Tag Archive for: #Facebook

Fact-check: South Sudanese woman did not confess having sexual intercourse with son to maintain riches

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A similar article alleging a Zambian woman has been in circulation since 2016.

Writer: Ghai Aketch 

An article going viral depicting that a South Sudanese woman, 42-year-old, allegedly identified as Ajak and her son, Abel, said to have been engaging in sexual intercourse every Wednesday at their residence in the Netherlands according to maintain riches, is false. 

“A 52-year-old South Sudanese woman identified as Ajak who is living in Netherland, has openly confessed to having sexual intercourse with her son in order to maintain his riches,” partly reads the claim that has been recycled since 2020. 

It has been shared in several posts here, here, here, and here on Facebook.

Screenshot of the false article

The East African Vibe website published this claim on September 27, 2022. But the same claim had earlier been shared several times by tabloids in 2020, including South Sudanese’s like the South Sudan News Agency.  

But, did a South Sudanese woman actually confess having sexual intercourse with son to maintain riches?

Internet searches by 211 Check found out that the article is false, for the original article was shared in August 2016 by the Igboho Connect News, the Nigerian Daily Post and also appeared on Nairaland Forum in August 2016. Several tabloids have since reshared the same article in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Original article that first appeared in August 2016

We discovered that the first  article was edited from: “A 52-year-old Zambian woman identified as Banda Yvonne, has openly confessed to having sexual intercourse with her son in order to maintain their hard-earned riches…” to “A 42-year-old South Sudanese woman identified as Ajak has…” 

Conclusion:

The claim that a South Sudanese woman in the Netherlands confessed having sexual intercourse with her son to maintain riches is false as the story has been fabricated and doesn’t reflect real characters. A similar article alleging a Zambian woman has been in circulation since 2016.

Fact-check: This incomplete document is not the official list of winners for the East African Legislative Assembly seats 

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Writer: Emmanuel Bida Thomas

South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC), a state-owned broadcaster, announced on Saturday, October 1, 2022, on its Facebook page that the speaker of the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) reshuffled a list of elected members of parliament to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) who were elected on Friday, September 30, 2022, citing an incomplete document.

The post was deleted moments later.

Screenshot of SSBC News Facebook post deleted moments later

Incomplete document cited by SSBC News

The document from the Speaker’s office was used to formally announce the results of all candidates, including those who lost. The announcement follows the original list of verified candidates. On the original list of verified candidates, each candidate was assigned a number.

Document showing original list of candidates

Election result for the 26 candidates as displayed on the assembly’s projector screen

The successful candidates were announced, and the Revitalized Transitional National Legislature confirmed the election of nine MPs to represent the country at the East African Legislative Assembly, or EALA, late on Friday.

On the same day, the clerk of the assembly listed finalists in a letter to the Secretary General of the East African Community.

Finalists in a letter addressed to the Secretary General of the East African Community

Conclusion:

211 Check considers the SSBC news post, which was later deleted, misleading. The news outlet cited an incomplete document.

Fact-check: Money impounded from a minister’s wife in Khartoum, Sudan? No, it is an old video

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The video footage is from an unrelated event in December 2021.

Writer: Emmanuel Bida

According to video footage circulating on social media and first published by a Facebook user, the wife of a South Sudanese minister was apprehended at Khartoum International Airport with millions of dollars in UN boxes today. This is false because it is an old video.

The post received over 100 interactions, including more than 50 shares and several comments.

“It is not surprising that the Minister’s wife was caught red-handed officially by Sudan Intelligence Security Agencies traveling from South Sudan with millions of dollars in boxes and has been arrested at the Khartoum International Airport (KIA) in Sudan with about $ 20 million USD in boxes marked UN,” partly reads the post that was re-shared by African press and Juba South Sudan, Facebook pages that are known for sharing false and misleading content recently.

Some social media users also shared the same video with the claim here and here.

Screenshot of the false video footage

The video, however, is quite old. A Facebook search returns versions of the same video from December 2021, claiming that $300 million in smuggled money from Sudan to South Sudan was seized at Juba International Airport. It was also used in connection with an allegation that more than $300 million USD was confiscated at Juba International Airport in December 2021.

Conclusion:

A claim that money was impounded from a minister’s wife in Khartoum, Sudan, is found to be false by 211 Check. The video is from a separate event in December 2021.

Fact-check: Was this baby born at Juba Teaching Hospital? No

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There were no babies born with anencephaly in their department on September 18, 2022, according to a member of the surgical team at Juba Teaching Hospital. He also stated that the images that are going around do not accurately depict the Juba Teaching Hospital’s obstetrics and gynecology theater.

By Beatrice Amude

Aweil Eye, a Facebook page with over 6,000 followers claimed in a post on September 18, 2022 that a mother from South Sudan had given birth to an “old man” in Juba Teaching Hospital that day.

The claim was later widely shared on Facebook; here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here as well as in encrypted messaging platforms like WhatsApp.

Screenshot of the false post by Aweil Eye

But is it true that such a baby was born at Juba Teaching Hospital? 211 Check explores its research finding here:

Reverse image search on Google returns results of the same pictures allegedly of a woman who gave birth to a mysterious child at the Makeni Regional Hospital Northern Province of Sierra Leone, but no credible media reported on the same.

More results of the Google image search seem to show the same pictures used on Twitter long before these reports, but could not link to the original tweets.

Dr. Francis Geri a Gynecologist at Vital Care Medical and also works at Juba Teaching Hospital said that the picture was not taken in South Sudan.

He, however, described the abnormality as Anencephaly. According to him, Anencephaly is when a newborn with absence of a major portion of the brain, skull and scalp occurs during embryonic development. Geri told 211 Check that the main cause of the anencephaly is folic acid deficiency.

In the comments section of the same post, Riemon Koyani, who was among the surgical team at Juba Teaching Hospital on Sunday 18th September, 2022 said he did not see any baby with anencephaly in their department that day.

“I am among the surgical team of Sunday and I didn’t see anything like this in our department, in fact I attended all the cesarean sections that day and I never saw anything of that kind,” Riemon Koyani said.

He also confirmed that the pictures circulating were not taken from Juba Teaching Hospital since they do not match obstetrics and gynecology theater views.

What is Anencephaly?

Anencephaly is the absence of a major portion of the brain, skull, and scalp that occurs during embryonic development. It is a cephalic disorder that results from a neural tube defect that occurs when the rostral (head) end of the neural tube fails to close, usually between the 23rd and 26th day following conception.

Conclusion:

211 Check finds pictures allegedly of a woman who gave birth to an “old man” at Juba Teaching Hospital false. Riemon Koyani, who was among the surgical team at Juba Teaching Hospital on Sunday 18th September, 2022 said there was no baby with anencephaly in their department that day. 

Fact-check: Suspected Ebola case in Nimule? True 

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The suspected case was identified in Nimule, Eastern Equatoria State, with similar Ebola signs. However, it’s only the laboratory test that will confirm whether he has the Ebola virus or not, according to health authorities.

By Jibi Moses


A message widely shared on WhatsApp on September 28, 2022, claimed that a suspected case of Ebola was reported in the border town of Nimule at 3 PM that day.

The claim was also viral on Facebook, as can be seen here.

“I got a call at 3pm from Nimule about an alert case of a South Sudanese, male who was coming from Morobi camp in Moyo district, spent some short time in Miligo adjumani District till the morning of that day.He was identified vomiting blod, had difficulty in breathing, had high fever, coughing and with yellow eyes as per the medical team in Nimule,” the WhatsApp message reads.

Nimule Hospital medical director Silvesto Nyumba told Radio Tamazuj that samples from the suspect, who is now in isolation, were taken to Juba for investigations, and the results are expected today, Friday.

Screenshot of the viral WhatsApp message 

When contacted by 211 Check, Kabaka Quintuous Leone, a journalist who widely reports on Eastern Equatoria State confirmed that the claim of the suspected case is true and that the suspect was put in isolation after his samples were taken to Juba for analysis.

Public urged to observe safety measures to avoid Ebola virus:

The Minister of Health, Yolanda Awel Deng, called on the public, especially travellers to embrace safety measures by regularly washing hands and other sanitary measures to avoid contracting the Ebola virus, according to a report by Eye Radio.

What is Ebola Virus Disease?

Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a deadly disease with occasional outbreaks that occur mostly on the African continent. EVD most commonly affects people and nonhuman primates (such as monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees). It is caused by an infection with a group of viruses within the genus Ebolavirus.

Read more about the Ebola virus disease on the websites for the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Conclusion:

The claim that there is a suspected Ebola case alert is true. The suspected case was identified in Nimule, Eastern Equatoria State, with similar Ebola signs. However, it’s only the laboratory test that will confirm whether he has the Ebola virus or not, according to health authorities.

Fact-check: Has the UN issued an alert on organ trafficking? No, it’s fake

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This alert is not available on the official website of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The United Nations denies having issued it.

By Ochaya Jackson

A United Nations document alerting the public on organ trafficking in the Middle East countries on social media is not true. 

The document indicated that the black market for human body parts in Middle East is in high demand, and warned the public of fake jobs offer abroad in which they murder the victims and remove organs from their bodies to be sold in the black market.

“The black market for parts of the human body is booming in  the Middle East. A kidney now costs 262,000 dollars (131 million CFA Francs); the heart costs 119,000 dollars (60 million CFA Francs) and liver costs 157,000 dollars (79 million CFA Francs). Beware of the fake foreign agencies promising to make you work abroad. They process your paper, pay your plane ticket, and just take you abroad pretending they want to find you a job, but instead, they kill their victims, recover all the precious parts of their bodies”, the document reads.

The document bears the claimed link to the website of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

When one clicks on the link claimed in the document, it returns an error message “the page or document requested is not available”.

Additionally, there is no any related document alerting about organ trafficking on the UN office on drugs and crime website.

A fact-check by PesaCheck in March 2021 on the same document found out that the alert was false.

Furthermore, the archived statement on organ trafficking on the website of UNODC covering from 2017 until August 2022 said that the need for transplantation of healthy organs into those who have failed organs have increased as such illicit means are being used to harvest human organs.

Screenshot of archived webpage

On March 10, 2021, UNODC Pakistan spokesperson Rizwana Asad told AFP that the claim was false and not shared by the UN.

AFP Fact-check states that the purported alert was first published on Facebook on March 2, 2021.

211 Check investigated an alleged United Nations alert warning the public about organ trafficking in the Middle East and discovered it to be FALSE.

Fact-check: These photos, allegedly of a bride running out of a church, are not taken in Juba

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The Facebook post featuring the images of a bride who appears to be fleeing her wedding and were not taken in Juba. The photos are of a bride who was seen running from her wedding in Nigeria, but no one knows what really happened.

By Jibi Moses

A claim by Juba South Sudan, that a bride ran out of the church in Juba on Monday this week after discovering that the man (Lualdit) doesn’t work for an oil company as he claimed is false.

Juba South Sudan, is an online page with a category of travel and transport. The page has 44,000 followers and over 40,000 likes.

On Monday, 26 September 2022, the page posted pictures of what looks like a bride and some people running after her seemingly to convince her to come back to church.

The pictures were captioned: “A bride runs out of church today in Juba after discovering that the man (Lualdit) doesn’t work in an oil company as he claimed. Kalam de wosulu.” The post attracted over 1,000 interactions, 823 comments and over 60 shares.

The photos that were allegedly taken in Juba on Monday.

A reverse image search of the photos shared in the Facebook post indicated that the photos were infact first shared on 15th August 2016 and were traced to the Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria.

The article associated with the image claimed that the bride ran away after she discovered the husband to be wasn’t an employee at Chevron as he had earlier claimed.

The photo was shared widely in 2016 by various websites. The photo once again surfaced in August 2021 with the same claim. 

This Nigerian website once again carried the same story but did not specify which date the incident occurred.

In September 2021 a Kenyan blogger shared the same picture of a bride running away while being followed seemingly by a bridegroom on his Facebook page with a description that a Kilifi woman ran away from her wedding after learning that the boyfriend is a taxi driver and not an employee of Kenya Commercial Bank .This was fact checked by John Mbati of Kenya.co.ke.on 23rd  Sept 2021 and the claim was dismissed as false.

A screenshot of the article by Kenyans.co.ke showing the same pictures after they were fact-checked.

In all the above articles the claim was first reported by a Facebook user Sunday Ikemefula, he says the bride ran out of the church after discovering that the groom is not a chevron staff as he claimed to be, he lied to her. According to the post it happened in Eket, Akwa Ibom State Nigeria. 

Conclusion:

211 Check has found out that the Facebook post featuring the image of a bride who appears to be fleeing her wedding and was taken in Juba to be false. The photos are of a bride who was seen running from her wedding in Nigeria, but no-one knows what really happened.

Fact-check: Yes, the Bank of South Sudan has ordered commercial banks to freeze accounts of Silicone Valley South Sudan Co. Limited

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The directive by the Bank of South Sudan for commercial banks to block and freeze accounts of Silicone Valley South Sudan Co. Limited is true. The Bank of South Sudan confirmed that the viral letter is its official document.

By Ochaya Jackson

The Bank of South Sudan has directed the blocking and freezing of accounts for Silicone Valley South Sudan Co. Limited that claims it is affiliated to Silicone Valley Shares, in all the commercial banks in South Sudan.

The bank’s decision according to the document that went viral on social media, is that the Silicone Valley South Sudan Co. Limited is under investigation on compliance issues with the laws of South Sudan.

“The Bank of South Sudan (BOSS) top management would like to inform you that Silicon Valley Co. Ltd is still under investigation on issues related to compliance with all the relevant laws of South Sudan. Therefore, you are hereby directed to block and freeze the bank accounts of Silicon Valley Co. Ltd until further notice,” reads in part the document dated 23rd of September, 2022 signed by the bank’s director of supervision department, Deng Aru Bol and addressed to managing directors of all commercial banks in South Sudan.

Bank of South Sudan letter that went viral on social media

The Bank of South Sudan confirmed the authenticity of the document and said they are the official and authentic source  when contacted by 211 Check.

What do commercial banks say?

The Equity Bank of South Sudan said it has not yet received “the official instruction from the central bank”, but confirmed that it had “already blocked the account of Silicon Valley when the rumors” about their business came out.

Ecobank, where most of the company’s bank wire is done and Co-operative Bank South Sudan could not immediately respond to our inquiries.

What does 211 Check know about Silicone Valley South Sudan Co. Limited?

Silicone Valley Shares claims to be a venture capital firm with more than $6.4 billion in assets under management that invests early in founders building fast-growing technology companies.

The firm says it is a Limited Liability Company (LLC) headquartered in San Jose, California. Silicone Valley Shares also claims to have helped launch and commercialise 200-plus companies since 2010, including investments in DocuSign, Jet.com, Kiva Systems, LinkedIn, Rapid7, SurveyMonkey, Taleo, and TellApart.

It entered the South Sudan Market and registered at the registrar of companies in the ministry of Justice in December 2021 as “Silicone Valley South Sudan Co. Limited.” 

According to news reports by Eye Radio and the Sudans Post, hundreds of South Sudanese, including those who have invested thousands of dollars in the company, are worried about its legitimacy and legality in the United States, though the South Sudan Police Service says the company is legally registered with the government.

mGurush Partnership:

In this blog post on its website, Silicone Valley Shares states that its clients shall be accessing its services using MGurush, South Sudan’s pioneer mobile money platform that provides a fast, easy, safe and convenient way to send and receive money across the country.

However, in a tweet reply, mGurush said it was unaware of Silicone Valley Shares and that they were not in partnership.

Freezing of Silicone Valley Shares Bank Accounts:

On September 23, 2022, the Central Bank of South Sudan directed all commercial banks operating in the country to block and freeze all accounts of Silicone Valley South Sudan Co. Limited. 

211 Check is still undertaking indepth research into Silicone Valley Shares and will publish its findings at a later date.

Conclusion:

211 Check has found that the directive by the Bank of South Sudan for commercial banks to block and freeze accounts of Silicone Valley South Sudan Co. Limited is true. The Bank of South Sudan confirmed that the viral letter is its official document.

Fact-check: South Sudan is NOT the largest producer of okra in Africa

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South Sudan’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations have no data on how much okra South Sudan produces. Official statistics name Nigeria as the largest producer of okra in Africa.

By Emmanuel Bida Thomas 

African Report files, a Facebook blog page with 183K followers, claimed in a post on September 3, 2022, that South Sudan is the largest producer of Okra in Africa.

Screenshot of a Facebook post claiming that South Sudan is the largest producer of Okra in Africa

The claim drew 1.6K interactions, 180 comments, and 357 shares on Facebook and was re-posted by The Mail and ACC Tv.

The same claim was shared by a Twitter user here on September 7, 2022. While some audiences believed it was accurate, others argued it was false.

However, according to data on the global production of okra by Atlas, Nigeria is the second largest producer of Okra in the world, with 1,819,018 tonnes of yearly production, making it the first in Africa. The same data can be found in the diversity times.

Screenshot showing World Okra Production by Country

The database of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, FAOSTAT, which has a wealth of agricultural information, including okra, also names Nigeria as the largest producer of okra in Africa.

Okra production in Africa, according to data from FAO

Okra Production in South Sudan:

An internet search on okra production in South Sudan returns no data on how many tonnes the country produces yearly.

Statistics on FAOSTATS indicate “missing value (data cannot exist, not applicable)” for okra production in South Sudan.

211 Check reached out to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, but they could not immediately provide statistics on okra production in South Sudan.

Conclusion:

211 Check has looked into a claim that South Sudan is the largest producer of okra in South Sudan and finds it to be false. Both South Sudan’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations have no data on how much okra South Sudan produces. Official statistics name Nigeria as the largest producer of okra in Africa.

Fact-check: No evidence the World Academic Competition exists

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The competition has no digital footprint, and major news outlets haven’t reported it. A rare case of global competition.

By Ochaya Jackson

Social media reports going viral have indicated that South Sudanese Gai Malong Awan has won the “World Academic Competition” which was reportedly held in London. 

According to the certificate of appreciation, Gai Malong was pictured with and posted on social media, the event was allegedly held on September 12th.

“South Sudanese, Mr. Gai Malong Awan wins top position at The World Academic Competition (WAC) in London. Gai scored an average of 94% in all exams. The competition ranked South Sudan in the first position, followed by England, Sweden and USA,” reads the Facebook post seen by 211 Check.

Screenshot of post announcing Gai’s win

However, did this competition even happen, or does it even exist? 211 Check investigated this assertion.

Digital Footprint:

A simple google search returns no result related to The World Academic Compeition. It has no digital footprints both on websites and social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Facebook and Twitter searches only return results related to posts of Gai winning the competition.

The email:

When 211 Check wrote to the email [email protected] indicated in the competition’s letterhead, Andy Carrel who manages the email said, “I don’t know anything about these claims or any competition by that name.”

Screenshot of email reply from [email protected] 

The World Academic Competition category is not among the global academic competitions for students 2022-2023. The link is here  

Photos shared with the claim:

The report also included the picture of thousands of spectators claimed to be attendees of the event alongside South Sudanese Gai Malong Awan, but reverse image searches on some of the photos return results of the same photos from different events and not a World Academic Competition. 

Two of the photos was taken during World Scholars Cup by A.B. Paterson College Foundation….without Gai Malong among them. The link is here and here.

Another photo purportedly of panelists during the competition can be found on the website of the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Bhutan to the United Nations.

The Logo:

The WAC logo

The logo used in the claim of World Academic Competition appears to be impersonating the “Seal of the World Scholars Cup Tournament of Champions at Yale University in the United States of America.” The link is here.

Seal of the World Scholars Cup Tournament of Champions at Yale University in the United States of America

Conclusion:


211 Check has looked into a claim that a World Academic Competition (WAC) was held in London on 12 September 2022 and finds it unproven. The competition has no digital footprint, and major news outlets haven’t reported it. A rare case of global competition.