A Ugandan cop is creating a buzz on social media. His photo has gone viral on social media, wherein he can be seen posing with a catapult. More than the photo, it is the context with which it was shared on Twitter that has prompted a response from netizens.
The claim
A viral social media post claimed that an Uganda police spokesman hit a journalist with a catapult. The back the claim, a photo of the said officer aiming a catapult convinced the masses.
"Newly appointed Uganda police spokesman hits news reporter with a catapult for asking irrelevant question," a Twitter user (_@Sir_CharlesR) alleged in a tweet on Saturday.
The post went viral shortly after. It got nearly 7,000 RTs and over 25,000 likes. Many shared the post as humour, taking a dig at Indian media, while others questioned its authenticity.
Several users on Twitter shared the post with the same claim, making the masses believe.
Fact check
International Business Times reviewed the viral claims on social media. With a reverse image search of the viral photograph, we were able to find a link to a YouTube video by UBC Television Uganda, which is an Uganda public broadcast service. The person seen in the photo is Fred Enanga, Ugandan police force spokesperson, and from a video, in which the officer is warning the public about notorious gangs targeting civilians with catapults.
The video was uploaded on April 13, 2021, and the caption clearly debunks the viral claims made on Twitter. The caption read: "UGANDAN POLICE TIGHTEN VIGILANCE AGAINST CATAPULT GANGS."
In the video, the officer can be heard saying: "You do like this and you target somebody. So you can see how dangerous this thing is" while pulling the catapult. "They are very dangerous because they are capable of firing metallic and credible projectiles or metallic bearings," he had warned.
In the description of the video, it read: "Uganda police is investigation about a criminal gang trading terror activities using catapults to destabilize the country. While addressing the media in the weekly brief, the spokesperson of police Fred Enanga says some suspects are already apprehended as police is tracing for the rest."
Besides this evidence, the official Twitter handle of Uganda Police Force also responded to one of the viral threads saying "fake news". The thread was by a popular Kenyan lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi, who took potshots at the Uganda Police while sharing the viral photo of Fred Enanga. Abdullahi deleted his tweet after the correction.
Based on these facts, IBTimes has arrived at the conclusion that the viral photo claiming to be of a Ugandan cop hitting a journalist with a catapult is false and baseless.
