President Donald Trump’s unrelenting digital crusade against renewable energy hit a turbulent snag Tuesday after he falsely claimed a photo of a dead falcon in Israel showed a slaughtered American bald eagle.

This incident is more than a social media gaffe; it underscores the volatile nature of information sharing from the world's most powerful office. By amplifying an unverified image to millions, the White House has inadvertently highlighted the global tension between green energy infrastructure and wildlife conservation—a debate that resonates deeply here in Kenya, Africa’s wind energy powerhouse.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

Late Tuesday, the President posted the graphic image of a bird carcass beneath a turbine, captioned with the lament: “Windmills are killing all of our beautiful Bald Eagles!” The post was swiftly amplified by official White House accounts, reaching millions of screens instantly.

However, a forensic look at the image reveals a different reality. The bird is not the iconic American symbol, but a falcon. The location is not the American Midwest, but the Golan Heights in Israel. The photo was taken eight years ago.

In the rush to publish, two glaring visual clues were overlooked:

• The Plumage: The bird lacks the distinctive white head and tail feathers of a mature bald eagle.
• The Infrastructure: The turbine in the background clearly features Hebrew lettering.

Investigation confirms the image was captured by Hedy Ben Eliahou of Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority and was originally featured in a 2017 report by the Tel Aviv-based news outlet, Haaretz.

The Kenyan Connection

While the geography of the photo is distant, the subject matter hits close to home. Kenya is a continental leader in wind energy, with the Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) project standing as the largest of its kind in Africa. The tension between harnessing the Rift Valley's winds and protecting our rich avian life—including raptors and migratory birds—is a subject of rigorous scientific study, not meme-based policy.

Kenyan conservationists and energy developers frequently collaborate to mitigate these risks, utilizing shutdown-on-demand technology when flocks are sighted. This nuanced approach stands in stark contrast to the blunt instrument of misinformation deployed on Truth Social.

Ironically, had the President’s team traced the image to its source, they would have found a legitimate argument. The Israeli nature authorities noted that wind turbines do cause damage to bird life. Yet, by wrapping a factual concern in a fabrication, the validity of the argument is lost.

As the world navigates the transition to renewable energy, the debate requires precision and integrity. When global leaders tilt at windmills using false evidence, it does not save a single bird; it only erodes the public trust required to solve the problem.