AMMAN: Social media posts claiming that Princess Salma bint Abdullah, the third child of King Abdullah and Queen Rania of Jordan, shot down Iranian drones that had entered Jordanian airspace en route to Israel have gone viral.
While Princess Salma is indeed a pilot in the Royal Jordanian Air Force, the viral photo circulating on social media is misleading. There is no official confirmation to support the claim that she participated in any operation to intercept Iranian drones.
Viral posts claim, “Princess Salma of Jordan shot down 6 Iranian drones last night,” accompanied by a photo of the 23-year-old Princess donning her Jordanian air force pilot uniform. However, the image being widely circulated dates back to 2023, as confirmed by multiple news articles from last year featuring the same photograph.
Following the viral spread of these claims, X took action by adding a Community Note—a feature allowing users to provide context and fact-check misinformation—to one of the posts. “A digitally altered screenshot of a media outlet has been shared claiming that Princess Salma of Jordan shot down six Iranian drones last night. These claims are fake and fabricated,” the Community Note clarified.
