Tag Archive for: #SouthSudan

DID 30 IDPS DIE OF HUNGER211 Check

Fact-Check: Have 30 IDPs died of hunger in Ezo County, Western Equatoria State?

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The report that Thirty IDPs from Tambura died of hunger in Ezo County is FALSE and MISLEADING. Both the Ezo County Commissioner and the County County Coordinator for the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission say 15 people died.

By 211 Check Editorial Team

The Dawn Newspaper, an English Daily in South Sudan reported on Tuesday, 9th November that 30 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Tambura County had died of hunger in Tambura, Western Equatoria State.

The Dawn Newspaper Headline on Tuesday, November 09. 2021

“Thirty IDPs from Tambura die of hunger in Ezo County,” reads a headline on the Dawn Newspaper. 

“At least over 25 internally displaced persons are said to have died of starvation in Ezo County of Western Equatoria,” partly reads the report.

Findings:

When contacted by 211 Check, Ezo County Commissioner, Abel Sudan said they have only verified 15  Internally displaced people who have died of starvation across Ezo county.

“Yes, the accurate number of people that can be verified who have lost their lives as a result of hunger on the ground is 15 as of Saturday, 6th November 2021  upon completion of our assessment,” Abel Sudan told 211 Check via phone on Wednesday morning. “The Dawn Newspaper might have misquoted me,” he added.

He also told Radio Miraya on November 9th that 15 of the IDPs died of starvation

Siani Martin, the Coordinator for Relief and Rehabilitation Commission in Ezo County also said in a written note seen by 211 Check that the leader of the Internally Displaced Persons reported a total of 15 deaths “without proper sickness” and linked to lack of food.

Conclusion

The report that Thirty IDPs from Tambura died of hunger in Ezo County is FALSE and MISLEADING. Both the Ezo County Commissioner and the County Coordinator for the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission say 15 people died of hunger related issues.

#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.

INVESTIGATION211 Check

Online Fraud: A case study of SMK Electronics Corporation and Prime Express Logistics

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How highly sophisticated fraudsters and cyber crime network scam South Sudanese in fake business transactions

By Oriba Douglas 

Introduction:

“I have been cheated $450 by online shopping scammers,” claims Mokili Elias Justin, a Juba South Sudanese based in a report to 211 Check

He then goes ahead to list a company calling itself SMK Electronics Corporation, who through their eye-catching advertisements on Facebook, lured him into a transaction that saw the Company SMK Electronics Corporation convince him, Mokili Elias Justin, to buy from them. He was then referred to WhatsApp, where a United States phone number +15108546513, helped seal the deal through a booking and payment. 

Facebook Page of the SMK Electronics Corporation

Payment was done as per wishes of “the WhatsApp contact +15108546513” and was to be deposited through local money transfers based in Juba whom the WhatsApp contact knew so very well. 

The recipients of the payments were Kenyan numbers +254769925315 and +254741963091. 

SMK Electronics then assured him that a courier calling itself Prime Express Logistics (https://www.primeexpresslogistics.com) had been given his personal details i.e., Full Name and Location taken and will do the delivery. He was then given a tracking number: 1633159726 so as to track the shipment of his package. He was then referred to visit https://www.primeexpresslogistics.com/track.php to track his package from there. 

On him visiting the site and inputting the given tracking number, a static HTML page displays in table format, the expected delivery date which was 04/10/2021 together with both the shipper’s and receiver’s information parallel to one another. 

He, Moikili Elias Justin, then emailed Prime Express Logistics to inquire about his package as it was experiencing a delay. 

They replied to him and stated that he had to pay customs fees to the tune of $152 and it had to be paid through Mpesa to the phone number +254769925315 registered under Ngatia Kagema in Nairobi, Kenya.

Alarmingly after going through all this, the package never arrived and he was totally ignored by all parties to this transaction. (Both the online seller and the courier)

Investigation:

211 Check started this investigation by collaborating on all of Mokili Elias Justin’s claims. It was found that what his claims were, was indeed fact! He had been parted from his hard-earned cash without receiving the product he bought online.

211 Check went through screenshots of conversations between Mokili Elias Justin and SMK Electronics Corporation (the online business), then that of his conversations with the WhatsApp number +15108546513 (Agent of the online business) and finally his conversations with Prime Express Logistics (The courier to do the delivery) through screenshots of emails between them.

From these conversations, 211 Check highlighted the following:

  • Company doing the sales is calling itself SMK Electronics Corporation
  • WhatsApp number +15108546513 is acting as company representative for SMK Electronics Corporation
  • Prime Express Logistics, was the courier that Mokili’s package would be delivered through

211 Check after careful thorough investigation on Company profiles and registration details can confidently state the following on the highlighted points

  1. SMK Electronics Corporation, USA (www.smkusa.com) has no official Facebook page thus the one Mokili Elias Justin came across through Facebook promoted content advertisement is an imposter taking advantage of this absence. The Facebook page calling itself SMK Electronics Corporation is a fraudulent imposter seeking to confuse intending buyers that it is indeed the original SMK Electronics Corporation, USA (which is a subsidiary of a manufacturing company). Its parent company is SMK Corporation which is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. (www.smk.co.jp) 
  2. The WhatsApp number +15108546513 is registered under the names Zizzey Biz Lines and is not traceable to a person or registered business. 211 Check can firmly state that this number is in no way a legitimate number for a representative of the SMK Electronics Corporation, USA. Official contacts can be found on this site (www.smkusa.com) 
  3. There is a registered company called Prime Express Logistics (https://www.primexpresslogistics.com) The one fronted to Mokili is also calling itself Prime Express Logistics (https://www.primeexpresslogistics.com) is a known fraudulent website seeking to scam customers.

Red Flags:

An in-depth look at both the online business and courier under scrutiny was able to produce facts that can be grouped under “Red flags” (suspicious, irregularities, misleading, not true)

Red Flag 1: The Courier – Prime Express Logistics

  • The site (https://www.primeexpresslogistics.com)  purported to be for Prime Express delivery has no any other functionality apart from what is seen on the home page plus the page where you are made to believe that you will be able to track your package shipments. The site has no working buttons linking to services, contact us and about us. Their sign-up page links to (https://www.courier.citysprint.uk) – a site that is totally unrelated to this one.
  • The email provided on the site [email protected] is not working.
  • The images used on the site are also present on another site called Prime Express Logistics (https://www.primexpresslogistics.com)
  • No mention of any office locations or physical local or headquarters anywhere on the site.
  • No mention of how said company is to deliver your goods to you.
  • No e-commerce capabilities on the site, no clear financial documentation on conducting business with them.
  • The location given “300 Lighting Way Secaucus, NJ 07094, USA.” points to Safilo, USA (A manufacturing company). Next to the location information is a telephone field that is deliberately left empty. (Like really, why won’t a company want to share their office telephone line?!?)

Red Flag 2 :  The Facebook Page – SMK Electronics Corporation

  • The Facebook Page created in the name of SMK Electronics Corporation has only 3 likes. Thankfully, their promoted content too has minimal interactions. Averaging 1 comment per post. It was opened in August 2020.
  • It is a fraudulent disguise as SMK Corporation (www.smk.co.jp) even using the official SMK Corporation logo.
  • Be informed that the SMK corporation started in Japan as a manufacturing Company in 1925.

Red Flag 3: The WhatsApp dealings

  • The transaction on what was to be bought was done and concluded on WhatsApp. Payment directives were also given through WhatsApp to local Mpesa registered numbers in Kenya.

Red Flag 4: Unreceipted Payments

  • 211 Check saw no receipts for the payments to Kenyan numbers +254769925315 and +254741963091 with exception to Mpesa Agent logs. The online seller did not officially acknowledge any of the payments.

Tools used in the analysis:

Crowd tangle analysis on the Facebook page SMK Electronics Corporation revealed its low content reach with its main market target as South Sudan and also ruled out any current ongoing advertising by the page. It also disclosed that the page only has 3 followers.

Analysing the website www.primeexpresslogistics.com using https://whois.domaintools.com‘s algorithm showed that the website was registered and hosted in February 2021 on a 1 year license. All other information would help identify the site owners has not been made public by the algorithm on command from www.namecheaphosting.com 

A look at the source code to the website indicates a hastily assembled site with only two functioning pages i.e., www.primeexpresslogistics.com and www.primeexpresslogistics.com/track.php. All other buttons on site do not function and content is outdated, reading 2019 yet site was hosted in Feb, 2021.Further Look into the source code using Chrome browser Developer tools indicates links to other unrelated sites meaning this web-paged was hastily copied and pasted from some other site on the internet then refurbished to give it a new external look and feel.

The page www.primeexpresslogistics.com ranked the lowest score on the site www.scam-detector.com with a score of 1.5 out of 100.Being branded a highly suspicious and dubious account according to the site Scam Detector’s algorithm.

Conclusion:

Both the online business using the stolen brand name of SMK Electronics corporation and the courier using the not so popular and un-trustworthy name of Prime Express logistics are fraudulent. 

The interconnection between the two is no doubt a cleverly concealed team effort to dupe prospective customers that they are dealing with a genuine American representative from the online business and a Kenyan courier. But still fail and all payments are made to Kenyan contacts thus indicating the culprits are closer to home than we think.

Sadly, proof of their identity remains a mystery. One still is for sure though; they are fraudulent. A classic example of the dreaded online courier fraud!

Online Business and Transaction Tips:

An online- business is one that sells its goods/merchandise to customers over the internet.

A courier service involves the delivery of goods/items from one company/individual to another. These are either brought to them by a seller or they go pick it directly from a seller. There are many companies both local and international couriers that offer these services such as locally within South Sudan is Juba Errands and Primefuels South Sudan, and International is DHL among others.

Obligations of e-commerce company/online business:

Avail exact goods as advertised through their online business to the clients as per purchase agreement through relevant delivery means i.e. couriers.

Obligations couriers:

Pick goods from online businesses or receive goods from online businesses and deliver to the buyer.

Failure to meet both obligations:

If both the online business and courier fail to live up to their obligations, the customer may in some cases get a refund or sadly accept the fact that he/she may be a victim of;

Advanced fee fraud scam: Where advanced payments are made for goods or services that do not materialize.

None delivery scam: Where an online business accepts payment for a good or service but fails to have it delivered to the customer.

A customer going through such an experience may warrant an in-depth search for answers. And this investigative piece seeks to help one such buyer who is seeking for answers.

DID MABIOR GARANG FORM NCSS DAYS AFTER MEETING KIIR211 Check

Fact-Check: Did Mabior Garang establish his organization after meeting President Kiir?

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National Conversation South Sudan, Mabior’s organisation, was registered by the South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission in March 2021. This was months ago before his recent meeting with President Salva Kiir

By 211 Check Editorial Team

In a tweet on Wednesday, 3rd November, Eye Radio reported that Mabior John Garang de Mabior has established an organization days after meeting President Salva Kiir in Juba.

According to the report, Mabior is now the chairman of South Sudan National Conversation – a newly registered non-governmental organization based in Juba.

But, was the organisation truly established after Mabior’s meeting with President Kiir? Well, we checked it:

Findings:

A look at the organization’s digital platforms on Web, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter shows that it has been in existence long before now, at least from September 2020.

Further investigation also reveals that the National Conversation South Sudan was registered by the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC) on 24th March 2021 as a national organisation as seen in its registration certificate below:

Certificate of Registration for the National Conversation South Sudan

Conclusion:

The report that Mabior John Garang de Mabior established his organization days after meeting President Salva Kiir in Juba is FALSE and MISLEADING. Mabior’s organisation, the National Conversation South Sudan was legally registered in March 2021 months before this meeting.

#FactsMatter, Don’t fall victim to fake news; let’s fight the spread of misinformation on both mainstream and alternative media. To avoid spreading false information, don’t rush into sharing content that you aren’t sure of or you don’t know its origin.To know more about our fact-checking process, visit:  https://211check.org/how-to-fact-check/    or send us a WhatsApp Message at +211 917 298 255 to present a claim, our team will immediately fact-check it and send you a feedback.

October-2021-Data-Flourish211 Check

Data Story: Reported Killings in South Sudan, 79 slain in October

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By 211 Check Editorial Team

Data collected by 211 Check according to multiple media reports from October of this year, show that at least 79 individuals were killed in violence-related incidents around South Sudan.

In comparison to September, when 114 persons were slain, October’s figures show a reduction of 30.70 percent.

The majority of the victims of violence died in Warrap State, where 41 individuals were killed, largely in intercommunal confrontations. The following state, Jonglei, comes in second with 13 deaths, the most of which were caused by intercommunal violence and road ambushes.

Following that is Western Bahr-el-Ghazal, where ten people are said to have died as a result of famine.

Unity, Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal, and Central Equatoria each had three deaths.

In both Lakes State and Eastern Equatoria, two persons were killed. In each of the states of Upper Nile and Western Equatoria, one person was slain

In any of the three administrative areas of Abyei, Ruweng, or Greater Pibor, there were no documented cases of violence-related deaths.

October 2021 South Sudan Social Media Health Report211 Check

South Sudan Social Media Health Report – October 2021

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Most online discussions among South Sudanese continue to happen mainly on Facebook and WhatsApp groups. It is also clear that digital natives are more interested in social issues around music, sports and comedy rather than politics and/or conspiracies.

A 211 Check, Defy Hate Now South Sudan Report

Introduction:

This social media health report is based on data collected during working days from October 1st to October 31st, 2021. The major goal of the report is to examine the main and most talked about conversations on various social media platforms. 

The report as well studies the overall dynamics of hate speech, dis/misinformation and incitement to violence contents shared by South Sudanese online and foreign nationals related to South Sudanese regardless of being situated within the country or abroad – the study also looks at South Sudan’s digital and social media landscape and growth. 

This month’s monitoring comprises an overall assessment of top Facebook pages, groups, Instagram Accounts and Twitter Handles using CrowdTangle, Vicinitas and other social media monitoring techniques. Report’s key topics are identified based on the level of participation and the amount of attention it receives on social media.

In the October 2021 reporting period, 122 of 196 pages published posts in the current timeframe for a total of 1,725 posts and an average of 2.02 posts/day. 

Compared to the previous time frame, interactions were -24.45%. 

Key issues of the month – Facebook:

  1. Foreign Ministry sets exams for candidates wishing to be enrolled into foreign service.

The Ministry of foreign affairs and international cooperation conducted entry examinations for candidates enrolling into foreign service. The move is said to have come after the government said some employees are obtaining certificates through fraudulent means.

The post shared by Nyamilepedia on Facebook got over 610 reactions, 95 comments and 28 shares. Many commentators raised doubts with some saying there is possibility that the examinations “were leaked” while others wondered why in the first place they didn’t see advertisements for the enrollment.

  1. Emmanuel Jal visits Juba

Emmanuel Jal, a South Sudanese recording artist based in Canada arrived in Juba in the last week of October to a warm welcome by family members. In a video he shared on his Facebook page, there were 65,000 views, over 2,700 reactions, 263 comments and 89 shares. The comments were mainly thanking him for coming home and others asked for a charity concern so he can perform his songs.

  1. What is stopping you from marrying a dinka?

A question by Juba TV “What is stopping you from marrying a dinka?” generated a huge debate in the comments section – some of which constitutes hate speech against certain tribes. The post had 665 reactions, 309 comments and 10 shares.

  1. Motivational Post from Max Jay

Max Jay, a South Sudanese artist, posted “God always got you” giving the example of a Rwandan who was once called a monkey. His Facebook post got over 23,000 reactions, 1,300 comments and 449 shares.

Many commentators expressed sympathy and how merciful God is.

  1. A reflection of the Mundari Culture

Visit South Sudan shared a photo captioned “Mundari culture, friendly people” in which a white lady posed for a picture with some Mundari ladies. The post attracted 6,000 reactions, 192 comments and 77 shares. Many comments were appreciative about how the Mundari people continue to uphold their culture.

  1. Ensuring access to COVID-19 vaccines for all in South Sudan

UNICEF reflects its efforts to encourage women to get vaccinated. UNICEF says it was working with partners to dispel rumors and to create a demand for vaccines.

The Facebook post attracted 8,300 reactions, 123 comments and 37 shares. 

There were some cases of vaccine misinformation in the comments section.

  1. Silver X meets Vice President Wani Igga at a youth peace camp

South Sudan Singer Silver X meets Vice President Wani Igga at a youth peace camp in Lobonok. 

  1. South Sudan Football Association expresses hopes of winning

South Sudan Football Association Coach Simon James Yor tells fans that they are hopeful of securing a win against Gambia following a bad start in their first two matches of the competition.

Key issues of the month – Instagram:

  1. MTN CEO meets President Salva Kiir

On Instagram, one of the leading posts of the month was President Kiir’s meeting with MTN Group Chairman, Mcebisi Jonas and CEO Ralph Mupita in which they promised to invest $120m in capital ventures in the next three years.

  1. Acacia village welcomes hospitality trainees

A picture shared by the Acacia village welcoming their three hospitality trainees in the hotel sector.

  1. South Sudanese Model, Monica Ayen wins Eric Omondi’s wife material show

Monica Ayen, a South Sudanese Model wins Kenyan Comedian Eric Omondi’s wife material season 3. The post by Hot in Juba has over 350 interactions and a few comments.

  1. Emmanuel Jal comes to Juba

Emmanuel Jal, a South Sudanese recording artist based in Canada arrived in Juba in the last week of October to a warm welcome by family members. In a video he shared on his Instagram had 2,151 views and about 45 comments.

Key issues of the month – Twitter:

On Twitter, where South Sudan has a small number of users, about 718 handles in the last 10 days of October made 2,000 posts with an engagement of 7,000 and influence of 4.3 million.

Screen capture of the #SSOT word cloud. The most used words are in bold.

Our analysis found out that most of the posts by South Sudanese on Twitter are retweets constituting about 68.6%. About 29.6% are original tweets while 1.82% are replies.

The type of rich media used are photos constituting upto 95.8%

Screen Capture showing the types of post and rich media respectively

#SSOT, remains the most popular hashtag among South Sudanese on Twitter followed by #SouthSudan

Screen Capture of Leading Hashtags and User mentions

Analysis

Most online discussions among South Sudanese continue to happen mainly on Facebook and WhatsApp groups. It is also clear that digital natives are more interested in social issues around music, sports and comedy rather than politics and/or conspiracies.

Instagram and Twitter: The number of South Sudanese on Instagram and Twitter continues to be really low. Most of the interesting and engaging discussions around South Sudan topics happen on Facebook and in WhatsApp groups. On Twitter South Sudan content is unified by the hashtags #SSOT and #SouthSudan. The word cloud above clearly gives an indication of the dominating discussions on Twitter.

Conclusion:

Using advanced social media monitoring methods, conversation, and content analysis, this report analyzed online hate speech, misinformation and fake news in South Sudan. 

According to the month-long assessment report, contemporary social media behavior is becoming a severe worry. Hate speech can be found not just in postings, but also in comment sections.

Furthermore, the study discovered that what individuals are talking about and sharing on social media overlaps. People are exposed to a variety of realities, and as a result, they express varying viewpoints and instead of being honest and having a reasonable dialogue, social media users prefer to utilize slurs and incendiary phrases. 

As a result, the report identified that overall social media involvement is widely healthy, with minimal nasty content and calls for violence being produced and disseminated. 

The 211 Check team also observed that mainstream media was not involved in the spread of conspiracies but employed  conflict-sensitive reporting practices. However, this is the moment for all stakeholders to address key issues before they become a source of unanticipated events.  

End…. 

FALSE CLAIM ABOUT JOHN FROG FROG APPEARING ON TOP 20 CHART SOUND CITY AFRICA211 Check

Fact-Check: Did John Frog feature in the Sound City Africa Top 20 Chart?

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Singer John Frog claimed two days ago that he featured in the Top 20 Chart of Sound City Africa on 26/10/2021. Did he really appear in the list or at least was there an October Top 20 Chart on Sound City Africa? Here is the truth:

By Emmanuel Bida Thomas

South Sudanese singer John Frog claimed two days ago in a Facebook post that he had featured in the Top 20 Chart of Sound City Africa. In the post that has since got 1,900 reactions, 194 comments and 7 shares, John Frog said, “We are trending in Lagos. The land of in-laws. Thanks Sound City Africa for Recognition. I really Appreciate”

Misleading Chart shared by John Frog

While most of his audience believed the singer indeed appeared in the list, some people were skeptical, with comments such as “Photoshop.” 211 Check decided to investigate.

Findings:

A look at the posters shared by the singer on his official Facebook page shows that the chart dated: 26th October 2021 is not genuine. It is a manipulation of the Sound City Africa Top 20 chart shared on its Twitter Handle on 16th April 2021.

The list is literally the same, the singer, John Frog and his graphics designer just changed the date from 16/04/2021 to 26/10/2021 and the No. 17 song from “WORLD – DANGBANA REPUBLIK & BELLA SHMURDA” to “KEBIIR WARA – JOHN FROG”

Original Chart 18/04/2021
Manipulated Chart 26/10/2021

                                   

Sound City Africa, a music and lifestyle television and radio network did not share any Top 20 Chart on 26th October 2021 as claimed by singer John Frog. We checked all its digital platforms but could not find an October Top 20 Chart.

Conclusion:

The claim by John Frog that he appeared on the top 20 Chart of Sound City Africa on 26th October 2021 is FALSE. He manipulated a 16th April 2021 Chart using a graphics software.

#FactsMatter, Don’t fall victim to fake news; let’s fight the spread of misinformation on both mainstream and alternative media. To avoid spreading false information, don’t rush into sharing content that you aren’t sure of or you don’t know its origin.

To know more about our fact-checking process, visit:  https://211check.org/how-to-fact-check/   or send us a WhatsApp Message at +211 917 298 255 to present a claim, our team will immediately fact-check it and send you a feedback.

FALSE CLAIM ABOUT CHOL DENG THON OWNING A HOTEL IN NORWAY211 Check

Fact-Check: Who owns Thon Hotels in Norway?

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According to Wikipedia, the Thon Hotels (formerly known as Rainbow Hotels) is a Norwegian-based hotel chain. It is currently the 3rd largest hotel chain in Norway with 50-odd hotels in Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands owned by Olav Thon

By Emmanuel Bida Thomas

A Facebook post this afternoon claimed that the Thon Hotels in Norway are owned by the newly appointed Managing Director of the state owned Nile Petroleum. It said that Chol Deng Thon acquired the hotel using “oil money” in 2018.

“The current managing Director of NILEPET, Dr. Chol Deng Thon, owns a hotel worth million dollars in Norway. The hotel which he acquired through oil money in 2018 is currently the 3rd largest hotel in Norway. South Sudanese urged him to invest in the country to create jobs for them rather than building big business mansions abroad,” reads the post shared on Facebook.

Facebook Post claiming that Chol Deng Thon owns the Thon Hotels in Norway

Investigation:

According to Wikipedia, the Thon Hotels (formerly known as Rainbow Hotels) is a Norwegian-based hotel chain. It is currently the 3rd largest hotel chain in Norway with 50-odd hotels in Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands. 

The Thon Hotel chain was established in 1989 as part of the Olav Thon Group (Olav Thon Gruppen) which in turn is owned by the Olav Thon Foundation. The CEO is Olav Thon.

Olav Thon (born 29 June 1923 in Ål, Hallingdal) is a Norwegian real estate developer and listed in the Forbes list of billionaires as the 198th richest person in the world with a net worth of $6 billion as of March 2013. He is Norway’s richest person and his Olav Thon Group is Norway’s largest private real estate company, with 450 properties, including 60 hotels.[2][3] As of 12 March 2021, Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated his net worth at US$ 6.20 Billion, making him the 437th richest person in the world.

211 Check could not track any available business records of Chol Deng Thon, the new Managing Director of NilePet in Oslo, Norway. 

Conclusion:

The claim that Chol Deng Thon, NilePet Managing Director owns the Thon Hotel in Norway is FALSE. The Thon Hotels are owned by Olav Thon, a Norwegian real estate developer.

#FactsMatter, Don’t fall victim to fake news; let’s fight the spread of misinformation on both mainstream and alternative media.

Note: To avoid spreading false information, don’t rush into sharing content that you aren’t sure of or you don’t know its origin.

To know more about our fact-checking process, visit:  https://211check.org/how-to-fact-check/  or send us a WhatsApp Message at +211 917 298 255 to present a claim, our team will immediately fact-check it and send you a feedback.

Fact-Check: This is not a picture showing thMISLEADING IMAGE OF SHERIKHAT BUS PARK211 Check

Fact-Check: This is not a picture showing the Kampala bus park in Sherikhat, Juba

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The photo first used by The City Review Digital in its story “Sherikat youths invade Kampala park demanding jobs” is of a bus park found in Birendranagar, Nepal not Sherikhat, Juba

By Emmanuel Bida Thomas

A story by The City Review Digital, a local newspaper in South Sudan published on Saturday, 23rd October 2021 titled “Sherikat youths invade Kampala park demanding jobs” used a misleading image and caption depicting the Kampala bus park in Sherikhat Juba.

Misleading Image by The City Review Digital captioned “Kampala Bus Park in Sherikhat

A reverse image search by 211 Check reveals that the picture is of a bus park in Birendranagar, Nepal. Nepal is a country in South Asia. 

Google Maps also shows the image as of April 2018 for the Bus Park in Birendranagar, Nepal.

Google Maps, Bus Park, Birendranagar, Nepal – April 2018

Conclusion:

The image and its caption in the story are misleading. The picture does not show the Kampala bus park in Sherikhat, Juba, it is a bus park in Birendranagar in Nepal, South Asia.

To know more about our fact-checking process, visit:  https://211check.org/how-to-fact-check/ or send us a WhatsApp Message at +211 917 298 255 to present a claim, our team will immediately fact-check it and send you a feedback.

Central Bank of South Sudan Hoax211 Check

Fact-Check: Is the Bank of South Sudan offering rewards to its Website Visitors?

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“This scam uses Bank of South Sudan’s brand names and logo in order to make the prize look legitimate. They claim that the BoSS offers prizes worth 300 thousand United States Dollars. This is not true, the BoSS does not offer prizes, awards, or funds,” reads a statement shared by the Bank of South Sudan through its Facebook Page.

By Emmanuel Bida Thomas

An imposter website in the name of the Bank of South Sudan claims that it is offering checks through “the bank’s rewards center” to its website visitors.

In one of the screenshots obtained by 211 Check and SafetyComm South Sudan, the website said a visitor had won a Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018).

But, is the Bank of South Sudan currently giving out prizes to its website visitors? Find out:

Screenshot of Imposter Website Page claiming that a visitor had won a Samsung Galaxy

Findings:

211 Check examination of the unrelated website: http://altajari-prizes.xyz/ [do not click on the link] reveals that the domain name was registered only 16 days ago as of Wednesday, 18/08/2021. A domain created less than 3 months ago is considered new and thus potentially suspicious. The site also has an unknown trustworthiness score on the Web of Trust.

The Bank of South Sudan also released a statement on Wednesday, 18/08/2021 afternoon that it was warning the public “about fraudulent activities being perpetrated in its name on social media through a fraud scheme”

“This scam uses Bank of South Sudan’s brand names and logo in order to make the prize look legitimate. They claim that the BoSS offers prizes worth 300 thousand United States Dollars. This is not true, the BoSS does not offer prizes, awards, or funds,” reads a statement shared by the Bank of South Sudan through its Facebook Page.

You should also note that the official website for the Central Bank of South Sudan is hosted at: https://www.boss.gov.ss/

Conclusion:

Do not provide your account details or personal identification information to a scammer. Do not click suspicious links on the internet.

To know more about our fact-checking process, visit:  https://211check.org/how-to-fact-check/ or send us a WhatsApp Message at +211 917 298 255 to present a claim, our team will immediately fact-check it and send you a feedback

Fact-Check Sorry, Ecobank not offering $ 3000 present on 40th Anniversary211 Check

Fact-Check: Sorry, Ecobank not offering $ 3000 present on 40th Anniversary

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It’s true that Ecobank has an upcoming event. But it’s not an anniversary, not its 40th either. This is an event hinged on corporate social responsibility and no participants are required to click the malicious link above in order to join. And, there will be no specified $3000 present, at least.

By Charles Lotara

As the Ecobank Day draws closer, a promotional message with a malicious link has hit WhatsApp platform and has been shared multiple times.

The message prompts users to “click the link to participate in the survey” and “have a chance to win $3000”. This is purportedly happening on the 40th Anniversary of Ecobank.

It is untrue. Ecobank was established in 1985 according to the data on the company’s official website. That makes the bank 36 years old.

Screenshot of Scam WhatsApp Message

The Uniform Resource Locator

Further verification and fact-checking on the link reveals that the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) http://dinnerscare.top attached to the WhatsApp message crafted by a Nigerian user was registered on 28/09/2021.

According to Whois.com, a site that reveals domain identity, the website is hosted by Alibaba.com, Chinese-owned e-commerce giant.

While it is conventionally common that a credible website can be hosted outside the country of the domain registrant, the web address attached to this promotional message attributed to Ecobank is registered under a company called lvhai Ming in Liaoning, a province in China.

The company’s details could not be established by 211 Check as it was not indexed by major search engines at the time of writing. This could be because the company is still new and yet to be indexed by search engines or it is operating as a pseudonym, an aspect search crawler strongly discourages.

A Safe Web Report Generated by Norton Safe Web, a web reputation management service by NortonLifeLock, rated the site http://dinnerscare.top as “Cautious”, among sites that  “may have a small number of threats and annoyances”.

The domain analyses indicate no link between Ecobank and the URL on the text accompanied by random characters.

About the Ecobank Event

It is true that Ecobank has an upcoming event slated for 22nd October 2021, which is on Friday this week.

Dubbed the Ecobank Day, it is the day on which the bank will be “raising about mental health”. The Pan African Bank started the three-year campaign ‘Together for Better Health’ in 2019 to show its commitment to preventing NCDs, which encompasses mental, neurological and substance use disorders.

“We are raising awareness and helping to prevent the incidence of NCDs across Africa. The annual highlight of the campaign is during Ecobank Day, our pan-African initiative that takes place in the last quarter of each year, when Ecobank and its staff give back to their communities,” a statement on the bank’s official website read.

Conclusion

It’s true that Ecobank has an upcoming event. But it’s not an anniversary, not its 40th either. This is an event hinged on corporate social responsibility and no participants are required to click the malicious link above in order to join. And, there will be no specified $3000 present, at least.

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