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Trump Misidentifies Dead Bird Photo to Claim Windmills Kill Bald Eagles

An official White House account boosted the post, which fact-checkers traced to a 2017 Israeli image of a falcon.

Overview

  • The president posted the picture late Tuesday with the caption, “Windmills are killing all of our beautiful Bald Eagles!”
  • Mediaite and The Guardian reported that image searches linked the photo to Israeli news reports from 2017 and 2019, with credit to Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority.
  • The image was taken by Hedy Ben Eliahou and Israeli outlets identified the bird as a falcon or kestrel rather than a bald eagle.
  • Reporters also noted missing bald eagle markings and Hebrew writing on the turbine as visual evidence contradicting the claim.
  • The episode fits Trump’s years of attacks on wind energy, even as reporting cited by The Guardian notes Israeli turbines kill about two dozen birds annually.