Tag Archive for: #FactsMatter

Fact-check: Civil Service Commission not recruiting. The job advertisement is a hoax

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The “Civil Service Commission,” though provided for in the Transitional Constitution of South Sudan has not been established yet. The Ministry of Public Service does its role.

By 211 Check Desk

A job advertisement making rounds on social media claiming that a so-called “Civil Service Commission” in the Republic of South Sudan is recruiting over 6,500 potential candidates to fill vacant positions in various government parastatals is a hoax.

The advertisement which first appeared on Facebook on Monday, 18th April 2022 states that job applicants should send their detailed CVs and cover letters to an email before 25th April 2022.

Fake Job Advertisement

However, the job advertisement is a hoax because it doesn’t come from an existing and legitimate government body. The government announces job openings via state media and public notice boards.

The “Civil Service Commission” though provided for in the Transitional Constitution of South Sudan has not been established yet. The Ministry of public service does its role.

Conclusion:

211 Check has looked into a job advertisement claiming that a Civil Service Commission in South Sudan is recruiting over 6,500 workers and finds it to be a hoax.

#FactsMatter, Don’t be a victim of fake news; instead, let’s fight misinformation on both mainstream and alternative media. To avoid spreading false information, don’t share content you’re not sure about or don’t know where it came from.

To learn more about our fact-checking process, go to https://211check.org/how-to-fact-check/ or send us a WhatsApp message at +211 917 298 255 to present a claim, and our team will immediately fact-check it and respond.

This fact-check has been produced as part of our incubation program under Code for Africa.

Fact-check: Ministry of Petroleum Undersecretary’s resignation letter is ‘fake’

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The Ministry of Petroleum said on its Facebook page that the letter purportedly showing the resignation of Awow Daniel Chaung was fabricated.

By Emmanuel Wani Yusif

Tens of social media users have shared a fake letter purportedly from the undersecretary at the ministry of petroleum, Awow Daniel Chuang appearing to state that he has resigned from his position in the revitalised transitional government of national unity.

The letter dated 20th April 2022, which went viral on social media last night claimed that the undersecretary at the ministry of petroleum, Awow Daniel Chuang has relinquished his position citing dissatisfaction with being demoted from ministerial position to undersecretary which undermines his credentials in the hierarchy.

“I, Hon. Awow Daniel Chaung, do hereby submit my resignation letter to the leadership of R-TGoNU as undersecretary in the ministry of petroleum with the effect of the date April 20/04/2022…,” partly reads the letter that has since been refuted by the ministry of petroleum.

Fake Letter Screenshot

When the letter first appeared, some social media users suggested it might be fake and there were several reasons to question its authenticity.

Firstly, the letter lacks the addresser’s address or letterhead – rather it starts directly with a date, unlikely for such an important letter. 

Secondly, the command of grammar and letter alignment are unusual and unlikely to be used by an official of the undersecretary’s calibre. The letter also lacks a stamp which should have been the case since he was holding the post at the time of resignation.

The ministry of petroleum confirmed the letter was false on its official Facebook page. 

In a statement published on the ministry of petroleum’s Facebook page, it refuted the authenticity of the claim saying the content and the signature in the letter are fake and baseless.

“This serves to inform the General Public, especially, the Media Houses that, the circulating letter with its content and signature is fake and baseless. Hon. Eng. Awow Daniel Chuang, still the able Undersecretary of the Ministry of Petroleum, Republic of South Sudan, Juba” reads the statement seen by 211 Check

It is not the first time supposed letters from government officials have been faked online. Similar letters have been debunked by 211 Check in the past.

CONCLUSION

211 Check has looked into the letter claiming that the Undersecretary at the ministry of petroleum has resigned and found it to be false. The Ministry of Petroleum said on its Facebook page that the letter purportedly showing the resignation of Awow Daniel Chaung was fabricated.

#FactsMatter, Don’t be a victim of fake news; instead, let’s fight misinformation on both mainstream and alternative media. To avoid spreading false information, don’t share content you’re not sure about or don’t know where it came from.

To learn more about our fact-checking process, go to https://211check.org/how-to-fact-check/ or send us a WhatsApp message at +211 917 298 255 to present a claim, and our team will immediately fact-check it and respond.

This fact-check has been produced as part of our incubation program under Code for Africa.

Fact-check: Was this a thief on a street light in Juba? No.

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By 211 Check Desk

Introduction

A photo allegedly of a thief on a street light pole avoiding beating in Juba is FALSE.

The photo shared on Facebook on March 28, 2022 by Insight Juba, a news and media website got over 180 interactions, 44 comments and 14 shares.

A screenshot of the misleading post taken on March 29, 2022

It shows a group of people looking up a street light where what looks to be a human is resting.

The post’s picture caption reads: “A thief climbed a street light pole to avoid beating in ( maybe Juba 🤷🏿‍♂️).” 

Findings:

Google reverse image searches found the picture in a tweet from March 08, 2019, by a Kenyan politician.

He captioned the picture. “Roho ni Moja jameni. Pictured is a thief avoiding being lynched by an angry mob.”

The photo was also shared in similar tweets on 23rd March 2022, Mar 12, 2022, here and also here.

Conclusion:

The photo allegedly of a thief on a street light pole avoiding beating in Juba is FALSE. The image is from March 2019 in Kenya.

#FactsMatter, Don’t be a victim of fake news; instead, let’s fight misinformation on both mainstream and alternative media. To avoid spreading false information, don’t share content you’re not sure about or don’t know where it came from.

To learn more about our fact-checking process, go to https://211check.org/how-to-fact-check/ or send us a WhatsApp message at +211 917 298 255 to present a claim, and our team will immediately fact-check it and respond.

This fact-check has been produced as part of our Africa Fact-checking Alliance incubation program under Code for Africa.

Fact-check: This photo shows a car bombing scene in Kabul, Afghanistan, not a fire outbreak in Juba

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By 211 Check Desk

Introduction:

A photo shared on Facebook by South Sudan Eye, a page that parades as a personal blog with over 48,000 followers claimed that there was a fire outbreak in Juba last night.

In fact, the picture shows the scene of a car bombing outside a Defense Ministry building in Kabul, Afghanistan in July 2019.

“Juba on fire 🔥,” reads the Facebook post by South Sudan Eye on March 28, 2022 shared more than 5 times with over 290 interactions and 140 comments.

A screenshot of the misleading post taken on March 29, 2022

Juba is the capital city of South Sudan in Central Equatoria State.

The posts circulated after a State of Nation Address on Monday afternoon, in which President Salva Kiir Mayardit assured Juba residents of guaranteed security.

There were fears following deployment of security organs across the city that day.

However, the photo shared by South Sudan Eye on its Facebook page was not taken in Juba yesterday.

Findings:

A reverse image search on Google traced the photo to several news articles from July, 2019 including those by CNN and the New York Times. 

One of the articles is headlined “Kabul blast kills 6, injures 105 people”, referring to the incident from which the photo was taken.

Conclusion:

The photo shared on Facebook claiming that there was a fire outbreak in Juba last night is FALSE. The photo shows the scene of an incident in Kabul, Afghanistan in July 2019.

#FactsMatter, Don’t be a victim of fake news; instead, let’s fight misinformation on both mainstream and alternative media. To avoid spreading false information, don’t share content you’re not sure about or don’t know where it came from.

To learn more about our fact-checking process, go to https://211check.org/how-to-fact-check/ or send us a WhatsApp message at +211 917 298 255 to present a claim, and our team will immediately fact-check it and respond.

This fact-check has been produced as part of ourAfrica Fact-checking Alliance incubation program under Code for Africa.

Data Story: 6.39% drop in the number of students registered for the certificate of secondary education examinations this year

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34,362 candidates registered for the CSE exams in the academic year 2020/21, with 22,724 males and 11,638 females. This year, 32,167 candidates registered, with 21,799 males and 10,368 females.

By Adut Maguil

The Ministry of General Education and Instruction released the schedule for the 2021/22 Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) Examinations last week, which will take place from April 18 to April 27.

According to Awut Deng Acuil, Minister of General Education and Instruction, 32,167 candidates have registered for the 2021 academic year exams. There are 10,368 females and 21,799 males among them.

However, when compared to the previous year, when 34,362 candidates enrolled, including 22,724 males and 11,638 females, this year’s total number of candidates registered represents a 6.39 percent decrease.

Male candidates fell by 925 from 22,724 in the 2020/21 exams, while female candidates fell by 1,270 from 11,638 the previous year.

YearMalesFemalesTotal
2020/2122,72411,63834,362
2021/2221,79910,36832,167

According to Awut Deng Acuil, Minister of General Education and Instruction, security issues in some parts of the country, the negative impact of COVID-19, which resulted in protracted school closures, and the destructive floods are some of the reasons for the low number of candidates this academic year.

About the Authors:

Adut Maguil, a Data Speaks Fellow at #defyhatenow South Sudan, wrote this data story, which was edited by 211 Check Editor Emmanuel Bida Thomas and approved for publication by Steve Topua, Data Analyst and Trainer. It’s part of the ongoing #defyhatenow South Sudan Data Speaks Fellowship program with funding from the European Union Delegation to South Sudan.

About South Sudan Data Speaks Fellowship: 

This is a three months data journalism fellowship for South Sudanese content creators with an aim of educating participants on the fundamentals of data journalism through in-depth training facilitated by experienced data analysts.

The fellows have been selected from across South Sudan and they are trained in data sourcing/mining, data analysis, and data visualisation for three months (October to December) 

Each fellow will produce a minimum of three (03) data stories during the fellowship. The focus will be on increasing access to information

Data Story: Women in the Western Equatoria State Government

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By Justin Anthony

The Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan demands that there is 35% women representation in all levels of government. In this short article we look at the statistics of women in ministerial positions, members of state independent commissions and county commissioners in Western Equatoria State.

Out of the seventeen (17) state ministries, only four (04) female ministers were appointed by the various parties to the R-ARCSS in Western Equatoria State.

As per the power-sharing agreement, Western Equatoria State has ten counties in which only two (02) females were appointed as the County commissioners.

No Female advisors have been appointed out of the five.

In the six (06) state independent commissions that brought 30 individuals only nine (09) are females.


Gender
State Ministers		Independent CommissionsCounty Commissioners
Male132408
Female040902
Total173010
% of Women23.5%30%20% 

This brings the total number of female executives in the Western Equatoria State government to 13.


Statistics of women representation in Western Equatoria State  Executive
S/N
Name of candidate
Post
Party
1FemaleMinistry of Animal Resources, Fisheries and TourismIG
2FemaleMinistry of Roads and BridgesIG
3FemaleMinistry of General Education and InstructionIG
4FemaleMinistry of Gender, Child and Social WelfareIO
5  FemaleMember, Anti-Corruption CommissionIG
6FemaleMember, Employee Justice ChamberSSOA
7FemaleMember, HIV/AIDS CommissionIG
8FemaleMember, RRCIO
9FemaleMember, Human Rights CommissionIG
10FemaleChairperson, Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation CommissionSSOA
11FemaleMember, Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation CommissionIG
12FemaleCommissioner, Mundri West CountySSOA
13FemaleCommissioner, Mundri East CountyIG
1SPLM-IG 8
2SPLM-IO2
3SSOA3
4OPP0

About the Authors:

Justin Anthony, a Data Speaks Fellow at #defyhatenow South Sudan, wrote this data story, which was edited by 211 Check Editor Emmanuel Bida Thomas and approved for publication by Steve Topua, Data Analyst and Trainer. It’s part of the ongoing #defyhatenow South Sudan Data Speaks Fellowship program with funding from the European Union Delegation to South Sudan.

About South Sudan Data Speaks Fellowship: 

This is a three months data journalism fellowship for South Sudanese content creators with an aim of educating participants on the fundamentals of data journalism through in-depth training facilitated by experienced data analysts.

The fellows have been selected from across South Sudan and they are trained in data sourcing/mining, data analysis, and data visualisation for three months (October to December) 

Explainer: Using TinEye; Essential for Fact Checkers

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TinEye is an image search and recognition company with experts in computer vision, pattern recognition, neural networks and machine learning with a mission to make images searchable.

By #defyhatenow Cameroon

Social media has made it easier to share memories, pictures, and communication across distances. Even the most basic social media sites have enabled users to upload photos, share information about themselves and make friends. 

According to a publication on Social Media today; Social media dates back as far as the early 1840s.  The first recognizable social media site, “Six Degrees”, was created in 1997 by Andrew Weinreich. It enabled users to upload a profile and make friends with other users. 

In 1999, the first blogging sites became popular, creating a social media sensation that’s still popular to this day. As years have passed, an increasing number of social media platforms and sites such as WhatsApp, WeChat, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Snapchat, LinkedIn among others have come up. 

These sites have attracted billions of users for diverse reasons. With the increase of user numbers on these platforms there has been a rise in the propagation of misinformation, disinformation, malinformation and Hate Speech. 

When the term “fake news” comes up, people think of social media posts with rather implausible stories. While posts shared on social media are the most visible aspect of it, there is so much more to fake news than exaggerated article titles on social media feeds. Given that “fake news” is often spread with the use of texts, images, videos, animated graphics, fact checkers have resorted to using open source platforms for verification to debunk “fake news”. 

Some of these open source platforms include; TinEye, Yandex, RevEye, Reverse Image Search, Google Reverse Image Search, Jeffrey’s Exif Viewer, Google Advanced Image search, Forensically among others. 

We will delve into dissecting TinEye.

Functions, Features and Methodology

TinEye is an image search and recognition company with experts in computer vision, pattern recognition, neural networks and machine learning with a mission to make images searchable.

It has a feature known as Compare Feature that lets you quickly switch back and forth between your search and result image by highlighting any differences between the two images. It’s especially useful to see how images have been cropped, resized, skewed or manipulated.Today, 

TinEye’s image recognition is used by millions of people and powers billions of searches across a wide range of industries. TinEye is privately owned, profitable and its revenues are generated by its clients. Using TinEye, one can search for detailed information on an image or perform a reverse image search. This can be done by uploading an image or searching by URL (Uniform Resource Locator), the address of a World Wide Web page. You can also simply drag and drop your images in the search box to start your search.TinEye constantly crawls the web and adds images to its index. 

Today, the TinEye index has over 41.9 billion images. To check about an image, you can upload it from your computer or mobile device by clicking the upload button to locate the image you wish to search for. To search by URL, simply copy and paste an image URL address into the search box. One can as well drag an image from a tab in his/her browser and drop it in a browser tab where TinEye is open.Lastly, it’s possible to simply Copy and Paste an image from your clipboard.

How to use Tineye to search for an image

You can search for an image with TinEye in three ways:

  • by drag and drop
  • by uploading an image
  • by giving TinEye a URL (this can be a page URL or an image URL)

The easiest way to search with TinEye is to drag and drop an image onto the TinEye webpage in your browser.

To search by uploading an image, just click the upload button (blue arrow in a circle) to select from your computer or device the image you’d like to search with.

You can search with a web address (URL) by simply copying the link into the search box on Tineye. 

Below are some YouTube videos on how to use TinEye in identifying a doctored image.

How to use Tineye: https://www.youtube.com/embed/XemlN-B7w38?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&rel=0

How to use Tineye identifying a doctored image: https://www.youtube.com/embed/I3Sbihz4vpI?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&rel=0 

Most images found online are protected by copyright and should you like to use any image found through TinEye, you will need to find the image owner and contact them directly. 

Unless an image is identified as a public domain image, you need to ensure that you get in touch with any image copyright holder and secure the rights to use the image you have found. 

Unfortunately, in South Sudan, because of the weak legal system in the country, image copyrights are greatly abused as individuals, institutions and other reputable bodies extract people’s images from the internet and use them without their consent.

TinEye can be used to find out where an image came from or get more information about it and research or track the appearance of an image online. One can also find higher resolution versions of an image, locate web pages that make use of an image, discover modified or edited versions of an image, debunk an image or help with attribution.

Access wise, there is a paid and free version of TinEye. The former allows for virtually unlimited search by prepaid bundles while the latter gives room for one to do 100 searches per day and up to 300 per week.

Conclusion:

TinEye is a peculiar and unique search engine in that this technology takes an image file and goes through the internet scanning it with the help of crawlers and making sure it looks for matched images or the source of the image as inserted or based on the option one has input in the search bar. Given the fact that it possesses a Reverse Image Search option or Reverse Search Engine, it is used to find plagiarised work, lost connections, suspicious characters and much more. 

Recommendations To Journalists:

  • TinEye is an effective open source image search engine. Journalists can therefore use it amidst others mentioned above to be able to minimize the spread of images of doubtful origin.

To Tineye:

  • Tineye should find a way to alert its clients when their content is being used.
  • There should be sensitization on the application and its usage so that many more people can easily use the app.
  • Some images are not copyright protected and there are difficulties tracing the originator. Tineye may find a way to protect these images.
  • Tineye should make it possible to search images greater than 10mb.

Fact-check: These photos do not show ammunition confiscated by the national security yesterday

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By 211 Check Desk

Photos shared on Facebook and WhatsApp of a massive amount of ammunition and guns being transported in a casket allegedly to Pibor have been found to be FALSE.

Misleading Facebook Post

A google reverse image search on the photos show that in 2016, the photos were circulated in Nigeria media depicting a massive amount of weaponry and ammunition allegedly concealed in a casket.

It was falsely reported that a Nigerian army unit had intercepted an arms trafficking syndicate travelling between Ondo and Lagos States.

At that time, Nigeria army spokesperson said the photos were actually taken from a training exercise in 2012.

“The photos circulating were taken from a training exercise held in 2012 and it is normal to have other security agencies represented in all internal security trainings at schools or in barracks by army units,” Nigerian Army spokesman SK Usman told the Sahara Reporters on 30th March 2016.

There have also been no credible media reports in South Sudan about the photos as of Tuesday, February 1, 2022.

Conclusion:

211 Check has looked into photos allegedly of members of South Sudan national security confiscating ammunition being transported to Pibor and finds them to be FALSE

#FactsMatter, Don’t be a victim of fake news; instead, let’s fight misinformation on both mainstream and alternative media. To avoid spreading false information, don’t share content you’re not sure about or don’t know where it came from.

To learn more about our fact-checking process, go to https://211check.org/how-to-fact-check/ or send us a WhatsApp message at +211 917 298 255 to present a claim, and our team will immediately fact-check it and respond.

Misleading Article Being Shared Online

Fact-Check: An article allegedly written by Louis Anei is FALSE

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211 Check Editorial Desk

An article titled “Kiir Mayar has openly shown us how much he hates his own voters in Greater Tonj by imposing his political tool Aleu Ayieny Aleu” allegedly written by Ustaz Louis Anei Madut is FALSE

The article that goes on to list about 10 points has since been dismissed by Ustaz Louis Anei Madut himself.

FALSE article being circulated in WhatsApp groups

In a Facebook post, Ustaz Louis Anei Madut said, “The purported article said to have been written by me is false! This is a concoction from my political enemies who want to put me deep into the grave but God is there alive.”

“I wish it was to be investigated as to who is the source, meanwhile I’m on my way to the village for social issues. I have nothing to do with those political concoctions.”

#FactsMatter, Don’t be a victim of fake news; instead, let’s fight misinformation on both mainstream and alternative media. To avoid spreading false information, don’t share content you’re not sure about or don’t know where it came from.

To learn more about our fact-checking process, go to https://211check.org/how-to-fact-check/ or send us a WhatsApp message at +211 917 298 255 to present a claim, and our team will immediately fact-check it and respond.

Bentiu tv Misleading Image

Fact-Check: Do these pictures show livestock killed by floods in Bentiu? No

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These pictures showing livestock allegedly killed by floods in Bentiu, Unity State are misleading

By 211 Check Editorial Team

Pictures shared by Bentiu tv, a Facebook page with the caption, “This is how flood kills livestock in Bentiu” are FALSE

Reverse image search of the pictures leads to a story published by the Star Kenya two days ago in which raging water as a result of heavy rains at the slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro in neighbouring Tanzania killed livestock in Kenya’s Taita Taveta county.

Conclusion:

The images do not show livestock killed by floods in Bentiu, Unity State. They instead show livestock killed in Taita Taveta county, Kenya.

#FactsMatter, Don’t be a victim of fake news; instead, let’s fight misinformation on both mainstream and alternative media. To avoid spreading false information, don’t share content you’re not sure about or don’t know where it came from.To learn more about our fact-checking process, go to https://211check.org/how-to-fact-check/ or send us a WhatsApp message at +211 917 298 255 to present a claim, and our team will immediately fact-check it and respond.