Did this cop really hit a reporter with a slingshot? Truth behind viral photo

A police spokesman in Uganda has been photographed with a slingshot.

An image circulating on social media claims to show a newly appointed police spokesman in Uganda beating a news reporter with a slingshot for asking “irrelevant questions”. The image, shared by several Twitter users, shows the agent holding a slingshot at what appears to be a press conference. Several microphones were placed in front of him as he prepared to release the slingshot spring.

Uganda’s newly appointed police spokesman beats news reporter with caterpillar for asking irrelevant questions [sic]’, one Twitter user wrote while sharing the photo on the microblogging platform, where he has racked up more than 25,000 ‘likes’ and nearly 10,000 ‘retweets’.

Uganda’s newly appointed police spokesman slaps news reporter for asking irrelevant questions.
pic.twitter.com/KhiHJFq5OD
— Completely Vaxxed G! (@_Sir_CharlesR) March 12, 2022

Other Twitter users also shared the photo with similar claims over the weekend.

Uganda’s newly appointed police spokesman jerks out a news reporter for asking irrelevant questions. pic.twitter.com/1IByYsvnjs
— Husband is NOT Barry Roux  (@AdvoBarryRoux) March 13, 2022

The truth behind this viral photo

So a police spokesperson attacked a journalist for an irrelevant question, or is this bizarre claim not true? It turns out that the claim is false. No police spokesman in Uganda has hit a journalist with a slingshot.

The image is actually from last year, when officers recovered a batch of dangerous catapults in Kampala, Uganda Radio Network reports. Police spokesman Fred Enanga had warned in a press conference about the dangers of catapults.

The image is actually from that press conference in 2021, and not from a recent press conference, as some of the internet is claiming.

This was confirmed by the Ugandan police themselves. When Kenyan lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi tried to dig into Uganda’s police force by sharing the image with the false claim, the police’s official Twitter handle quickly labeled it “fake news”.