Tag Archive for: #Misinformation

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

/in ,

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

/in ,

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

/in ,

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.

Fact-check: Yes, this was the ball used in the first World Cup final in 1930

/in ,

This was the ball supplied by the Uruguayans. The inaugural FIFA World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930. Thirteen teams competed in the tournament.

Writer: Jibi Moses

A Facebook post by Alàbi Tolulope Micheal ATM, a page with 22,000 likes and 28,000 followers, sharing a photograph of the first World Cup ball used in 1930 is true. 

‘The  First World Cup ball used in the Final, 1930. ‘In the first World Cup final, held on July 30, 1930. 93,000 spectators looked on as Uruguay defeated Argentina 4-2 with this ball,’ the post read in part.

The post was published on the 17th of November 2022, before the start of this year’s World Cup tournament in Qatar on the 20th of the same month, by a page that describes itself as a journalist. 

It spread like wildfire, getting more than 34,000 likes, 400 comments, and 590 shares. People reacted differently to the post, which could be seen in the comments, though many people thought it was a joke.

“I remember it was made of rock. Very durable,” commented Simon Mukabi. Raf Icon said, “…This ball has undergone surgery.”

A screenshot of the post by Àlàbi.

Was the ball in the post used in the 1930 final of the first World Cup? 211 Check takes a look at the claim.

An Internet search yielded results, and the findings indicate that the finals in 1930 were played between Argentina and Uruguay, with Uruguay winning by a score of 4-2 goals. No official ball was used for the tournament in that game, which caused controversy in the final game. Whereas both countries brought their handmade leather balls, the match ball was chosen by a coin toss, and Argentina won the toss, so the match began with their ball named-Tiento. However, T-Model for was the ball brought in by Uruguay in the second half. The tournament’s Golden Boot was won by Josè Nasazzi.

A reverse image search on the image of the ball using Yandex brought many sites with the picture of the ball explaining the same. One of the sites is Wiki Commons, which writes in detail as this was one of the balls used in there was a disagreement between the two countries and this very ball was used in the second half, was provided by Uruguay and is currently kept in the National Football Museum, Preston. Some other sites also conform, as seen here, here, here,  here, and here.

A screenshot of the search results from Yandex.

Conclusion:

211 Check finds that the ball in the photograph was one of the balls used in the final match between Argentina and Uruguay in 1930, and it is now housed in the National Football Museum in Preston.

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, these photos do not show a drinking competition in Juba recently

/in ,

Writer: Amule Alex

A Facebook post by Juba Media claiming that a drinking competition was held in Juba is false.

The post, which featured photos of some women drinking from the bottles of Heineken, asked people about who they thought would have won.

“We had a drinking competition last night in Juba. Who do you think won”? reads the post without mentioning where the event was held in Juba and which company organised it.

The screenshot of the false competition post by Juba Media

However, when the photos were verified by 211 Check using Google image lens, it appeared that it was tweeted on the Twitter handle Kulani on September 7th, 2022. And the tweet did not mention any drinking competition that took place in Juba. 

Screenshot of the tweet by Kulani

Also, the tweet, which generated 107 retweets, 56 quote tweets, and 529 reactions, did not describe the purpose and the location of the photos where the event took place.

Typically brewery companies that sell drinks like beer organise drinking competitions as part of their marketing strategy campaign to promote their brands, and it attracts crowds involving entertainment.

But no such event had occurred recently in Juba, as the Juba Media Facebook post claimed.

Conclusion:

The Facebook post by Juba Media on the 30th of November 2022 that the drinking competition took place in Juba over the weekend is false. A public event of such has yet to be held recently.

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, Pope Francis has not written a retirement speech that is going around on WhatsApp

/in ,

The viral retirement speech allegedly written by Pope Francis and widely circulated on WhatsApp is a long-running hoax that has been online since 2021.

Writer: Deng Akok Madhan

A WhatsApp message forwarded widely in groups about Pope Francis’s retirement speech that claims to have shocked the world is false. 

The message, which urged people to read “regardless of religion,” centred on the family as a place of forgiveness.

“There is no healthy marriage or healthy family without the exercise of forgiveness. Forgiveness is the medicine of family joy and happiness. Forgiveness is vital to our emotional health and spiritual survival. No matter the offense or who is the offender. Without forgiveness, the family becomes an arena of conflict and a fortress of evil. Without forgiveness, the family becomes sick and unhealthy”, reads part of the message.

The screenshot of the widely forwarded WhatsApp about Pope Francis’s claimed retirement speech

The Pope’s claimed speech continued to pin unforgiveness as toxins that kill anyone who can not forgive the other. 

“Unforgiving is Evil and a poison that intoxicates and kills the one who refuses to forgive. Keeping the heartache of unforgiving in your heart is a self-destructive gesture. It’s autophagy. Those who do not forgive are physically, emotionally, and spiritually ill. And they will suffer in two ways. For this reason, the family must be a place of life and not a place of death; a place of forgiveness, a place of paradise and not a place of hell; a healing territory and not a disease; an internship of forgiveness and not guilt”, the message continues.

The screenshot of the WhatsApp message claim
The screenshot of the WhatsApp message claim

Is it true, however, that Pope France, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, wrote the retirement speech that has been making the rounds on WhatsApp? Here’s what we discovered:

211 Check conducted research into the claim about Pope’s resignation. The claim was circulated a year ago and continued even though it was proven false after a fact check.

And lately, in July this year, Pope Francis refuted the same claim in an interview with Televisa Univision.

Conclusion:

Pope Francis has not tailored any resignation speech that is claimed to have shocked the world. The written resignation speech purportedly written by Pope Francis and circulated on WhatsApp is false.

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: Yes, these images show a traffic jam along Seventh-day – Gudele street in Juba

/in ,

There was heavy traffic along Saint Kizito – Gudele street. If you look closely, there are water tanks common in South Sudan.

Writer Beatrice Amude Paulino

A Facebook post on 24th November 2022 by Paam Ke sharing pictures of a traffic jam along Gudele street in South Sudan’s capital city, Juba, is true.

“A traffic jam at Seventh Day Round about this evening. A lot of cars…,” partly reads the post‘s caption in which the pictures were shared.

But people said different things. Some people in the crowd were not sure if the photos were really taken on Gudele Street in Juba.

“I don’t think it’s the Seventh-day – Gudele street,” wonders one Mr. Malish Michael

“You are lying we don’t have these types of cars in South Sudan. Stop lying,” warned another.

Which begs the question, where exactly were these pictures taken? Why don’t we find out?

Using visual cues, one could see similar structures along the roads, an MTN billboard in the far left corner, a mGurush billboard in the far right ends, and some water tank trucks, which are common in Juba.

MTN billboard near Star Village Building and mGurush Billboard at the far right  

A search on Facebook for “Gudele jam” yielded the same images that were first posted on November 24th, 2022, at 5:01 pm by Advance Digital, a Juba-based mainstream media company.

“Heavy Traffic Jam around St Kizito,” it captioned the pictures.

According to our observations, the photos were taken from the upper level of the building where Advance Digital is located, Star Village.

MTN billboard near Star Village Building and mGurush Billboard at the far right

Juba Electricity Distribution Company (JEDCO) poles and a transformer are also visible

Conclusion: 

211 Check confirms that these photographs were taken on November 24, 2022, along Seventh-day – Gudele Street. They were taken from an aerial view of the Star Village Building, which is located on this road.

#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 unsure about or know where it comes from.

To learn more about our fact-checking process, go to https://211check.org/ 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.

Fact-check: Did Prof. PLO Lumumba advise Prof. John Akec of the University of Juba not to graduate everyone?

/in ,

Prof. Patrick  Lumumba didn’t advise the Vice Chancellor of the University of Juba not to graduate ‘everyone’. Also, the image of the two professors used in this context is an old one taken in October and posted by Prof. John Akec on his  Facebook page.

Writer: Ghai Aketch

A social media post attributing a quote to Prof. Patrick Lumumba on November 28, 2022, in an unconfirmed conversation with the University of Juba’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. John Akec, is false.

Prof. Patrick Lumumba is a Kenyan national well-known for his Pan-Africanism advocacy on the continent and a High Court of Kenya and Tanzania advocate. He is also the chairperson and founder of the PLO Lumumba Foundation.

The post claimed that Prof. Lumumba said: “Today’s graduates are the future of this country SSD🇸🇸💞, but if you graduate everyone in the country, we’ll still have the same leaders tomorrow like today’s.” This is false.

“Professor Lumumba tells Professor John Akech to stop graduating everyone in the school,” the false post was headlined by Jonglei TV, a Facebook page with over 34,000 followers.

              Screenshot of the post claiming Prof. Lumumba’s advice to Prof. John Akec

This information comes two days after the university graduated about 7,000 students on November 26, 2022.

However, Professor Lumumba was not in attendance. Our image search of Prof. Lumumba and Prof. Akec, accompanying the claim, found that the two professors posed for the photo on October 15, 2022, during the 10th Tana High-Level Forum as posted by Prof. Akec on his official Facebook page. 

                               Screenshot from Prof. John Akec’s official Facebook page

Moreover, our keyword and official page searches did not return any results about the claim. The image was, however, taken in Bahir Dar Ethiopia, during the 10th Tana High-Level Forum in October and not in Juba.

Interestingly, we discovered that PLO Lumumba’s verified Facebook, which has 945k followers, was allegedly hacked between the 18th and 20th of November, according to the verified PLO Lumumba Foundation page and thus, he is not in control of posting. 

Conclusion:

211 Check, therefore, concludes that this claim is false. Prof. Lumumba was not in Juba during the University of Juba graduation event on 26th November 2022.

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

Fact-check: Total Energies Company is NOT hiring labour workers for 2023 via a viral WhatsApp link

/in ,

Writer: Ochaya Jackson

A widely circulated WhatsApp message claiming that Total Energies Oil and Gas Company is looking for skilled and unskilled labour workers with “good pay” is false.

TotalEnergies is a multi-energy company that produces and markets fuels, natural gas and electricity. Our 100,000 employees are committed to better energy that is more affordable, reliable, cleaner and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, its ambition is to become a responsible energy major.

The screenshot of the widely forwarded WhatsApp message

The application link attached to the WhatsApp message is a dangerous phishing mechanism, and here is why:

The link, which has been investigated by 211 Check, if once clicked, takes to a one-page form for filling in personal information and calls on applicants, regardless of nationality, to apply.

The screenshot of the application form

Once the application is filled, a pop-up message appears indicating that the application is in process and warns that the number of applicants is narrow.

The screenshot of the pop-up message

Continuing with the process brings on a page to validate the applicant’s name and fill in the current education status before sending the application.

The screenshot of the page

After validating and filling out the educational status, a congratulatory pop-up message appears with the assurance that one is qualified to serve in Total Energies Company. Still, it requires one to share with five groups or fifteen WhatsApp friends before a confirmation email detailing the successful application is sent.

The screenshot of the page

Websites Forensics

Total Energy has not advertised for the 2023 recruitment of both skilled or unskilled labor, and its website does not bear any ongoing recruitment process.

The whois information for the claim differs from the Total Energy company, the website domain was registered in January 2022, while the Total Energy website was in March 2014.

The whois screenshot of the claimed domain
The whois domain for Total Energy.

All social media accounts of Total Energy have yet to share information regarding the 2023 recruitment drive claim.

Conclusion:

The claim that Total Energy is currently recruiting skilled and unskilled labour for 2023 with reasonable salary payment through a WhatsApp link is 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 unsure about or know where it comes from.

To learn more about our fact-checking process, go to https://211check.org/ 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.

Fact-check: Is World Investment Conpany a legitimate forex trader? No, it is fake

/in ,

Writer: Amule Alex 

The “World Investment Conpany” page on Facebook, which is currently running ads claiming that they are forex traders, is spreading false information.

Forex trading is the exchange of one currency for another for trading purposes. Forex traders (foreign exchange traders) anticipate changes in currency prices and take trading positions in currency pairs on the foreign exchange market to profit from a change in currency demand. They can execute trades for financial institutions on behalf of clients or as individual investors. 

In its ad, the company says it was founded with a vision to create a 100 per cent transparent digital trading experience for its clients. “We always had the idea that the investment industry was missing more broad-minded business…,” it partly says in this post.

At the end of the Facebook post on its page, readers are provided with a link to download the Telegram messaging app as well as instructions on how to talk to Aisha or join the company’s channel.

The first link will take you to a web page called “World Forex Traders,” and to make use of the services it provides, you will need to have a Telegram account. The second link should be used when you wish to speak with a woman named Rimi Aisha.

Here is a screenshot of their post on Facebook

Screenshots of the World Forex Traders & Aisha Rimi’s Channels

Because of the large number of forex traders operating in the modern market, including impostors, it is very challenging to differentiate between legitimate and illegitimate businesses.

In the case of “World Investment Conpany,” 211 Check conducts an investigation to determine whether or not the company is a genuine forex trader.

We started by asking Aisha about their company, and here is what she told us.

Screenshots of our engagement with Aisha

Screenshots of our engagement with Aisha

The red flags in this company:

The word company has a spelling mistake. Instead of company, they prefer to call their Facebook page “conpany.” This is very unusual for a company that values its reputation. 

Check the above screenshot

Following a Google search, three pages with the same post and all leading to the same link with the same logos and photos are returned. The difference is the time period in which the pages were created. On April 20, the “World Investment Company” was established, followed by the “Forex Trading Company” on October 1 and the “World Investment Conpany” on November 21. They appear to have been created by the same people.

Screenshots showing the transparency section of three different yet similar pages

Only mPesa is accepted for payment. Why not have multiple transaction methods?

When I asked Aisha how to pay, she told me to use mpesa, which is a service that lets both international and local merchants offer Africa’s most popular payment method as an option at online checkouts. She says that the money needs to be sent to her, and then she will put it in the bank for the person. The same thing happens when someone wants to withdraw.

This is not true of real online forex trading, as they are expected to have a website and more than one way to make transactions.

The company uses stock images on its Facebook page.

A reverse image search on the photo used as the cover of its Facebook page yields several results of the same image being used by various sites, including here, here, and here. Stock images are photos, illustrations, and icons that were created with no specific project in mind. They are then licenced to individuals or institutions, usually for a fee or free of charge.

Screenshot of the Facebook page’s cover photo

Conclusion:

The claim that “World Investment Company” is a legitimate forex trader is found to be false by 211 Check. The company does not have a website or flexible payment methods.

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