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All English Fact Checks
False: No evidence that Nigeria's electoral chief's son has 'run mad', claims refuted IN SHORT: As court challenges to election results are heard across the country, the family of Nigeria's electoral commission chair is among those targeted with unsubstantiated claims on social media. A post circulating on Facebook in May 2023 in Nigeria reads: "INEC chairman firs (Source: Africa Check)
Fake: No, NTV Kenya didn't report that thugs broke into estate of senator Aaron Cheruiyot IN SHORT: Online claims that the estate of Aaron Cheruiyot, who is a sitting senator, was invaded by thugs are false. The reports didn't originate from the private broadcaster NTV Kenya. A screenshot of what appears to be a Facebook post by the private broadcaster NTV Kenya was p (Source: Africa Check)
False: No, Apeel's edible 'peel' won't 'kill you slowly' and is not grown on Bill Gates's farm IN SHORT: Facebook posts have claimed that produce labelled "Apeel" should not be eaten. But Apeel's plant-based coating is safe and "designed to be consumed". Messages are doing the rounds on Facebook in South Africa and Nigeria, telling people not to buy fruit labelled "Apeel". (Source: Africa Check)
False: No, Kenya's attorney general Justin Muturi has not resigned IN SHORT: Online claims that Kenya's attorney general has quit, days after another high-profile resignation, are false, his office said. In late May 2023, an online rumour began circulating claiming that Kenya's attorney general Justin Muturi had resigned. Among other functions , (Source: Africa Check)
Mcontext: No, influential former governor of Rivers state Nyesom Wike didn't say Peter Obi won Nigeria's 2023 presidential election IN SHORT: As the Labour Party's presidential candidate Peter Obi challenges the result of Nigeria's February 2023 election, online claims have been made that he has received support from an influential politician. A quote is being taken out of context. A post published to Faceboo (Source: Africa Check)
False: Are these photos of long-awaited cheap cooking gas cylinders being sold to the public in Kenya? No, they were gifts IN SHORT: Photos circulating on social media claim to show distribution of the low cost cooking gas promised by president William Ruto in some parts of the country. This is not true. A photo of a group of women carrying 6-kilogram gas cylinders on their heads has been circulating (Source: Africa Check)
False: No, Nigeria's food regulator has not banned instant noodles imports over fears they may cause cancer IN SHORT: With Nigeria being a major market for instant noodles, claims that the food has been banned because of cancer fears have been widely shared. But they are inaccurate. A post circulating on Facebook claims that Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration (N (Source: Africa Check)
Sadiq Khan suffered...: Sadiq Khan suffered a cardiac arrest at COP26 in 2021. Last week Mayor of London Sadiq Khan released his new book , Breathe: Tackling the climate emergency. It contains a description of a health incident at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021. But some of the reporting on this got the details wrong in important ways, with two outlets saying he (Source: Full Fact)
False: A man called Todd is searching for his birth mother who is pictured in an old photograph. Posts on Facebook claiming that the social media user's husband is looking for their birth mother, along with a picture of the woman concerned, are hoaxes. The posts say: "My husband Todd is looking for his birth mother and any siblings. He was born March 18, 1963 in [location] a (Source: Full Fact)
Miscaptioned: ‘Make America Florida’ cap posted online is not official DeSantis merchandise A screenshot of a blue hat with “DeSantis 2024” and the phrase “Make America Florida” embossed on it does not show official merchandise for the Florida Governor’s 2024 presidential campaign. The hat uses the map of Florida in place of the ‘F’ in the phrase “Make America Florida”. (Source: Reuters)
Doctored: Unedited Keir Starmer image has one Union Jack flag, not five A still of British Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer alongside five Union Jack flags has been doctored. In original source footage for the image, just one flag is visible. Social media users are sharing the image, which shows Starmer addressing the camera while sitting behind (Source: Reuters)
False: Screenshot of The Guardian op-ed on ‘whitesplaining’ in the UK’s education system is fake The Guardian did not publish an op-ed that said “supremacist whitesplaining” is the reason why African languages are not taught in UK schools. A fake screenshot of what appears to be the op-ed's headline, “Our education system is rooted in supremacist whitesplaining, that’s why A (Source: Reuters)