Fact-check: Pyramid Continental Hotel Juba didn’t advertise these positions

/in , ,

This job ad is a scam. Pyramid Continental Hotel Juba did not advertise any job position.

Writer: Ochaya Jackson

A Facebook page peddling a job advertisement purportedly from Pyramid Continental Hotel Juba is a scam.

The page, which was seemingly created on 17 November 2023, claimed in a Facebook post that the hotel needs more staff in various departments. The post cited the festive season as the reason for the need for more workers, given the increase in the number of both local and international visitors. 

“WE ARE HIRING! We, urgently need staffs in various departments in our hotel. This has been brought by higher number of visitors from both local and foreign visitations during this festive season. As the managing committee, we came into an agreement to recruit more human resource to help in maintaining the smooth operations of the hotel. The interested candidates to apply via the link online sic),” reads the advertisement. 

The screenshot of the fraudulent Facebook page advertisement

The scam job advertisement also attached a Google form for applicants to use to apply for job positions. 

The screenshot of the Google form.

Claim Verification:

211 Check reviewed the Facebook page, which shared the advertisement critically, and it appeared that the page was created on 17 November 2023, given its profile picture update at 6:35 am. The page had one follower at the time we reviewed it.  

Meanwhile, the authentic Pyramid Continental Hotel Juba’s Facebook page was created in 2017 and has 16,000 likes and 18,000 followers. It has the hotel’s official contact information and the location address, and its reviews date back to 2017. A page review also shows that the hotel did not post such job offers.

Further, the official Pyramid Continental Hotel Juba Facebook page linked on the Hotel’s official website, flagged off the job advertisement as fake and cautioned the public against scammers. 

“Kindly note that someone has created a fake Facebook account with our Facebook page name, giving out fake information about jobs adverts…please don’t be scammed! , it’s not our official account,” reads a statement from Pyramid Continental Hotel Juba, posted on its Facebook page.

This is not the first time a hotel job advertisement scam has appeared on social media platforms. In September 2023, a Facebook page impersonated the Radisson Blu Hotel Juba claiming a job offer on various positions, which 211 Check also debunked as a scam.

Conclusion:

The Facebook job advertisement claiming to be from Pyramid Continental Hotel Juba is a scam. Pyramid Continental Hotel Juba did not advertise for any jobs, and the hotel management termed the job advertisement as fake.

This fact check was published by 211 Check with technical support from Code for Africa’s  PesaCheck newsdesk through the African Fact-Checking Alliance (AFCA).

To ensure accuracy and transparency, we at 211 Check welcome corrections from our readers. If you spot an error in this article, please request a correction using this form. Our team will review your request and make the necessary corrections immediately, if any.

It’s vital to fight misinformation and disinformation in the media by avoiding fake news. Don’t share content you’re uncertain about. False information can harm and mislead people, risking their lives—Fact-check before sharing. For more details, visit https://211check.org/ or message us on WhatsApp at +211 917 298 255. #FactsMatter

Fact-check: Do these tablets contain phenylpropanolamine, as claimed?

/in , ,

No, the tablets mentioned do not contain PPA. It is a compound that was banned years ago.

Writer: Ochaya Jackson

A widely forwarded WhatsApp message warning people about different tablets because they contain ‘Phenyl Propanol-Amide, PPA’, which supposedly causes strokes, is false.

“Avoid these tablets; they are very dangerous: D-cold, Vicks Action-500, Actified, Coldarin, Cosome, Nice, Nimulid, and Cetrizet-D. They contain phenyl Propanol-Amide, PPA, which causes strokes and is banned in the USA,” reads the WhatsApp message.

“Please, before deleting, help your friends by passing it. It might help someone. Forward to as many as you can,” it added.

Screenshot of the WhatsApp message claim forwarded widely in the groups 

The same claim can also be traced to a post by a Facebook user in 2017.

Investigation and Research

A keyword search on Google using the words “Does D-cold contain Phenyl Propanol-Amide” returned many results that show the claim is an old issue that has been fact-checked before. The report also stated that “Phenyl Propanol-Amide, PPA” is not correct; instead, the compound is called “PhenylPropanolamine, PPA.” 

In addition to that, the search results returned a statement issued by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2005 that ordered phenylpropanolamine, or PPA, to be removed from drug products and requested drug companies stop selling products with phenylpropanolamine. 

The FDA, further in the statement, recommended that consumers not use any drug containing PPA and urged them to read drug labels to see if the product has PPA instead of relying on outdated lists of products that may have already been reformulated and no longer contain PPA.

In the same search results, in 2017, the Ayup website published a report about the claim, which confirmed that PPA was no longer in the U.S. markets, citing the risk of stroke in younger women.

The composition of the claimed tablets

Several queries on the Google search engine for each of the claimed tablets found product information associated with the tablets.

According to Apollo Pharmacy – India, D-Cold is formulated to provide relief related to cold symptoms such as blocked noses, headaches, body pain, and sore throats, and its ingredients include paracetamol (500 mg), caffeine (32 mg), and phenylephrine (10 mg).

Vicks Action-500’s package composition includes paracetamol I.P. 500 mg, – Diphenhydramine HCl I.P. 25 mg, phenylephrine HCl I.P. 5 mg, and caffeine (anhydrous) I.P. 30 mg.

The Actifed tablet contains active ingredients called phenylephrine hydrochloride, and the cosome is mainly a combination of chlorpheniramine (antihistamine), phenylephrine (decongestant), and dextromethorphan (cough suppressant).

Both Nise and Nimulid are used to relieve pain and fever, and all of them contain Nimesulide. On the other hand, Cetrizet-D contains cetirizine hydrochloride and pseudoephedrine hydrochloride.

211Check inquired via email to the Swiss Institute of Therapeutic Products if phenylpropanolamine is still being formulated in human medicine, but it said it has been banned for twenty years in Switzerland.

“Phenylpropanolamine has not been authorised in human medicinal products in Switzerland for twenty years,” the Swiss Institute of Therapeutic Products replied. 

Juba-based medical practitioner with Germany Leprosy and TB Relief Association (GLRA), East Africa regional office with operation in South Sudan, Case Thomas Nicholas, told 211 Check via messaging App that phenylpropanolamine was banned due to health risks, and the drugs listed in the claim have no evidence of containing it.

“Phenylpropanolamine is banned in most countries due to [the] increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke to people taking it. There is no evidence that the drugs you listed contain the substance since it’s no longer recommended for use,” said Thomas.

Conclusion

The claim about tablets that contain phenylpropanolamine (PPA) is an old issue being widely forwarded in WhatsApp groups. In 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the use of phenylpropanolamine by drug or tablet manufacturing companies because of the risk of stroke in young women.

Further, according to the claimed tablets’ product information reviewed by 211 Check reviewed,  none of them contain phenylpropanolamine, or PPA.

This fact check was published by 211 Check with technical support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck newsdesk through the African Fact-Checking Alliance (AFCA).

To ensure accuracy and transparency, we at 211 Check welcome corrections from our readers. If you spot an error in this article, please request a correction using this form. Our team will review your request and make the necessary corrections immediately, if any.

It’s vital to fight misinformation and disinformation in the media by avoiding fake news. Don’t share content you’re uncertain about. False information can harm and mislead people, risking their lives—Fact-check before sharing. For more details, visit https://211check.org/ or message us on WhatsApp at +211 917 298 255. #FactsMatter.