New Delhi: Social media is abuzz with claims suggesting that Princess Salma bint Abdullah, the third child of King Abdullah and Queen Rania of Jordan, played a role in shooting down Iranian drones that allegedly breached Jordanian airspace en route to Israel. While Princess Salma is indeed a pilot in the Royal Jordanian Air Force, the viral photo circulating on social media is misleading. Furthermore, there's no confirmation from any official sources regarding her involvement in any operation to intercept Iranian drones.

Featuring an image of Princess Salma, aged 23, donning her Royal Jordanian Air Force pilot uniform, the viral post claims,"Princess Salma of Jordan shot down 6 Iranian drones last night." However, this image has been misinterpreted in recent viral posts as multiple news articles from last year corroborated that the photo indeed dates back to 2023.

Following the viral spread of the posts, X, formerly known as Twitter, took action by adding a Community Note to one of the claims. For the unversed, this feature enables users to provide context and fact-check misleading or false posts.

"A digitally altered screenshot of a media outlet has been shared claiming that Princess Salma of Jordan shot down 6 Iranian drones last night. These claims are fake and fabricated," the Community Note read.   

"The article's original headline reads, 'Princess Salma of Jordan leads Air Force initiative to airdrop medical supplies in Gaza'. It was published on 15 December 2023. Intent: Propagandists are circulating digitally altered news articles to set their propaganda over the escalating conflict between Israel-Iran," it added.    

CLAIM: Princess Salma shoots down Iran's drones

FACT: The photo dates back to 2023.

In December 2023, Princess Salma played a vital role in delivering aid to a Gaza hospital as part of a contingent. Serving as a first lieutenant in the Royal Jordanian Air Force, she orchestrated the drop of supplies to the 41-bed Jordanian field hospital located in northern Gaza. Notably, at the age of 23, Princess Salma made history as Jordan's first female pilot when she earned her wings in 2020.