Fact-check: An alleged fight at the SPLM House over President Kiir’s resignation is false

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After the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) convention on December 6, a Facebook page published a post claiming a fight erupted within the party over President Kiir’s decision to resign, a statement the party’s Secretary General rubbished as fake news. 

Writer: Ghai Aketch

Following the SPLM convention this month, a widely shared claim about a fight at the SPLM House emerged on Facebook. It stated that President Salva Kiir, also SPLM Chairperson, proposed to resign, but the party members were divided over the matter.

SPLM is South Sudan’s ruling party that waged the liberation war against the Khartoum-based regime in the 1980s. And it eventually led the country to independence on July 9, 2011.

But later, after the independence, the mother-party splitted due to power wrangles. Some high-ranking officials in the party opted out to form; SPLM – In Opposition, Real SPLM, FDs, SSUF, and others.

Above is the screenshot of the post alleging fight at the SPLM House

“FIGHTING ERUPTS INSIDE SPLM HOUSE; RIGHT NOW!

We received reports that there is ongoing fighting at the SPLM HOUSE between members of the SPLM after President Salva Kiir has threatened to RESIGN in the next upcoming days.

“You people, I have given you everything. I have allowed you to do as you please but you always bring me shame. I will retire Dr. Riek Machar Teny and I will resign so you can continue to fight yourselves. You will come to look for me because you cannot handle running the country.” Said President Salva Kiir,” the page claims.

But did a fight happen at the SPLM house? The claim was looked at by 211 Check:

However, Peter Lam, the SPLM Secretary General, rubbished the claim when contacted to comment on this alleged fighting within the party.

“All fake news from some people. Thank you for letting me know. They can’t believe that SPLM can come together in unity again.” He told 211 Check, in a written WhatsApp reply.

There is no established and credible media reporting on the aforementioned fight, nor are video footages or images in circulation, as there could always be.

Conclusion:

We conclude that there was no fighting that erupted at the SPLM House. The party’s Secretary General dismissed the report as false. Additionally, according to the party official, President Kiir never threatened his party members to resign as the President of South Sudan. 

This fact-check was published by 211 Check with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck and the African Fact-Checking Alliance.  

Fact-check: This Ministry of Agriculture Facebook page soliciting grant applications is a scam.

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This page poses as the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, gathering personal and business information via a Google Form that could be used to commit cybercrime against the victims.

Writer: Ochaya Jackson

A Facebook post by a page purporting to be the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security – South Sudan making rounds online about financial support for smallholder agricultural producers is false.

The claim, which called for an “application of interest for grant” from farmers, agribusiness and business enterprises, charged that the move is in partnership with the international fund for agricultural development and farmers’ business network, which targets ten thousand smallholder farmers, women households and youth whose lives rely on farming.

“The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is inviting Farmers, Agribusinesses and Business Development Enterprises with good business linkages to smallholder agricultural producers and processors to offer them financial support,” part of the application post on December 12th, 2022 reads which directed applicants to apply using uniform resource locator or URL.

“We are in partnership with [the] International Fund for Agricultural Development and Farmers Business Network to help us fight hunger and poverty. Ten thousand smallholder farmers, including women-headed households and young people whose livelihoods depend on Farming, are also to be part of this program,” the application post adds an accompanying picture of six individuals perhaps taken in a meeting.

The screenshot of a scam Facebook post

The application URL, which the claim directs applicants to apply through when clicked, takes to a Google-designed document form with three sections. 

The first section presents questionnaires to collect personal information (name, email, contacts and so on), the second section gathers agricultural farming details, and the third one requires financial support input where one puts the amount of money he or she wants, and selects an option for the use of the money then submit it.

The screenshot of the Google doc form for the fraud grant

The International Fund for Agricultural Development and Farmers Business Network, which the post claimed the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security – South Sudan is in partnership with to offer the grant, is non-existing. This was after a keyword search on [International Fund for Agriculture Development and Farmers Business Network] was performed on the Google search engine. There only exists Farmers Business Network | FBN, which helps family farmers maximise their farm’s profit potential by leveraging technology to reduce the cost of production and maximise the value of crops.

However, the claim appeared to impersonate the International Fund for Agricultural Development, a specialised agency of the United Nations, founded in 1974 after the world food conference. In addition, there needs to be more information about grant offers and partnerships with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security of South Sudan to assist farmers and other agribusiness entities on its website.

South Sudan’s government institution, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, does not have an official Facebook page or a website; the page being run in its name is managed by fraudsters.

Conclusion:

The claim that the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is providing grants to farmers and other agribusiness entities in conjunction with the international fund for agricultural development and farmers’ business network is false.

This fact-check was published by 211 Check with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck and the African Fact-Checking Alliance.  

Fact-check: International Education for Global Minds scholarship for South Sudanese is a scam

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The page is part of at least two others (there could be more) that use the promise of a scholarship to get South Sudanese to give up personal information like IDs and academic credentials, as well as money.

Writer: Modi Moses Eyobo

A Facebook page post that has been shared and forwarded widely in WhatsApp groups about a scholarship offer to Sudanese and South Sudanese is false. 

The post sought to ask South Sudanese, and Sudanese senior four leavers who scored 65% and above as well as graduates who are looking for jobs or else want to further their education to contact an MTN Ugandan number for any assistance on the matter.

Screenshot of the Facebook page post

The page and its posts looked suspcious and then 211 Check mounted an investigation.

It appeared that a similar scam was debunked by 211 Check earlier in 2021 which was found to be a hoax. At the time, it was known as “Madam Atong Foundation,” but it was later renamed “Mudam Atong Foundationn.”

The helpline telephone number provided for in the claim for assistance is registered by a Uganda-based subscriber named Ivan Mukisa, when verified using MTN Uganda Mobile Money. 

The screenshot of the MTN Mobile money transaction

When the number was verified on WhatsApp to determine whether the number was for official use by the organization, what turned out more suspicious was the individual picture on the WhatsApp status instead of the organization logo.

Besides, a reverse image search of the WhatsApp picture was run on Yandex search engine and it appeared to be associated with the Twitter handles of several users which include Getrud Kei, Prophet Frank Mo1, GAM-20, Spiritual Man, Rich Hingi, and Ray Kanungu. And all of them never tweeted anything related to the International Education for Global Minds.

The same email address [[email protected]] used for the debunked Mama Atong Foundation was recycled again for the International Education for Global Mind scholarship.

When 211 Check engaged the number on WhatsApp conversations to extract email that could be used to share documents for the scholarship, here is how it went.

The screenshot of the WhatsApp conversations

And even the photos accompanying the claim on Facebook don’t match any event related to the International Education for Minds scholarship when verified using both the Google lens search, and Yandex image search.

We also found out that there are three of these pages that talk about the same scholarship offer and use the same email ([email protected]) and WhatsApp number (+256770671123) so interested applicants can contact them. 

“International Education For Global Minds,” “Mudam Atong Foundationn,” and “South Sudanese scholarships 2021_2025” are the names of these three related Facebook pages.

Information about transparency shows that these pages were made between July 2020 and May 2021 and managed from Uganda.

What is the International Education for Global Minds?

According to a Google search, the International Education for Global Minds is a leading university representative and educational consultant that recruits students from Germany and Austria for universities around the world. IEC began operations in Germany in 2001.

More information about their services can be found on their website and LinkedIn profile. There have been no updates on their platforms indicating that they are offering scholarships to South Sudanese and Sudanese students.

Conclusion:

A viral post on a Facebook page named International Education for global minds and shared on WhatsApp alleging they offer Sudanese and South Sudanese scholarships is a hoax.

 This fact-check was published as part of an assignment for the Empowering Fact-checking in South Sudan (EFiSS) Training Program by 211 Check.

Fact-check: Did President Salva Kiir say ‘he has failed’ the country as a leader?

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Writer: Ghai Aketch 

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir, after making his speech at the convention of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) National Liberation Council following the party’s endorsement to run for the presidency in 2025, was quoted by Sixty 4 Tribes Press as saying he ‘has failed the country as a leader for the 20 years he has been in power and he cannot stop the ongoing violence in Upper Nile region.’ 

“I CANNOT STOP THE WAR IN SOUTH SUDAN. 

I have failed as a leader and a ruling President for the last 20 years that I have been in Power, I have failed my people and my country. I don’t know how to stop this war. I don’t know what is happening, I don’t trust my appointed staff because they are always going behind my back to participate in crimes,” the Facebook page attributed the quote to  President Kiir. 

Screenshot of the Facebook post as shared by Sixty 4 Tribes Press

But did the President say that in his address aired by the national broadcaster, SSBC, on December 6?

No, in the full audio reviewed by 211 Check, the South Sudanese leader didn’t say these words attributed to him.

Additionally, Kiir has not been in power for 20 years, as the page claims. He succeeded Dr. John Garang, who died in a helicopter crash in 2005, as the SPLM chairperson. That makes 17 years as the SPLM party leader from 2005 and the president as of 2011 to date. 

President Kiir was formally handed the power as an elected president of the Republic of  South Sudan on July 9, 2011, when the country attained independence from Sudan.

Moreover, the Office of the President made a press statement shortly later for clarification, saying the media houses misquoted the president. 

“While deploring the sub-national violence in the Upper Nile Region that is taking tolls on innocent civilians, the president said he cannot stop it alone. Some media houses took this statement out of context by insinuating that the president has taken his hands off this issue,” reads part of the presidential press statement. 

Conclusion: 

Our verification of the president’s speech audio and searches from the available information conclude that President Kiir did not say he has ‘failed’ as a leader. And that he ‘cannot stop the violence in the country.’ These quotes attributed to him are false and altered. 


This fact check was published by 211 Check with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck and the African Fact-Checking Alliance. 

Blog: The need for disability-inclusive tools to combat online disinformation

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Despite many fact-checking tools, online journalism must embrace inclusion. This requires inclusive digital security training for digital news companies and accessible fact-checking tools.

Writer: Nancy Marangu

The evolution of social media platforms has changed the dichotomy in which information is received and disseminated over time.

As a platform enabler, the internet has given birth to digital, also known as online journalism, which allows everyone to share information quickly. Digital journalism, a modern form of reporting in which editorial content is distributed via the internet, is continuing to transform journalism.

While we appreciate the rapid distribution of content, we must remember that fake news and misinformation continue to affect everyone, mainly persons with disabilities (PWDs). As a result, interventions for PWDs are required so that they can benefit equally from objective and accurate information.

As a result, it is necessary to:

To begin, news organisations must ensure that inclusive media verification tools are accessible and usable by people with disabilities during content distribution. This is because news organisations and digital platforms play a significant role in news distribution control and managing digital journalism collaboratively. This implies that information distributors can be as creative as possible in providing messages in various forms, including speech, while maintaining accessible websites.

Second, NewsCheck is being integrated into the information distribution platform. NewsCheck uses blockchain technology to provide credible scoring on information posted on various social media platforms. This necessitates that news organisations develop accessibility applications that PWDs can easily use to identify disinformation and investigate mechanisms for correcting false information.

Third, while using institutionally accessible websites, news organisations can incorporate Adblock Plus, a browser extension and application that blocks advertisements and websites via filtering lists. The filtering list protects users from malicious and disinformation-spreading websites.

Finally, according to Rand Corporation, 2022, Bot Sentinel is a platform designed to detect and track troll bots and untrustworthy Twitter accounts. Bot Sentinel analyses Twitter accounts, classifies information as trustworthy or untrustworthy and identifies bots using machine learning and artificial intelligence. Developers use the data they collect to investigate the impact of bots and their propaganda on discourse, as well as ways to combat the spread of bots and the information they spread. Untrustworthy accounts must be classified manually. Hundreds of tweets and retweets are reviewed during the review process. They may label an account untrustworthy if it has many followers and a high percentage of misleading and/or factually incorrect tweets. However, it is essential to note that most digital journalists share information on their Twitter platforms. While information is distributed, it is unfortunate that the owners of the companies conduct little or no continuous research to determine the population segments that access information through their platforms.

In conclusion, while there are many more fact-checking tools available, the need for online journalism to incorporate inclusion is critical. Moving forward, this will necessitate more inclusive digital security training for digital news organisations and intentional innovation in information fact-checking tools accessible and usable by people with disabilities.


This blog article was published as part of an assignment for the Empowering Fact-checking in South Sudan (EFiSS) Training Program by 211 Check.

Fact-check: Be aware the Ministry of Finance is not calling for grant applications 

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The Ministry of Finance has confirmed to 211 Check and cautioned online users that a Facebook page calling for grant applications is fake. Previously 211 Check warned of similar hoaxes targeting the netizens in South Sudan.

Writer: Ghai Aketch

Several fake calls for grant applications have been targeting unsuspecting South Sudanese lately in an attempt to collect important data or even exhort money.

This Facebook hoax purporting the Ministry of Finance shared on December 7 claims it is offering $350M as funding from international organisations geared towards agriculture and trade improvement in South Sudan. But that information is false.

“Applications are still ongoing following the grant worth $350M we received from the International Monetary Fund, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Global Entrepreneurship Network. This program is targeted to boost trade, investment and agriculture,” the false claim reads in part.

Screenshot of the post shared on 7th December

The transparency section of the imposter page states that it was created on 7th December 

Additionally, the link directs applicants to a Google form to fill in their personal data.

211 Check called the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and looked at the digital platforms for USAID to find out if this call for grant applications is real or not:

We contacted Maal Maker, the Head of Media in the Ministry of Finance and Planning- South Sudan. However, in response to our  enquiry, he told 211 Check-in writing  that “this information is fake.” 

He shared the ministry’s official page used for official communications.  

Screenshot for the legitimate Finance Ministry’s Facebook page

We also checked the USAID South Sudan website and social media accounts, Facebook and Twitter handle, but no grant application information is available.  

In  October this year 211 Check debunked a similar hoax offering the same amount, 350M dollars. But it was mimicking the  Ministry of Investment. The ministry later denied having a call for funding through its official Facebook page.

Additionally, in April,  211 Check warned online users of another scam of the same application requirements, which resurfaced online.

Conclusion:

211 Check concludes that the page calling for grant applications is a hoax. It was created on the same day, December 7, 2022, and sponsored the false call for applications. 

We noticed that this impostor page goes by the name Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, but the genuine page is named Ministry of Finance and Planning-South Sudan. The legitimate page does not have the word ‘Economic’ as part of its name.

This fact check was published by 211 Check with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck and the African Fact-Checking Alliance. 

Fact-check: No, a Chinese Pastor didn’t say he saw South Sudanese collecting firewood in heaven

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Writer: Ochaya Jackson

A tweet by Mariana Chep with a screenshot claiming that a Chinese pastor has seen South Sudanese gathering firewood in heaven is false.

“Chinese pastor reveals he saw South Sudanese collecting firewood in heaven,” reads the text on the screenshot shared on Twitter.

The screenshot of the tweet by Mariana Chep

The tweet by Mariana Chep got 14 replies, 7 retweets, and 27 reactions by the time of writing this fact-check.

When 211 Check performed keywords search “people collecting firewood in heaven” on Google; the return is that the incident appeared to have been published in 2018 on the Nairaland website, about a supposed Chinese Evangelist Wang Xiu Yin, who reportedly died and resurrected after 17 hours and narrated that he saw many Africans collecting firewood in hell.

And according to BestNewsGH.com, which also published the story in 2018; Wang Xiu Yin was sent back to life after an angel named Luj intervened by saying it was not yet time for him to die.

A reverse image search of the picture in the screenshot shows it is of Chinese-American pastor Po-Ming Wang of Christ Church of Bay Area in San Mateo, California – United States, not pastor Wang Xiu Yin as claimed. Pastor Po-Ming’s picture appeared to have been taken from a YouYube video of him posted in 2014 when he was delivering a Chinese sermon service.

And also, in 2019, a Facebook page Juba Eye posted the same claim that a Chinese pastor interacted with the angel who told the pastor that those gathering firewood in heaven to keep themselves warm were South Sudanese.

The screenshot of the Juba Eye Facebook page

Results of the research conducted about the claimed pastor Wang Xiu Yin turned out to be similar to pastor Wang Yi who was imprisoned in 2019 for nine years because of illegal business operations.

Additionally, his name is not among the list of Chinese pastors and religious Ministers who made public petition against persecution in China in 2018.

A search on Google using the keywords Pastor Wang Xiu Yin, and Evangelist Wang Xiu Yin did not yield any results. 

Conclusion:

The Twitter claim that a Chinese pastor found South Sudanese gathering firewood in heaven is false, and the existence of the claimed pastor is rare.

This fact check was published by 211 Check with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck and the African Fact-Checking Alliance

Fact-check: South Sudanese pastor bathing women in church? No, the photos are by a Ghanaian skitmaker

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Writer: Wek Atak Kacjang

A Facebook post on the 7th of December purporting to be of a Pastor in South Sudan and suspected to be an ‘Atendior church‘ washing his congregation with water inside the church is false.

Mayom Paul Abol Lok, who has over 4,900 friends and 352 followers on Facebook, published the post, which received over 30 interactions and 12 comments.

From the people in the pictures to the comments made by some of his friends and followers, something didn’t look right about them.

Screenshot of the Facebook post

But are these photos of a pastor in South Sudan washing church members real?

211 Check did a reverse image search on the pictures with the help of google lenses and realised the same pictures were used in Nigeria by a local online platform, Naira land, in January 2022 by ExAngel007. With the headline ‘Pastor strips Female Members, Bathe them during crossover’.

Other sites also had similar pictures with the same heading as seen here, here, and here,

But another site, Exclusive Base, did different research that was shared by other sites here and here. They found out that Mark Mensah, the CEO of Phens Multimedia in Ghana, made the pictures that were widely shared on social media.

People often call Mensah “Pastor Blinks,” but he is not a pastor; he makes skits. Here’s the rest of the story.

Conclusion:

The above evidence indicates that these photographs were not taken in South Sudan. They are Ghanaian in origin.

This fact-check was published as part of an assignment for the Empowering Fact-checking in South Sudan (EFiSS) Training Program by 211 Check.

Fact-check: No, Qatar Energy and FIFA are not giving out cash celebration gifts

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Scam artists do this to make sure as many people as possible click on their link. This link wants to get information from people. With this information, someone could swap SIM cards and get into your phone, email, bank, and other accounts.

Writer: Jibi Moses

A link going viral claims that Qatar Energy and FIFA are giving out cash in the promotion to celebrate the World Cup, which is currently going on in Qatar.

The link being widely shared on WhatsApp has the title: “QatarEnergy World Cup Qatar 2022 Celebration Gifts” It then tells readers, “Congratulations! QatarEnergy World Cup Qatar 2022 Celebration Gifts. Through the questionnaire, you will have a chance to get 100000 pounds.”

A screenshot of the first image you get.

The site gives you two options of continuing or not by clicking on the answers to four questions. The questions are 1. Do you know Qatar Energy? 2. How old are you? 3. How do you think of QatarEnergy? 4. What’s your age? 

Right after you answer the questions, you get another message of congratulations with a picture of 1,000 South Sudanese Pound notes. You must share with other people before you get the price. About 20 people or in five WhatsApp Groups.

This is an example of classic engagement bait. These are typically social media posts in which people are encouraged to interact by liking, commenting or sharing. This expands the post’s reach but provides no reward or celebration gifts.

Screenshot showing the congratulatory pop-up message

The link looked like it could be phishing, so we looked into it.

What is Qatar Energy?

Wikipedia writes that Qatar Energy, formerly Qatar Petroleum, is the state Petroleum company responsible for all the oil and gas activities in the country headed by the Minister of State for Energy affairs. Qatar Energy’s home page writes a lot about itself, its activities, career opportunities and its staff. There is no mention of these said celebration gifts on its site.

Domain information of quatarenergy.qa 

FIFA is the world’s football governing body in full as International Federation Association Football, with its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, and its current President is Gianni Infantino. And the Association was founded on May 21, 1904, in Rue Saint-Honore, Paris. France. Its website does not show that they’re offering cash celebrations gifts as claimed in the phishing link.

Domain information of the FIFA.com 

Attempts to obtain comments from the organisations were futile because their Facebook and Twitter direct message boxes were closed to the public. They still needed to respond to our emails as of the publication date.

Domain information of the impostor site

Conclusion:

The claim that Qatar Energy and FIFA are giving out cash celebration gifts in South Sudanese Pounds is false. The message contains a phishing link that is part of engagement bait.

So, people should be as careful as possible to avoid these cheap and too-good-to-be-true deals.

This fact check was published by 211 Check with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck and the African Fact-Checking Alliance.  

Fact check: No, this photo showing naked dancers was not taken in a Juba Club

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This photo doesn’t show an incident that happened in Juba; according to TinEye reverse image search, it has been used to describe events in Zimbabwe, and Nigeria in 2016 and 2018, respectively.

Writer: Beatrice Amude Paulino

A Facebook post on the 4th December 2022 by Lainya TV claiming that “a girl was seen undressing while dancing” to music star DJ Cent is false and misleading. 

The page claimed the photo of the dancers was taken in a disco club in Juba over the weekend.

“This weekend at a club in Juba, a girl was seen undressing slowly while dancing to Dj-Cent Mr No Rest ‘s latest hit. The girl was wearing a full sexy outfit before the Dj played the vibe “Let me be your lover” from  Dj cent that made the girl dance to the table while removing everything,” reads part of the Facebook post.

“The Dj was motivated and kept repeating the song until the girl finally removes her bra and lay on the table. People gave cheers and asked the Dj to increase the volume which made the girl undress fully naked before two responsible slay queens intervene and wrapped her in some clothes and dragged her out,” it added.

The screenshot of the Lainya TV Facebook post

The post garnered about 30 comments, 33 shares, and 88 reactions as of writing this fact-check. 

DJ Cent, who the post said the girl was dancing to his song, shared the post on his Facebook page and reacted by saying he needed the girl’s number so that he could bless her December.

However, 211 Check performed a reverse image search on the photo using TinEye, and it turned out that the photo was published on a website in Zimbabwe in 2016, describing the growth of dancing naked in the country’s nightclubs.

The photo was also used in the circumstances described to be in a Nigerian club in 2018. And DJ Cent is also not in the photo, which the post claims shows a girl dancing to his song.

Conclusion:

This didn’t happen in Juba. According to TinEye reverse image search, the image has been used in the past to describe events in Zimbabwe, and Nigeria in 2016 and 2018, respectively.


This fact check was published by 211 Check with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck and the African Fact-Checking Alliance.