Writer: PesaCheck

A Facebook post with a TikTok video purportedly of a hospitality robot made by the Federal University Oye-Ekiti in Nigeria is FALSE.

The post reads, “This is Nigeria. This Robot was designed and constructed by the Department of Mechatronics, Federal University, Oye- Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. ‘A Robot Serving food in a restaurant’.”

The post adds, “As you can listen to the background discussion. Nigeria is building capacity to catch-up with global technology.”

A search for the TikTok username @house_of_lovedoctor visible in the video in question established that the video was filmed in the United States (US).

The TikTok account shared the post on 26 September 2023 with the caption, “At any point where a customer obstructs ANITA’S operation, she cries for help. Shop located at 4150 Lafayette rd, IN 46254 Indianapolis. AFS Kitchen.”

AFS Kitchen is an African restaurant in Indianapolis, USA.

On 21 September 2023, the creator shared a different post of the robot at the same restaurant with Indianapolis as the tagged location and responded to a comment clarifying it is not in Nigeria but in the USA.

A reverse image search of a screenshot of the robot from the video on Yandex established that it is a product of a US-based company and not manufactured in Nigeria, as alleged.

Images of the robot were featured in an article dated 15 March 2022 titled, “Bear Robotics Raises $81M Series B to Scale Up Mobile Robots in the Hospitality Market.”

Bear Robotics has manufactured two hospitality robots dubbed “Servi” and “Servi Plus”, which have been deployed to various restaurants globally.

There is no news of the said invention from Nigeria’s Federal University Oye-Ekiti from a credible source.

PesaCheck has looked into a Facebook post with a video purportedly of a hospitality robot made by the Federal University Oye-Ekiti in Nigeria and finds it to be FALSE.

This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.

The post FALSE: This video is not of a hospitality robot made by the Federal University Oye-Ekiti in Nigeria appeared first on 211CHECK.

Writer: PesaCheck

This Facebook post from an account purporting to have received cash from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Foundation is a HOAX.

The post, mostly in Swahili, loosely translates to: “I didn’t think this UNICEF foundation promotion was legitimate. I’m very happy to have received mine today, I’m grateful. I’m also informing my friends to enjoy it too. INBOX ME OR Text this number on WhatsApp (0712266650) starting with the word PROMOTION then follow the instructions given. Thank me later.”

It is accompanied by a screenshot of a text message purportedly from the mobile money service, M-PESA, showing that the user has received KSh85,000 from the UNICEF Foundation.

Similar posts have also been shared here and here.

A review of the account shows similar posts claiming to have received the same amount. Curiously, the funds all seem to have been received at 7:17 a.m. on 22 September 2023.

The posts, using an unofficial communication channel (WhatsApp), are poorly written and are likely online scams, as previously debunked by PesaCheck.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is tasked with safeguarding the rights of children and women in developing countries like Kenya.

Reviewing the official UNICEF Kenya website reveals its support for causes, including education, child protection, emergencies, health, HIV/AIDS, nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene. However, there is no indication of the promotion we are debunking.

Likewise, there is no mention of a ‘UNICEF Foundation’ cash promotion on the agency’s Kenya’s Facebook page and X (formerly Twitter) account, where they typically share updates.

PesaCheck also reached out to Dan Oloo, a communication specialist at UNICEF Kenya, who denounced the promotion.

“All announcements, advertisements and other official communication is done only via verified UNICEF digital channels as below: Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/UNICEFKenya/), Twitter (https://twitter.com/UNICEFKenya), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/unicef_kenya/) and web: (http://www.unicef.org/kenya),” wrote Oloo in response to our query.

Oloo also cautioned against posts from unverified UNICEF Kenya accounts.

PesaCheck has looked into a Facebook post from an account purporting to have received cash from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) foundation and found it to be a HOAX.

This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.

The post HOAX: UNICEF is not running this cash promotion in Kenya appeared first on 211CHECK.

Writer: PesaCheck

This image on Facebook, purportedly of the Cairo Tower in Egypt displaying the Palestine flag, is ALTERED.

The image is accompanied by a text that reads, “Cairo Tower is decorated with the Palestinian flag. Here is Cairo,, here is Palestine.”

The claim was shared amid ongoing armed conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which broke out on 7 October 2023.

A Google search for the keywords “Cairo Tower images” established the image in question was altered.

The original image is available on Wikimedia Commons with the description, “Cairo Tower at Night.”

It was uploaded on 3 February 2010 and is attributed to Ahmed Santos.

A side by side comparison of the altered image and the original one reveals similarities between the two, including the moon’s shape and position. The background colour of the sky and the outline of the trees at the bottom are other similarities.

The original image is also available on the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) website alongside other images of Cairo Tower, and is attributed to Santos.

There are no reports from a credible source of the Cairo Tower displaying the Palestine flag in the wake of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

PesaCheck has looked into an image shared on Facebook purportedly of the Cairo Tower in Egypt displaying the Palestine flag, and finds it to be ALTERED.

This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.

The post ALTERED: This image of Cairo Tower in Egypt displaying the Palestine flag is manipulated appeared first on 211CHECK.

Writer: PesaCheck

This Facebook post with a video claiming a tiny fragment of HIV was added to a COVID-19 vaccine is MISSING CONTEXT.

The post reads, “A tiny fragment of HIV” added to vaccine.”

The video begins with the narrator saying: “Science gone absolutely mad,” while text overlaid on the 44-second clip reads: “Did she just say they added a tiny fragment of hiv? Wtf! We want answers!!! Yes she said HIV.”

Another Facebook post with a screenshot from the video reads, “So whose had the covid jab bet u didn’t now this , wtf (sic)”.

A reverse image search of a screenshot from the video on Yandex established that the person featured at the end of the clip is Keith Chappell, a professor at the University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia, during a BBC interview.

In the clip, Chappel says that the protein used is of “a highly stable structure” and that there is no risk of “HIV replicating”.

A Google keyword search for “covid vaccine with HIV fragment” established that the UQ and global biotech company CSL were developing a vaccine that included a fragment of an HIV protein with the view of adding stability to the intended antibody target; the spike protein of the pandemic coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

However, the claim in question leaves out crucial information on the vaccine.

Testing of participants in phase 1 of the trials in July 2020 did not find any evidence of the HIV virus present, and thus participants were not at risk.

Further, the UQ vaccine was abandoned in December 2020 after some trial participants returned false-positive results for HIV. For this reason, the vaccine was not rolled out for use by the general public.

PesaCheck has looked into a Facebook post with a video claiming a tiny fragment of HIV was added to a COVID-19 vaccine and finds it to be MISSING CONTEXT.

This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.

The post MISSING CONTEXT: This video claiming a tiny fragment of HIV was added to a COVID-19 vaccine has been misrepresented appeared first on 211CHECK.

Writer: PesaCheck

This poster on Facebook claiming that the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) is on a recruitment drive is a HOAX.

The National Hospital Insurance Fund changed to National Health Insurance Fund after the amendment of the NHIF Act in 2022.

The advert has the branding of the parastatal and lists more than a dozen job openings which, if filled, will enable the NHIF to implement the country’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) effectively.

Additional information on the poster is that the positions are “on permanent & pensionable basis to help bridge the gaps between health sector and Kenyan citizen (sic).”

The vacancies are for, among others, clinicians, social workers, community health workers, accountants, nurses, surveyors, supply chain managers, laboratory technicians, secretaries, sales and marketing officers, drivers, and ICT officers.

A similar poster with a different application deadline has been shared in this Facebook publication.

Both posters require the job seekers to be holders of a degree, diploma, or certificate, be Kenyan citizens of legal age, and have experience in what is applied for, among other qualifications.

Further, the poster directs applicants to submit their CVs to a provided Gmail-prefixed address, which raises doubts about its authenticity.

Another red flag is that there is no information about the vacancies in either the Careers section of the NHIF website, on its Facebook page, Twitter or Instagram accounts.

At the time of this debunk, the NHIF had listed eight open positions and none of those in the poster is among them.

Besides, the NHIF directs job seekers to submit applications to nhif.or.ke-prefixed addresses and not Gmail.

The national health insurer, through a post on X (formerly Twitter), disowned the recruitment poster and urged the public to disregard it.

PesaCheck has examined a poster claiming that the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) is hiring and found it to be a HOAX.

This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.

The post HOAX: This National Health Insurance Fund job advert is a scam appeared first on 211CHECK.

Writer: PesaCheck

This screen grab on Facebook with a message, supposedly from Equity Bank to a customer, is FAKE.

Equity Bank is one of the leading financial service providers in East Africa. In July 2016, the lender was ranked the fastest growing bank in Africa.

The message reads: “Dear costumer if you don’t trust us please withdraw your Kshs. 86.00 you have been checking balance consistently.[sic]”

But is the message authentic?

To begin with, the text has typos. This is among the red flags for social media hoaxes.

On 9 September 2023, the bank released a statement disowning the post.

“This is definitely not a notification from Equity Bank,” the lender said in response to a user on X, formerly known as Twitter.

PesaCheck investigated a screen grab on Facebook with a message, purportedly from Equity Bank to a customer, and found it to be FAKE.

This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.

The post FAKE: This screen grab, supposedly of an Equity Bank response to a customer, is fabricated appeared first on 211CHECK.

Writer: Jibi Moses

A picture of a man holding a pistol accompanying a story by the Ugandan website The Ankole Times, with the headline “Gun Drama Unfolds in Bugolobi Market, Private Security Guard Unleashes Mayhem,” is false. 

The photo shows the man holding a pistol on a deserted road, with a few bodaboda men and journalists taking pictures. It also shows shopping arcades (stores) that were closed and a road that was clearly marked.

“In the not-so-bustling market of Bugolobi, a surprising turn of events unfolded when a private security guard, Aijuka Rode, decided to play cop in a local drinks and merchandise shop. Unfortunately, his aim wasn’t as impressive as his delusions of grandeur. A female shopkeeper, Mutesi Zainabu, found herself caught in the crossfire of an alleged altercation with our wannabe Rambo. Police Deputy Spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire confirmed the less-than-heroic incident…,” partially reads the article published on July 29, 2023.

211Check Investigation:

An internet search of the keywords “A guard shoots people at Bugolobi market” returns many results confirming the incident as reported by the following media houses, here, here, here, and here.

The news reports by the media established the identities of the guard as Arode Aijuka and the victim of the shooting as Zainabu Mutesi. The incident also reportedly took place at night, raising doubts about the image used by The Ankole Times. 

A Reverse Image Search of the picture shows that the image has been used on earlier dates by different users, including the Ankole Times, this time with a headline on demonstrations in Kenya. The article makes reference to a Kenyan MP brandishing a firearm at protesters.  

Consequently, a keyword search using ‘MP Holds a Gun in Kenya in 2023’ produced many results showing that the man in the photo is Nakuru West Member of Parliament Samuel Arama.

The MP reportedly drew his gun when a group of demonstrators allegedly vandalised his hotel during anti-government protests on July 19, 2023. The incident was widely reported, as seen here, here, here, and here. 

In a news report by Kenyans.co.ke, the MP is quoted as having said: “We are all Kenyans; we also voted for Raila, but he lost to William Ruto. Why should these people destroying property not get shot?”

Conclusion.

211 Check finds the picture used by the Ankole Times purportedly showing a guard who shot a woman in Bugolobi as false and misleading. In the picture is Nakuru West Constituency MP Samuel Arama, The image was taken during the demonstrations in Kenya, where demonstrators allegedly vandalised his hotel.

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

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 

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