Salva Mathok categorically denies the rumours, stating that he is alive and well. He states that he was present at Tuesday’s assembly session, which was later adjourned.
Writer: Jibi Moses
A viral Facebook post alleging that Salva Mathok, a member of the Revitalised Transitional National Legislative Assembly (R-TNLA), was hospitalised after allegedly falling and breaking his neck is false.
Two Facebook pages, Radio Dabanga-211 and Phow Radio FM, claim that the legislature collapsed on Tuesday, November 1st, breaking his neck. Radio Dabanga -211 claims to have up to 13 thousand followers and describes itself as “Good times, great hits.” The post has received more than 160 reactions, 330 comments, and 123 shares.
Meanwhile, Phow Radio FM (4,700 likes and 6,500 followers) posted this as breaking news. The post received over 100 reactions, 230 comments, and 104 shares.
The picture of Salva Mathok that the two pages used.
But to what extent do these claims doing the rounds have any basis in reality?
The legislature was with a friend in the picture Hot in Juba used, indicating that the two pages altered the original picture and cropped out the other guy, who was unnamed.
Original picture of Salva Mathok and a friend in a Nairobi hospital as posted on 06/01/2020
Recently, Salva Mathok has made headlines for burning down a Seventh-day Adventist Church in one of his counties in South Sudan’s Warrap State, claiming that the Church had been burning down shrines of local leaders, a practice that was driving people away from their beliefs. Furthermore, he claimed that the church encouraged sexual immorality. As a result, the public’s reaction to this story has been mixed, with some claiming that it was a punishment from God.
However, since then, he and the state governor, Aleu Ayieny, have travelled to Juba to participate in assembly sessions. They left the Warrap state capital of Kuajok.
Salva Mathok rubbishes ill-health rumours:
Salva Mathok, when contacted by No. 1 Citizen, an English daily newspaper in South Sudan, categorically denied the rumours, stating that he is alive and well. He stated that he was present at Tuesday’s assembly session, which was later adjourned.
Conclusion:
211 Check finds the claim that Salva Mathok is hospitalised after allegedly falling and breaking his neck is false. The picture circulating is old, first posted on 06/01/2020
#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.
https://211check.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Salva-Mathok.png788940211 Checkhttps://211check.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/211Check_logo-1-300x120.png211 Check2022-11-03 14:24:552022-11-03 14:24:58Fact-check: Is Salva Mathok in hospital after allegedly falling and breaking his neck? No, It’s false
The phishing link is intended to collect personal information of unsuspecting people online.
Writer: Ochaya Jackson
A link circulating on the social media platform WhatsApp purporting to be The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, also known as the Green Card Lottery, a United States government lottery programme for receiving a US Permanent Resident Card for 2022/2023 is false.
“The U.S.A DV Visa Lottery online Application Form 2022/2023 registration exercise which is the quickest way for all Foreigners interested in immigrating legally to live, Study and work in UNITED STATES. The Resident Card Lottery Program also known as Diversity Immigration Visa Lottery program is a chance for 45,000 people from all over the world to become permanent and legal residents of the UNITED STATES, meaning that they can live. work and study in the U.S.A. Interested Applicants are to visit the Online Registration Portal. The Winners Will Be Drawn From Random Selection And There Is No Cost To Register”, reads the false message containing malicious link.
Screenshot of the shared WhatsApp message
When applicants click on the link, they are taken to a one-page website with a form that requests their title, name, phone number, email, address, country, and account password.
Screenshot of the forms applicants are asked to fill
After filling out the above information, one is said to be considered for a chance even without sending the confirmation email listed in the form; instead, applicants are asked to forward the message to more WhatsApp friends or groups.
Screenshot of the prompt after filling the form
When 211 Check investigated the claim link, it discovered that it was not the same as the official US Department of State website for the 2024 Diversity Visa Program.
As part of the legitimate processes for qualifying for the opportunity, the malicious website asks three questions: how well do you speak English, what is your employment status, and what age range do you prefer?
The form for filling out personal information requires password information, which is unusual given that it is not for logging in.
And it tempts users to send the message to fifteen friends or five WhatsApp groups before submitting the application.
Comparison with the Electronic Diversity Visa Program
211 Check compared the information requirements entered into the Electronic Diversity Visa Application Entry System on the US Department of State website to the one trending on WhatsApp and discovered that they do not match. The website’s features, terms, and conditions differ from the official information on the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs.
And the U.S. government warned the public of fraudsters’ operations trying to distort the official program for personal gains, according to a notice of fraud warning published on the Department of State website.
“The Department of State, Office of Visa Services, advises the public of a notable increase in fraudulent emails and letters sent to Diversity Visa (DV) program (Visa Lottery) applicants. While DV applicants may receive an email from the U.S. government reminding them to check their status online through DV Entrant Status Check, they will not receive a notification letter or email informing them that they are a successful DV entrant. Applicants can only find out if they were selected to continue with DV processing by checking their status online through the DV Entrant Status Check,” reads the fraud warning.
“The only official way to apply for the DV program is directly through the official U.S. Department of State website during the specified and limited registration period”, it adds.
The screenshots of the true Electronic Diversity Visa Application System
Whois Information:
The domain information for the phishing link shows that it was registered on 07 April, 2022. A scam is usually apparent when a site is created around the same time it went viral.
Screenshot of the Whois domain information of the linkin circulating on WhatsApp
Conlusion
The link doing the rounds on WhatsApp about the United States resident card visa lottery 2022/2023 is false mimicking the official U.S. Department of State’s Diversity Visa Program. It is a phishing scam designed to harvest personal information from people online by fraudsters.
https://211check.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/US-DIVERSITY-PROGRAM.png788940211 Checkhttps://211check.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/211Check_logo-1-300x120.png211 Check2022-11-02 15:51:532022-11-02 15:51:56Fact-check: Is this the correct site for the US Diversity Visa Program 2024? No, it isn’t
The video is from September, 2016 and was taken in Zimbabwe and not South Sudan as alleged
A video posted on Facebook claiming to show a footballer fighting a referee during a match at Rumbek, South Sudan is False.
The video shared online on October 31, 2022 alleged that a player in Rumbek fought a match referee after being red carded.
“A football referee was beaten by a player in Rumbek after issuing him a straight red card.
According to the player, he says the referee was against him for nothing,” reads the caption of the post we are fact-checking.
However, we performed a keyword search on Google and established that the video was recorded in Zimbabwe and first went viral in September, 2016.
The video was taken from a Southern Division One league match pitting Victoria Falls Tigers against Amagagasi.
Trouble began when the referee gave a Victoria Tigers’ player matching orders, only for the latter to descend on him with punches, forcing the match official to retaliate.
211 Check has examined a videoposted on Facebook claiming to show a footballer fighting the match referee during an ongoing game at Rumbek, South Sudan and finds it to be False
https://211check.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Football-Pitch-Claim.png788940211 Checkhttps://211check.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/211Check_logo-1-300x120.png211 Check2022-11-02 15:48:572022-11-02 15:49:01FALSE: This video of player fighting referee during a football match is not from Rumbek, South Sudan
A Facebook post by Mr. Chia, a page that concentrates on foods and nutrition claimed on 14th October 2022 that Papaya seeds are a medication for Malaria.
The post that has since attracted 13 reactions, 3 comments and 2 shares carries a picture of a ripe pawpaw with the caption ‘ward off malaria with paw paw seeds’.
The post further claims that the paw paw seeds have more health benefits as in being a powerful antioxidant, relieves menstrual pain, healthy gut, helps in weight loss, anti-cancer properties, and nephroprotective.
A screenshot of the image used by Mr. Chia.
But, how do paw paw seeds ward off malaria? 211 Check looks at the claim:
The Facebook page, Mr. Chia mostly posts about foods and associated health benefits, and attributes a single food type to be medicinal too many diseases for example, in this case, it named malaria, cancer, healthy gut, reduces on menstrual pain, and protects the kidneys. In another post they wrote on sugarcane, explaining similar benefits.
However, there’s no clear dosage for the patient who is taking the medication in the page’s posts.
211 Check spoke to a medical doctor in Juba, Dr.Gwolo David of Juba Medicare clinic, enquiring whether papaya seeds can help prevent and cure malaria, but he said there’s no proven way that papaya seeds can help prevent or cure malaria though studies have shown its inhibitory effects on Plasmodium falciparum (malaria).
He said papaya, just like any fruit, is nutritional and he advises people to always have them in their diet, but they shouldn’t be eating them as medication. He further advised people to always visit a medical personnel when not feeling okay and take medication as advised by the physician.
Dr.Odol George, a Juba-based physician, had an answer not different from that of Dr.David.
“What is known is that fruits are good for health because they contain a lot of vitamins which will improve body immunity and have antioxidant elements like Vitamin E and Zinc,” he said.
Efforts to get a comment from the National Drug Authority were futile, as they couldn’t reply to our email.
What is Papaya?
According to Wikipedia papaya or pawpaw is the plant Carica papaya, one of the 22 accepted species in the genus Carica family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern day southern Mexico and Central America. In 2020 India produced 43% of the world supply of papaya.
An Internet based nutritional WebMD explains how beneficial papaya is to one’s health. Similarly other sites explains in their different as seen here, here, here and here
An image of a sliced ripe papaya (pawpaw) fruit.
Malaria causes symptoms, prevention and treatment
Malaria is spread by a female anopheles mosquito. Most common signs of malaria are fever, headache, joint pains and others. Malaria can be mild to deadly extent if not treated early enough. There many medicines that treat Malaria according to the way an individual responds to the parasites.
The Center for Diseases control explains more about Malaria, its causes, symptoms and treatment in this post. World Health Organization, the body that regulates and coordinates health issues in the world has this to say about malaria
Malaria is treated with a variety of medicines some of which are Chloroquine, Doxycycline, and Primaquine.
These health establishments give a better and more explanation on the types of medicines used for treating Malaria and these are: CDC, MedicineNet, and drugs.com.
Conclusion:
Given the findings after the comments from the medical doctors and reliable online sources, there’s on prove that papaya seeds are a medication for either malaria or the other said ailments.
The online nutritional sites which are somehow in support of the claim, warn that patients should first seek advice from a medical Doctor or a physician should they catch malaria.
https://211check.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Pawpaw-Claim.png788940211 Checkhttps://211check.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/211Check_logo-1-300x120.png211 Check2022-11-02 15:43:392022-11-02 15:43:43Fact-check: Can paw paw seeds ward off malaria? No, scientifically unproven
The photos used in the claim were taken in October 2020 at a hospital in Kapoeta county, Eastern Equatoria State, of two women who gave birth to triplets three weeks apart, not on the same day.
Writer: Ochaya Jackson
A Facebook post by Kampala Today on the 13th October, 2022, claimed that a police officer impregnated his two wives and they at the same time gave birth to triplets citing each with two girls, and one boy.
The post which did not mention the name, and the location of the police officer is false.
“Apolice officer impregnated his two wives and they coincidentally gave birth on the same day, each having triplets (two girls and one boy each). What a blessing!!”, the post reads.
The post garnered over one thousand comments, sixty nine shares, and about two thousand reactions.
Earlier the social media Facebook page of Kenyan Report referenced the claim to a man who it said “impregnated his two wives and they coincidentally gave birth on the same day, each having triplets”, which is false. Here there are over five hundred reactions, four hundreds comments, and twenty eight shares.
This is the screen shot
And on 9th, Oct, 2022 Juba TV published on its website headlining that a “Kapoeta woman gives birth to six babies, four boys and two girls”, which appeared to have manipulated the falsehood trend on the triplets story.
Findings:
211 Check discovered, however, that the photo accompanying the claim was reported with a story by Hot in Juba in October 2020, of two women in Kapoeta South County hospital of Eastern Equatoria State who each gave birth to triplets three weeks apart.
“Two women in Kapoeta may have set record of some kind after they gave birth to triplets just 3 weeks apart. The birth of [two] triplets four boys and two girls went viral after a member of the family posted pics of the triplets while still in [h]ospital”, Hot in Juba reported that time.
In addition, Eye Radio reported in October 2020 about another man who abandoned his wife in Kapoeta hospital after she gave birth to triplets (two boys and one girl).
Conclusion:
211 Check has found that the claim of a police officer’s wives having given birth to triplets is false. The photos used in the claim were taken in October 2020 at a hospital in Kapoeta county, Eastern Equatoria State, of two women three weeks apart, not on the same day, after they each gave birth to triplets.
https://211check.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Photo-showing-two-wives-of-a-police-officer-who-gave-birth-on-the-same-day.png6281200211 Checkhttps://211check.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/211Check_logo-1-300x120.png211 Check2022-10-19 13:37:342022-10-19 13:37:36Fact-check: Photo showing two wives of a police officer who gave birth on the same day?
More often than not, most people overly confuse Somalia and Somaliland, thinking that it refers to the same country. However, the differences are very distinct as explained for you below by 211 Check.
Somalia is an independent state, which acquired self-rule in 1960 from Britain and Italy who had established British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland which later merged and gained independence in 1960 as Federal Republic of Somalia.
However, in 1991 Somaliland declared itself autonomous from Somalia after a rebel group, Somali National Movement (SNM) led a rebellion: toppling the ruling government that year. Somaliland became self-governing with its capital city in Hargeisa, and up to date holds democratic elections.
Regardless of its proclaimed independence, Somaliland is not recognised as a sovereign state. Some analysts, however, assert that the African Union is reluctant to declare Somaliland an independent state fearing that other secessionists might seek to split from already independent states which can subsequently undermine the continent’s stability.
Although Somaliland is not a recognised state, it goes for democratic elections and has a complete structure of government. Its currency is Somaliland Shilling (Sl.Sh) whereas Somalia’s currency is Somali shilling (SOS). Also, both regions are located in the horn of Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean.
But due to different economic levels 1 USD in Somalia is equivalent to about 570 SOS, Somali shilling and also the same US dollar is about 10,000 Somaliland shilling. In Somaliland, due to currency devaluation, people carry bundles of money in bags or wheelbarrows to buy basic items.That compelled the government to introduce cashless transactions through mobile money payments.
A week ago, a post published by tabloids went viral stating that 1 US dollar in Somalia is equivalent to 9,000 Somaliland shilling. The post unintentionally confused Somalia with Somaliland:
“In Somalia, $1 is equivalent to 9,000 Somaliland shillings – the currency is so devalued that people roam the markets with piles of money in wheelbarrows.” The post reads partly.
Screenshot of a Facebook post by Juba TV
Some people assume it’s Somalia that is referred to as Somaliland to mean land of Somali. But they’re different as explained above.
https://211check.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Somalia-Somaliland.png6281200211 Checkhttps://211check.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/211Check_logo-1-300x120.png211 Check2022-10-14 15:11:532022-10-14 15:17:35Explainer: Somalia and Somaliland differences South Sudanese should know
The message, which warns people against using conventional cancer treatments and claims that mixing lemon fruit with hot water “is 1,000 times better than chemotherapy,” was attributed to Dr. Guru Prasad Reddy BV, who claimed to be a professor at Osh State Medical University in Moscow, Russia.
Screenshot of the claim posted on Facebook
“Screening will not and cannot lower the cancer cases. There are very many people who are going to India. A friend who has been going to India for the last three years because of cancer told me 50% of people in the cancer clinics in India are usually Africans (Kenya/Uganda) etc. Sadly, many don’t make it even after these treatments, this is the bit that we are never told,” reads part of the message on social media.
“Blend a whole lemon fruit with a cup of hot water and drink it for about 1-3 months first thing before food and cancer would disappear, research by Maryland College of Medicine says, it’s 1000 times better than chemotherapy”, the message adds.
Is this true? 211 Check investigates the claims made in the WhatsApp message:
211 Check established that Dr. Guru Prasad Reddy is a specialist in plastic surgery at Apollo Spectra Hospitals, Hyderabad-Kondapur in India, not professor at Osh State Medical University in Russia.
And Osh State Medical University is a public University in Kyrgyzstan not in Moscow-Russia as claimed. The link is here
In 2017, the claim was posted on a Facebook page by Home Ayurvedic remedied which garnered 102 comments, and 280 shares was also referenced to have been written by Dr. Guru Prasad Reddy. The link is here
The same message was also shared many years back and attributed to several doctors from different countries and institutions which some of them debunked as fake and said the claim was completely false.
AFP published a fact-check in August 2021 on the same claim as false which at that time was attributed to Chief Executive Professor Chen Horin from Beijing Military Hospital who according to AFP the professor was faked.
“This matter is very important..…lemon slices in a glass of hot water can save you for the rest of your life. Hot lemon water kills cancer cells. Cut a lemon into three pieces and put them in a cup. Then pour hot water in it. It’s done (alkaline water). Drinking it on a daily basis will give special benefits”, AFP quoted a post on Facebook in 2018 which was shared 125,000 times as said by Professor Chen Horin.
However, AFP found out that the real chief physician Chen Huiren at Beijing Military Hospital name was the one faked in the claim, not Horin.
A cancer specialist at Bangladesh Cancer Society Hospital, Prof Dr Golam Mohiuddin Faruque, who was quoted by AFP said the claim was a hoax but said lemon can prevent some types of cancer however, not cure.
“No one can say hot lemon water…..can cure cancer and such claims have no scientific basis. There are different types of cancers and many of these have their own ways of treatment but drinking hot lemon water is definitely not among them. Citrus fruits including lemon sometimes can have some positive impact in preventing certain types of cancers but that’s not a treatment.” he was quoted as saying by AFP.
Scientific facts:
The lemon cure claim for cancer has been also disputed by the National Center for Health Research as untrue after modified citrus pectin – a carbohydrate in the peels of citrus fruits studied with humans’ prostate cancer was unsuccessful.
Dr. Manish Singhal termed the claim as myth but it is a good idea to have lemon either in hot or cold water because it will keep one very hydrated by washing toxins and acids in the stomach. However, thinking that it can cure cancer is not true.
Cancer Research UK in 2013 has also clarified that “there’s no scientific evidence to show that lemon juice can cure cancer, despite what is on the internet”.
And the U.S. National Centre for Health Research, “lemons are not a “proven remedy against cancers of all types,” and no studies have ever been done that would compare the effectiveness of a lemon to chemotherapy.”
There is currently no World Health Organization (WHO) factsheet on lemon curing cancer in patients, and what is circulating on the internet about lemon hot water curing cancer remains just a hypothesis not scientifically proven.
Conclusion:
211 Check investigated posts on lemon hot water curing cancer that have been going on for years in various platforms, with others claiming that the lemon is 10,000, 10, and 1,000 times more effective than chemotherapy are unproven. And because no scientific studies have proven the claim to be true, it remains a health myth.
https://211check.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Hot-lemon-curing-cancer.png788940211 Checkhttps://211check.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/211Check_logo-1-300x120.png211 Check2022-10-14 14:47:442022-10-14 14:47:47Fact-check: Can drinking hot lemon water cure cancer? Not scientifically proven
South Sudanese who sunk their hard-earned money into a “US venture capital firm” promising mouthwatering returns are worried. They have reason to be – there are many signs that not all was what it seems to be.
Writer: Emmanuel Bida Thomas
One cannot miss the frustration and mounting worry among those who invested in Silicone Valley Shares, which claims to be a US-headquartered venture capital firm with more than $6.4 billion in assets under management.
“In developed countries cases of fraud are treated as criminal cases but in South Sudan we are used to suffering and have to endure this big scam,” Ezekiel Matiop, an investor, told 211 Check.
He had lost US$3,400 he said, and had already written it off, even as he called for those responsible to be punished. “The good thing is that it has taught us a great life lesson”.
Caesar Lemmy told 211 Check he had lost $1,542. “My experience is so bad, I wish I didn’t take the initiative of investing my hard earned money there, the company’s problems keep on increasing every day, I am not sure if they will ever operate again.”
Several other investors interviewed by South Sudan broadcaster Eye Radio in late September 2022 also spoke of their concerns they had lost their money. One said they had invested $4,100, and that he was in a WhatsApp group of hundreds of other investors – and they could be more.
Venture capitalists provide financing or other investment to startup companies and small businesses, trading the risk for the hope of handsome returns. But it is not clear what exactly Silicone Valley Shares’ model was.
But the company, which promised outsized profits, has run into major headwinds in the country. Its website was suspended in early September before being restored. Its offices were subsequently closed by security services and investors reportedly stormed its office in the capital Juba due to their inability to withdraw their funds.
Lemmy said he had tried to withdraw his money unsuccessfully. “I tried after they restored the website, but the money was never deposited into my account, and most people are also complaining about the same,” he said.
The company has kept a low profile, save for a man who claimed to be an executive saying its Juba staff had been detained. In an interesting twist, the staff in question denied this as “baseless”.
As the debate – and distress – rages, 211 Check took a longer look under the hood and identified several red flags.
We have asked the firm to comment on our findings, but they are yet to respond at the time of publication.
Firm claims to have invested – in companies older than itself
The firm’s name is clearly meant to identify it with the Silicon Valley region, an area in the US known for incubating and housing a large number of technology and software companies.
These companies did not immediately comment on whether Silicone Valley Shares was an early backer when 211 Check contacted them through email.
But DocuSign, Kiva Systems and LinkedIn were all founded in 2003, well before 2010, the year Silicone Valley Shares claims it was established.
Its website domain history is inconsistent with its supposed founding date. A domain record gives information about a website, including who it is registered to and when the site was first registered.
A search of Silicone Valley’s record on Whois and Domain Age Checker, two popular domain tools, shows 29 October 2021 as the date on which the website was created. It is however possible it existed in a different form before then.
Screenshot of the Whois Record for siliconevalleyshares.com
A search on Cloaking Checker, a tool which checks if a website is trying to fool search engines so as to get a better ranking, reported a “possible cloaking attempt”.
Stock images and phantom management
Archived versions of the Silicone Valley Shares website, captured between 21 December 2021 and 30 August 2022 on the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, list the following “expert management team”:
chief executive officer Zhirong Jeffrey
director of IT and innovations Lew Son
director of sales, marketing and business development Jenifer Sting
Our efforts to contact the real people through LinkedIn and their current companies were unsuccessful at the time of publishing.
Screenshot of what Silicone Valley Shares claims to be its team of experts captured on 24/12/2021
The “management” team’s profiles were removed in later versions of the website, but the site still features testimonials from three supposedly satisfied clients.
The testimonials are allegedly from Arjun Thankar, Racheal Davis and Adebola Ogundipe, from India, the US and Nigeria respectively.
Screenshot of alleged user comments on the Silicone Valley Shares website
But reverse image searches show that the photos of Thankur and Davis are stock images – widely available photographs anyone can use either for free or for a fee instead of commissioning a photographer.
Contacted via LinkedIn, Ojeh told 211 Check he had never heard of the company.
“I am shocked to see this. I have no idea who runs Silicone Valley Shares and why they have used my picture on their site. I have never heard of them before,” he said.
Information on any corporation or business entity in the United States is usually obtained by performing a search on the Secretary of State website of the state or territory where that corporation is registered.
The California Business Registry office directed 211 Check to its public portal for “entities made of record with the California Secretary of State’s office”.
A search on the portal returned no results for a limited liability company named Silicone Valley Shares.
Screenshot of search results for entities made of a record with the California Secretary of State
The company’s listed phone numbers and addresses also don’t seem to match.
There are still more inconsistencies. In this blog post on its website, Silicone Valley Shares states that its clients will access its services using m-Gurush, a mobile money platform popular in South Sudan.
However, mGurush on social media said it was unaware of Silicone Valley Shares and that they were not in a partnership.
Screenshot of tweet reply from m-Gurush
A Ponzi or pyramid scheme?
M-Gurush requires users to register, deposit and withdraw cash through an agent. But investors in Silicone Valley Shares reported a different method.
“There’s what they called float, so you give cash to someone who has float, and he sends you the float, then you can invest that float,” Matiop told 211 Check.
A typical contract can be seen here. Investors are also paid their interests through bank deposits or in cryptocurrency.
Silicone Valley Shares has a referral programme which claims that when your friends or new investors you bring into the business click on a website link and make an investment, you are credited with a particular percentage commission of their investment amount.
An investor can commission up to a certain level, which is how pyramid schemes work. In this case one can commission up to a fourth level.
Screenshot of Silicone Valley Shares referral programme
Letter from the Bank of South Sudan directing commercial banks to freeze accounts of the company
Banks have started complying. The Equity Bank of South Sudan told 211 Check “it had already blocked the account of Silicone Valley when the rumours about their business came out”.
Another bank, Ecobank, told the Voice of America’s South Sudan in Focus programme that it would close the company’s account in keeping with the regulator’s order.
Experts poke holes in firm’s model
211 Check asked finance and technology experts about the company. Silicone Valley Shares promises investors profits of between 350% and 876% for investments of a minimum $50 and a maximum $100,000. This is calculated hourly.
David Marko is a software engineer at the Juba-based Nilotech firm. He said no investment or financial technology firm accrues hourly interest for their investors while consistently claiming to be immune to the risk, or operates with aggressive multi-level marketing, forcing their clients to keep onboarding people.
“A scam is usually apparent when a company tries to sell the most complicated asset or idea to the least educated customers. They claim investments for customers in US stock markets to a customer base from a country that doesn’t have a local Securities Exchange,” Marko said.
“If it sounded too good to be true, it is because it is,” he said. He highlighted “better alternatives” for South Sudan’s rising middle class such as savings and credit corporations (Saccos) and microfinance companies.
Deng Akoi Arok is a financial technology (fintech) entrepreneur in South Sudan’s capital Juba. He said fintech is the use of technology to improve delivery of financial services mostly through a user interface (UI).
“While Silicon Valley Shares provided a dashboard, its returns were not verifiable because no one knew their product. It’s been labelled as a cryptocurrency company but does not fit any known crypto business model,” Arok told 211 Check.
Wani Steven, a technology lawyer at Witness Law Advocates in Juba, told 211 Check that the lack of proper means by how the company’s money multiplies “ is a serious threat and should be investigated”.
Spokesperson Maj Gen Daniel Justin reportedly said documents the law enforcement agency had obtained supported this.
The documents have been doing the rounds on social media and include a certificate of incorporation from the justice ministry and a letter of “no objection” from the interior ministry.
But the technology lawyer Steven told 211 Check that these were not enough.
“My view is that Silicone Valley has not complied with all the laws regulating the type of business they were engaging in.
Incorporating a general trading company, and acquiring letters of no objections and approval to acquire stamps from the police, is not sufficient for the type of business they were doing.”
Steven said that as a platform that conducts online services,which includes engaging in share trade,) they should have obtained a licence from the NCA.
They should also have gotten a licence from the central bank “which generally regulates any business that engages in money lending or similar engagement to what Silicone Valley was doing”.
In its letter to banks, the central bank of South Sudan said it froze the company’s shares because it is “still under investigation on issues related to compliance with all the relevant laws of South Sudan”.
Conclusion: Caution is the name of the game when investing
All available evidence indicates that Silicone Valley Shares is not a registered LLC in California, as it claims to be. The company’s name is not in the California Secretary of State’s Office’s business database. Its website address does not correspond to the address on Google maps, and its phone area code does not match San Jose, California, where it claims to be based.
On its website and Google Maps, the company uses a mix of stock images, manipulated images, and photos of seemingly arbitrary individuals, which is unusual for a legal entity.
This report by 211 Check was written as part of the 2022 Africa Check fellowship programme. The programme is one of many ways in which Africa Check fosters the practice of fact-checking across the continent.
https://211check.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Silicone-Valley-Shares.png6281200211 Checkhttps://211check.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/211Check_logo-1-300x120.png211 Check2022-10-14 13:57:142022-10-14 14:04:56Silicone Valley Shares: A trail of red flags as South Sudanese investors cry foul over lost cash
These are scammers who want to take advantage of opportunities to obtain important personal information such as names, emails, and phone numbers. This practice is called phishing. Some of the common characteristics of phishing scams are: too good to be good, sense of urgency, hyperlinks, attachments, and unusual sender.
Writer: Jibi Moses
A Facebook post from a page called “Hon. Mayiik Ayii Deng” on October 6, 2022, claiming the availability of a funding opportunity for farmers and businesses in South Sudan is false.
The post, which sparked public speculation about its legitimacy, has since received over 40 interactions, 18 comments, and 06 shares.
However, the page itself has 10 likes and 13 followers with no reviews, indicating that it is still new, unverified (no blue tick), and raises suspicions that it is not owned by Hon Mayiik Ayii Deng, South Sudan’s current Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
The post claims that the World Bank and International Finance Corporation are providing funding and business opportunities to farmers affected by natural disasters such as COVID19, Locust invasion, and floods, and they went on to provide a link through which one can apply and access the funding.
Further research into the website of the International Finance Corporation, a sister organisation of the World Bank and a member of the World Bank Group, clearly specifies the products and services they offer. They have investment, advice, and mobilisation, but these are further subdivided and the processes for private companies to apply for these services are clearly explained.
Attempts to obtain comments from World Bank and IFC officials were futile because they did not respond to our emails or Twitter direct messages.
In another similar search, the institution warns about fraud schemes misrepresenting IFC, which use their logos and emails that are difficult to distinguish from genuine ones, but they warn that they intend to extort money from the general public.
Screenshot of the domain information for ifcbusinessplan.com
Conclusion:
The claim is false. These are scammers who want to take advantage of opportunities to obtain important personal information such as names, emails, and phone numbers. Once they have them, they can use them to hack into your bank accounts, emails, and social media accounts. This practice is called phishing. Some of the common characteristics of phishing scams are: too good to be good, sense of urgency, hyperlinks, attachments, and unusual sender.
https://211check.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Mayiik-Ayii-False.png788940211 Checkhttps://211check.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/211Check_logo-1-300x120.png211 Check2022-10-12 13:28:442022-10-12 13:28:46Fact-check: World Bank and International Finance Corporation giving money to farmers and SMEs in South Sudan? No, it is just another Facebook scam
According to the Ministry of Investment, the page where the call for applications was published was a forgery and not its official Facebook account. It requests that the public refrain from following it and dealing with the news published on it.
Writer: Ghai Aketch
Claims that the Ministry of Investment is funding businesses on behalf of the South Sudan government after receiving a $350 million USD donation from the International Monetary Fund, International Fund for Agricultural Development, and USAID are false.
On October 4, 2022, a Facebook page bearing the official logo of the Republic of South Sudan Ministry of Investment and images of Investment Minister Hon.Dr. Dhieu Mathok Diing was created, but on October 5, a sponsored post called for applications for funding. To boost trade, the applicants were to receive a “development share of $350 million.”
But the application procedure directs people to a Google form to input personal information; name, email, mobile phone number, physical address, and description of project for funding.
Additionally, on October 5, another page disguised to be the investment minister’s was created but with misspelt name, Dr. Dhieu MADHOK instead of MATHOK. It also started sharing the same funding scheme and official images of the minister as well as the ministry’s activities.
Shortly after getting notified by 211 Check, the Investment Ministry published a position statement denying ownership of the viral post.
“A person created a fake page in the name of the Ministry of Investment on October 4, 2022 AD and published that the Ministry of Investment had received a grant of 350 million US dollars in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund and the International Fund for Agricultural Development . . (IFAD), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Global Entrepreneurship Network,” the statement reads in part.
The ministry also urged the public against falling victims of the fake Facebook page purporting Dr. Dhieu Mathok , adding that the minister doesn’t own a Facebook page.
“…we assure the followers of this fake page in the name of Dr. Dhieu Mathok that the Minister of Investment does not have an account on Facebook.”
Screenshot of false post doing the rounds
Earlier when 211 Check contacted the Republic of South Sudan Ministry of Investment the information caught the administrators in surprise, about the trending call for alleged financial funding.
The office manager in the minister’s office, Mr. Alfred Sokiri wondered and told 211 Check that he was in New York, US in September together with the minister but there was no such donation by the mentioned organisations.
He also added that it’s not on the ministry’s official Facebook page as well as no trace of physical files indicating that in the office.
Moreover, after consulting with the minister, the Press Secretary in the Office of the Minister, Mr. Akol Angok, told 211 Check that the circulating information is fake.
“Someone is attacking the Ministry of Investment. I talked to the minister and other officials but no information about the said $350 million US dollars.” Akol said. He stressed that the administration is contemplating on suing those meddling in that disinformation.
In addition to that, the official Ministry of Investment Facebook page has not published that information. This confirms that the account disseminating the information is a fake account intended to scam unsuspecting citizens.
More importantly, the photo accompanying the information is that of the Vice President for Service Cluster, Hussein Abdelbagi Akol and the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres during the United Nations General Assembly in the US published September 20, 2022 on twitter
Conclusion:
The Republic of South Sudan’s Ministry of Investment has not received any donation from the International Monetary Fund, International Fund for Agricultural Development and USAID to fund business. The Facebook page advertising the business grant is inauthentic.
https://211check.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/False-Ministry-of-Investment.png788940211 Checkhttps://211check.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/211Check_logo-1-300x120.png211 Check2022-10-12 12:13:322022-10-12 12:13:34Fact-check: Investment Ministry denies funding businesses from an alleged $350 million donation
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