Information that is manipulated in a comedic manner, it is mostly innocuous but has a slight potential of creating misinformation or undermining legitimate factual information.

Fact Checked: Did President Kiir resigned and ran to Bor?

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Author: Viola Elias

A misleading post!

Juba Television – unregulated online media house with 211,184 followers a few hours ago posted that President Salva Kiir resigned and ran to Bor Town.  

“Breaking News: South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has resigned and run to Bor. This is a developing story” reads Juba TV post that has 376 likes, 167 comments and 16 shared by 2:30 CAT today.

When fact checked by 211, it was identified that the information is misleading and fake content which might/can harm the public.

According to Eye Radio official Facebook page, Press Secretary – Ateny Wek Ateny said President Kiir is in Bor on an official visit.

“It is an official visit to see things for himself starting from inspecting the road….and to see how people in Bor are copping after the flooding” said Ateny.

Here is the link to Eye Radio story: https://eyeradio.org/kiirs-bor-visit-is-political-economic-ateny/.  

According to Ateny, President Kiir is expected to return to Juba this evening.

Through Facebook Livestream, 211 Check has also witnessed Kiir addressing mob in Bor Town today.

Kindly, disregard the trending information that Kiir has resigned and please don’t engage yourself in any online mis/disinformation and hate related content.

To know about our fact-checking process,  click the link below, https://211check.org/how-to-fact-check/ or contact us via 211check.org to present a claim, our team will immediately fact-check it and send you an immediate feedback.

Fabricated Wau protest video fact checked

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Author: Emmanuel Bida and Garang Abraham

A fabricated video!

Kindly disregard the current trending video on WhatsApp and Facebook which states that the then SPLA soldiers opened fire on protestors in Western Bhar-el-Ghazel State.

Earlier this morning, a video surfaced online indicating that some residents of Western Bhar-el-Ghazel State took to the streets in protest of government’s decision to relocate the state local council headquarter as seen in the video below.

When fact check by 211, the video was re-shared [fabricated] to incite people, following the recent protest in Juba over the death of prominent South Sudanese singer Trisha Cee who succumbed to her injuries after involving in a motor-bike accident over the weekend.

As reported by Al Jazeera’s Anna Cavell eight years ago, the incident happened on December 14 2012.

Residents of Wau town had gathered to protest against the relocation of a local council headquarter. At least nine people were reportedly killed in the protest.

Here is the link to the Aljazeera story: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2012/12/16/protesters-shot-at-by-south-sudanese-army

The British Broadcasting Cooperation (BBC) also quoted the United Nations spokesperson who said South Sudanese army killed 10 people when it opened fire on demonstrators angry at the relocation of a local council HQ in the north-west of the country.

BBC story link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-20658915

It should be noted that there is no any development regarding any relocation of a council headquarter currently in Western Bhar-el-Ghazel State. Western Bhar-el-Ghazel State is yet to have it local government as stipulated in the 2018 peace agreement.

Beware of fabricated content and avoid sharing them for they can make you a victim or an agent of mis/disinformation.

To know about our fact-checking process, click the link below, https://211check.org/how-to-fact-check/ or contact us via 211check.org to present a claim, our team will immediately fact-check it and send you an immediate feedback.

Image blunder: Eye Radio uses wrong picture and caption to tell a story

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A misleading image

On 14th of March 2021, Eye Radio published a communal violence story where a cattle related attack reportedly left two people killed in Lake State. 

However, the story featured an image with a caption that stated the picture was taken in Yirol County of Lakes State, by the UN Food and Agriculture organization.

It was captioned, “Cattle in Yirol, Lakes State/Credit/FAO”.

Eye Radio’s caption and post

But when fact checked by the 211 team, it was identified that the image was taken at Niamana Livestock market, situated in Mali’s Capital, Bamako.  

The research indicated that the picture was taken by Stevie Mann, a commercial photographer who might have supplied the International Livestock Research Institute – an international agricultural research institute based in Nairobi, Kenya.

The image was taken with a Canon EOS-ID Mark II camera. The original picture is seen below.

Origin image

Due to critics on Facebook, Eye Radio changed the picture both on its website and Facebook page – a great ethical and professional move.

Note: To know about our fact-checking processes, click on https://211check.org/how-to-fact-check/or contact us via 211check.org to present a claim; our team will immediately fact-check it and send you an immediate feedback.

A fabricated content, the incident happened in South Africa, not in South Sudan

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Authors: Story fact checked by Geu Lazarus and Garang Abraham

The alleged Facebook accident between a motorist and an elephant along the Juba-Nimule Highway over the weekend is a false information, according to a local official and online search engines.

On Saturday, a South Sudanese Facebook user claimed that a motorist collided with a troubled elephant along South Sudan’s major highway that connects the country to the East African region.

“First, he [driver] parked his car along the road and got out for peeing, as he was done, he immediately got into the car…and before he could start the engine, the troubled elephant came in a speedy and attempted to jump over the car but could it make it” the online user claimed via a Facebook post.

“The incident resulted in the breaking of the man’s leg. The survivor was picked by a Red Cross car that managed to coordinate through his undamaged phone. Now, he is undergoing treatment at Juba Teaching Hospital” he added.

When the 211 fact check team fact checked the picture used in the post, it was identified that the image used was taken in South Africa, but not in South Sudan as alleged by the poster.

According to various online search engines, the image was featured by Earth News Network on 8th of August 2014, in a story where a pair of tourists on a safari in South Africa found themselves in precarious situation, when a bull elephant decided to use their vehicle’s roof and bonnet to relieve an itch.

The same story was in the following year reposted by Dailymotion – a French video-sharing technology platform primarily owned by Vivendi on 14th of December 2015, explaining the same South Africa’s elephant/tourist related story.

In addition, Red Cross South Sudan Communication Unit revealed that their Eastern Equatoria State sub-offices didn’t record any related incident of such manifestation.

“I contacted our Western and Eastern Equatoria offices to find out whether such an occurrence was handled by Red Cross offices, they told me such a case was not registered over the weekend” said Marial Mayom, Red Cross South Sudan Communication Manager.

The two above evidence based investigations seemingly disqualifies the alleged story, which automatically categorized it under fabricated, misleading and satire types of misinformation.

Note: False information spreads so first, kindly endeavor to always remain cautious while online. Don’t share any content you are not sure of or you don’t know its origin. Think before you click!

To know about our fact-checking process, click the link below, https://211check.org/how-to-fact-check/or contact us via 211check.org to present a claim, our team will immediately fact-check it and send you an immediate feedback.

Ugandan Soldier with a South Sudanese flag, a manipulated picture

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The picture on the left was doctored to show a South Sudanese flag on the soldier’s uniform The original picture shows fruit vendors being chased off the streets of Kampala. Photograph: Badru Katumba/AFP via Getty Images full story here https://bit.ly/3c83Ws0

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President Putin wearing full protective clothing during an official meeting, a manipulated picture

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The picture on the left was manipulated to show President Putin wearing full protective clothing during an official meeting.

The original photo shows the Russian President Vladimir Putin chairing a meeting with members of the Security Council at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow. (Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS) #COVID19SS #SSOT Full story here https://bit.ly/39nqVxz

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