercontinental Ballistic Missile in the World #Ethiopia'. Image Screenshot of the false post, taken on March 24, 2025 The post contains two images of a large missile being transported on a snowy road. Upon closer inspection, it appears to be the same photograph used twice, but one image is flipped and cropped more tightly. Similar posts were also shared here and here on Facebook. On March 5, 2025, during a visit to a local ammunition factory that recently underwent an expansion, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that the country has improved its capacity to produce ammunition domestically and is now able to export its production (archived here). Several days later, on March 8, 2025, Abiy inaugurated Sky Wing Industry, a company that manufactures unmanned drones for civilian and military purposes (archived here). The developments came amid tensions in the conflict-ridden Horn of Africa due to landlocked Ethiopia's pursuit of access to the Red Sea, which has angered neighboring Eritrea. Abiy recently said that his country would not invade Eritrea to gain access to the sea (archived here). However, the photos do not show an intercontinental ballistic system belonging to Ethiopia. Russian Yars missile system The first clue that the photo may not have been taken in Ethiopia is the snow-covered road, as snow is a rare occurrence in the country. AFP Fact Check conducted reverse image searches on the image and found the original photo published more than four years ago. The Russian defense ministry originally published the photo on February 25, 2021 (archived here). The photo was captioned 'A column of Yars mobile ground-based missile systems marches from Ivanovo Oblast to Moscow Region to prepare for a military parade on Red Square'. Ivanovo is a region in western Russia, northeast of Moscow. Image Screenshot of the original photo shared by the Russian defence ministry, taken on March 25, 2025 The photo, credited to the ministry (here and here), was also used in several reports about Russian ballistic missile systems (archived here and here). Mark Cancian, senior defense and security advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, confirmed to AFP Fact Check that the photo shows a Russian missile system. "This is a doctored photo of a Russian Topol (SS-27) in the snow," Mark said. 'There is no way Ethiopia has an ICBM [intercontinental ballistic missile].' In the false post, the original photo was edited to add the Ethiopian flag. The RS-24 Yars, also referred to as SS-27 Mod 2, is a Russian intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 10,500 kilometres that has been in service since 2010 (archived here). The Arms Control Association, a US-based research and advocacy group, lists countries that own ballistic missiles. Ethiopia is not among them (archived here). Ethiopia's government has never mentioned owning any type of intercontinental ballistic missile.
