A Facebook user, Olubunmi Akinsemola, on October 11, 2025, posted a video with the caption, “Inside AI Jazeera London studio… Can any newscaster maintain their legendary composure on-air in a moment like this? This lady did. She even reported the incident like a true journalist.”
The 10-second footage featured a rat that ran through the broadcast news desk, frightening a supposed female newscaster.
A survey of the comment section showed mixed reactions. While some users claimed the footage is AI-generated, some lauded the supposed presenter’s approach.
One of the Facebook users, Lawson Ugute, commented, “London is historically the home of rats.”
Another user, Mayowa Jegede, wrote, “Her professionalism is absolutely phenomenal.”
An Instagram account, Local Bahrain, also shared the video with the caption, “The rat didn’t come slow. AlJazeera’s live news broadcast was interrupted by a rat in London, with the clip going viral on social media.”
As of October 19, 2025, the post had garnered over 2,400 likes, 112 comments and 2,200 shares.
The claim can be found on Instagram here, here, here, and here. On Facebook here and here. On TikTok here and here.
Is there AlJazeera in London?
AlJazeera is the first independent news channel in the Arab world. It was first launched from the Qatari capital, Doha, on Friday, November 1, 1996.
However, AlJazeera English established its presence in The Shard in London, United Kingdom, in 2006. Ever since, its operation from this location has provided news coverage and analysis to a global audience.
ROUNDCHECK worked on this claim due to its virality and the potential to mislead the public and harm the media outlet’s reputation.
ROUNDCHECK Findings
ROUNDCHECK conducted a keyword search on Google. The results show that the footage originated from social media accounts, and no credible news platform reported such an incident.
We checked AlJazeera’s news website and official social media accounts here, here and here to verify the claim. No official statement from Al Jazeera confirmed that such an incident took place at its English studio in London at that time.
Instead, a News Editor of AlJazeera English, Saad Abedine, on his official account on X, refuted the footage, confirming that in his 11 years of work in the studio, AlJazeera has never witnessed a rat nor has the outlet ever had that kind of studio set or the anchor depicted in the clip.
ROUNDCHECK analysed the footage and discovered some anomalies.
We observed that after the chair moved in the video, following the anchor’s scream, she sat on the back of the chair with no support system in place. She literally sat on air with no chair to support.
While she did not return to her script or initial position, the presenter’s mouth and audio were unnaturally synchronising.
We checked the presenter’s sitting position and the background screen structure of AlJazeera during its news segment.
Analysis revealed that AlJazeera’s presenters often sit on the left-hand side of a round news desk, while live transmissions are also projected on the background screen.
This was not the case portrayed in the footage attached to the claim.
Saad also shared some YouTube links here and here that show AlJazeera’s studio setups.
Further analysis of this video using AI detection tools such as Hive Moderation and Deepware did not produce any results. However, we checked the presenter’s voice using Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector and discovered that it was manipulated.
With an authenticity score of 1 out of 100, the voice detector tool suggests that it is likely to be a deepfake.
Also, anomalies such as the unnatural rat run and the anchor sitting on the back of the chair with no support system in place strongly indicate that the footage was digitally manipulated or AI-generated.
Verdict
The claim that a rat disrupted Al Jazeera’s live news broadcast in London is INCORRECT.
The video originated from social media platforms, and it is AI-generated.
Analysis of the footage attached to the claim revealed several inconsistencies. AlJazeera News Editor also publicly refuted the claim, clarifying that the studio, presenter, and scene shown in the clip do not exist in the media outlet’s setup.
]]>Verdict: False. The video is AI-generated. AI detection tools analysed the video and audio, and the results showed it is a deepfake.
Full Text
On June 13, 2025, Israel launched a major military operation called Operation Rising Lion against Iran, targeting dozens of sites, including Iran’s nuclear facilities, and eliminating top Iranian generals and nuclear scientists.
This came after several warnings against Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, an allegation that Iran denied. Iran, however, launched retaliatory airstrikes on Israel. This development has led to a series of attacks by the two countries, causing further tension in the Middle East.
With this ongoing war, a Facebook user posted a video showing an Israeli soldier pleading with Iran to stop the attacks. In the video, two injured soldiers were on the ground, with buildings destroyed and fire burning.
The transcript of the video reads, “Iran, we beg you, please stop the attacks, half of Israel is gone, we surrender, just stop this destruction.”
As of June 18, 2025, the video had garnered 24,000 likes, 1,600 comments, and 1,900,000 views.
After a closer look at the video, DUBAWA discovered that it originally came from a TikTok user.
As of June 18, 2025, the video on TikTok had gathered 2608 likes, 682 comments, and 1,751 shares.
This video has generated varying comments. A TikTok user, benrub23, who believed the video was real, wrote, “Don’t stop until the other half is gone”.
Another TikTok user, jay.williams4255, commented, “ You started it and Iran can’t hear you.”
kathyarmstrong313 also wrote, “I’m sorry for you all. This is so sad.”
However, some users doubted the video’s authenticity. A user, Mohammed.wali116, asked, “What’s the name of the AI app or site you used, please ?” and another user, maazim.yare86 wrote “Pure AI, but i.a it will happen soon.”
Given that the video appealed to several people, with some doubting its authenticity, DUBAWA decided to investigate it.
Verification
DUBAWA conducted a reverse image search of the video keyframes to find where the video had appeared. The results showed the video had become viral on several social media platforms.
However, a closer look at the bottom right corner of the video showed a watermark of Veo, Google’s new text-to-video AI model, which generates videos from text or image prompts.
So, DUBAWA subjected the video to hivemoderation.com, an AI-generated content detection tool, to verify its authenticity. The result revealed that the video is 99 per cent AI-generated, and the voice is 23 per cent not AI-generated. The aggregate score was 99.9 per cent AI-generated.
To further verify the video, we also subjected it to Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector to get feedback on the audio in the video. The tool assigned an authenticity score of 5/100, indicating that the sampled audio is likely a deepfake.
Also, there has been no official report at this time suggesting that Israeli soldiers are surrendering to Iran.
Conclusion
Findings by DUBAWA reveal that this video is AI-generated and should be ignored. The claim is, therefore, false.
This report was published under the Dubawa Kwame KariKari Factchecking and OSINT Fellowship.
]]>On Oct. 8, 2020, Nigerians protested nationwide against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The Nigerian police unit was accused of extrajudicial killings and extorting young Nigerians. This protest, which started on October 8 across different regions in the country, led to the disbandment of SARS across the 36 states in Nigeria on Oct. 11, 2020.
However, DUBAWA noticed that social media users posted claims that SARS has recently been reformed with new rules of engagement. This claim made on LinkedIn by Prince Wonodi has garnered 134 comments and 121 reposts as of June 5, 2025.
The claim highlighted several new rules of engagement for SARS, one of which is “no SARS personnel is allowed to conduct a stop and search exercise unless there is a distress call from victims or members of the public.”
The Special Adviser posted the exact claim on Facebook to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage and Water Resources in Lagos State, Joe Igbokwe and has gathered 953 shares as of June 5, 2025.
Due to the nature of the claim and its impact on the credibility of security infrastructure in Nigeria, DUBAWA decided to investigate this claim.
Verification
We found a disclaimer posted on the NPF’s website on Feb. 10, 2025. Nigeria police Public Relations Officer, Oluwamuyiwa Adejobi, in the signed statement, disclosed that the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, which was disbanded on Oct. 11, 2020, is not back in operation and remains dissolved.
The disclaimer debunked information regarding SARS reformation and rules of engagement, and advised that such information should be treated with caution.
DUBAWA checked through the NPF social media X handle and noticed the same disclaimer was posted debunking the claim, with no updated information regarding SARS reformation.
Seeing this debunk was from February, and the claim is circulating again, we tried to contact the PRO to confirm if this is still the situation. However, all our efforts were unsuccessful as he did not respond to our calls or messages.
Also, because of how sensitive the information is, it would be expected that media organisations would report it. However, no verified news platform posted information regarding the SARS reformation.
Conclusion
SARS has not been reformed and remains dissolved. The NPF’s earlier claim was debunked, and no signs of its reformation are in sight at this time.
This report was published under the Dubawa Kwame KariKari Factchecking and OSINT Fellowship.
]]>One of the Facebook pages, Archaeology Revealed, on May 8, 2025, posted that a half-human, half-horse skeleton was discovered in Greece in 1876.
The post reads, “Greece: The Astonishing Discovery of A Half-Human, Half-Horse Skeleton in 1876”.
An image depicting a female centaur and a centaur skeleton was posted with the claim. As of May 28 2025, the post has garnered over 6,800 likes, 883 comments and 434 shares.
Some Facebook users shared their comments on the post. Robert Cole wrote, “Wow what fantastic news why is it not on all the news channels!!! Because it’s bullshit” (sic).
James Chester also commented, “So that’s how those pranksters led us to believe there were mythical creatures. By mixing the bones of humans and animals. Then drawing pictures of them in their dwellings.”(sic)
The post can also be found on Facebook here, here, here and here.
ROUNDCHECK worked on this claim due to its virality and the potential to mislead the public about historical and archaeological facts.
What is Centaur?
Centaurs, also known as half-human half-horse, are mythical creatures from ancient Greek mythology, and were frequently represented in Greek architectural sculpture and pottery decoration.
It is one of the most intriguing myths associated with Chiron, which continues to appear in modern fantasy, like in Harry Potter.
ROUNDCHECK Findings
ROUNDCHECK verified the claim on DUBAWA Chatbot, a WhatsApp fact-checking bot. The verdict reads, ‘‘The statement is false. No half-human, half-horse skeleton was discovered in Greece in 1876. No such finding exists in historical records.’’
According to Study.com, Centaurs have never existed; they are mythical beings first described in Greek mythology thousands of years ago.
We investigated the merged images of the claim used to depict the centaurs’ images on InVid, an open-source verification toolkit. The results showed that the image was altered, and that the lady’s image was conjoined with the horse.
The wavelet analysis in the traces filter on InVid indicated the images were manipulated. The interpretation explains that the region with firm white is likely to originate from other images and differ from the rest of the image.
The result was the same in the case of the image depicted as a centaur skeleton.
We further traced the origin of the images through reverse image search. The results revealed that the lady attached to the horse is Tamannaah Bhatia, an Indian actress.
The particular image was traced to a 2017 Indian movie titled ‘Baahubali 2’ where Bhatia, as Avantika, played the role of a skilled female warrior. This was also confirmed here and here.
The original image of the manipulated horse can be found here and here.
We also found the original horse skeleton using reverse image search. The exact skeleton was traced to a French discussion forum, Francefurs, where the discussion, when translated on Google, centred on drawing/painting/anatomy tutorials.
The horse skeleton image with the caption, ‘Chevaux’, which translates as ‘Horse’ on Google, was found in a post by Bongawonga dating back to 2006, tagged “The animal photo reference site”.
Also, the image of the original horse skeleton was labelled, ‘Copyright Bone Clones 2004’. This can be found here, here and here.
Verdict
The claim about the half-human, half-horse skeleton discovery in Greece in 1876 is INCORRECT.
There is no historical record of such a finding, and the images were manipulated visuals from different cases. Analysis showed that the merged image, which depicted a female centaur and a centaur skeleton, was manipulated.
]]>The event organised by the Nigerian Fact-checkers Coalition (NFC) and held on X Space (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, Sept 19, brought together various media houses and other key stakeholders, including the executive director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo; the chief executive of Connected Development (CODE), Hamzat Lawal; David Ajikobi, Nigeria Editor of Africa Check and INEC’s Principal Information Officer at the Voter Education and Publicity Department, Nathaniel Audu Gana.
They harp on the need to curb information disorder that can negatively impact the Edo State gubernatorial election.
The NFC is a coalition of fact-checking organizations in Nigeria, with partners from various media organizations, coming together to combat the spread of fake news in the country.
Recall that the NFC reopened its offices in Abuja and Lagos to monitor the spread of mis/disinformation during the 2024 Edo election.
The Edo State off-cycle governorship election holds today with over 2.2 million voters expected to participate, according to INEC.
Gana, during the X Space, noted that the electoral umpire is prepared to conduct the Edo State election, having fulfilled 12 of its 13 schedules made toward the election.
Gana pointed out that there is distrust in the electoral system, and fake news purveyors exploit this by using sentiments to share misinformation and further delegitimize the electoral process.
According to him, “Election is a multi-stakeholder activity. As much as INEC has put in a lot to make sure that everything is on track, we hope that stakeholders will play their role so that we will have a peaceful and credible election on Saturday.”
Itodo noted that the clash of political heavyweights, zoning and power sharing, and INEC’s competence, among other factors, are critical issues that will shape the forthcoming election.
He expressed concern that, given the current economic hardship and security volatility, the Edo State election is likely to record low voter turnout.
Also reacting, Lawal emphasized that too much reliance shouldn’t be placed on INEC, adding that “interference by political parties and the failure of security officials to do their job can limit INEC’s function.”
On how stakeholders can help combat election-related misinformation, he said, “I think there’s one gap. In most cases where we have mis/disinformation, they target demography, age group, and region. Media houses need to work with tech companies or innovators to come up with tools that we can use to counter these narratives.”
Also speaking, Ajikobi revealed the level of preparation made by the NFC towards the Edo State election, saying the coalition has started observing a series of misinformation, and fact-checkers have been actively debunking such content.
He believes that false information has spread widely due to the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the coalition is ready to combat it.
“As I speak to you, we are already seeing some false claims being spread around the elections. But what is very strategic for us is also that as elections come and go, we understand that AI is a big deal now. Everyone is talking about how AI is affecting things, and from Friday to Saturday, we will see a lot of AI-generated content, and we are also ready to combat it,” Ajikobi said.
]]>The NFC’s live fact-checking initiative is designed to combat misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda, which often plague Nigeria’s electoral landscape. By scrutinizing political claims in real-time, the coalition aims to foster fact-based campaigning, reduce the potential for electoral violence fueled by false information, improve voter education, and support a free and fair election process.
Given Nigeria’s growing vulnerability to fake news and propaganda, the NFC’s live fact-checking plays a critical role in protecting the integrity of the country’s elections. This proactive approach will help ensure that voters are well-informed and not misled by false or distorted information.
In addition to the Edo election, the coalition plans to intensify its fact-checking efforts for the upcoming off-cycle governorship election in Ondo State, scheduled for November 2024.
Stay tuned for updates as our team follows the NFC’s live fact-checking efforts and brings you verified reports from the electoral frontline in Edo state.
Live Check Updates
Claim: The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, claimed that President Bola Tinubu did not sign a peace accord when he was a presidential candidate in 2023. He disclosed this while speaking at the 2024 Edo Election Security Townhall organised by Channels TV on Sept 15.
Findings: Checks by the NFC show that two peace accords were signed by presidential candidates to prevent violence during Nigeria’s 2023 general election. Tinubu was absent at the first one organised by the National Peace Committee held on September 29, 2022. He was, however, represented by his vice, Kashim Shettima. Tinubu was present at the signing of the second pact held on February 23, 2023.
Source: The Cable, The Punch
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: An X user, @X_Dailly posted a video with the caption that the Federal Government has banned Edo State vigilante.
Findings: On September 12, 2024, IGP Kayode Egbetokun announced that no private or state-owned security organisations, including the Edo State Security Network (ESSN), would operate during or after the September 21 Edo governorship election. The Edo State government challenged this, arguing that the ESSN was legally established by the state assembly and that the IGP’s declaration is unconstitutional.
Source: The Cable, Daily Trust, Channels TV
Verdict: CORRECT
Claim: An X user, @idofoi posted a video purportedly showing Tinubu asking Edo voters to reject Obaseki in Saturday’s Edo gubernatorial poll.
Findings: A Google Reverse Image search conducted on the keyframes obtained from the video shows that the footage has been online since September 15, 2020 during the last gubernatorial election in Edo state. An earlier version of the video originally posted by TVC shows Tinubu addressing residents of Edo State urging them not to vote for Obaseki, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate at the time.
Source: TVC News
Verdict: MISLEADING
Claim: The Edo gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Isaiah Osifo, said the unemployment rate in Edo State is a little over 20%.
Findings: The latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for Q4 2020 showed that the unemployment rate in Edo is 49.02% while the underemployment rate stood at 15.86%. Recent data available has no breakdown for Nigerian States.
Source: National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: The African Action Congress (AAC) governorship candidate in the 2024 Edo State governorship election, Udoh Oberaifo, claimed that the approved Edo budget for 2024 is N325 billion.
Findings: According to the official document published by the Edo State Government on March 25, 2023, the total approved budget for 2024 was N342.8 billion.
Source: Edo State Government FY 2024 Approved Budget
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: The Edo governorship candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Azemhe Azena, said only about 200 doctors were employed by the Edo State government to a population of 5 million.
Findings: In April 2023, the Edo State Government announced plans to recruit 700 healthcare practitioners, including medical doctors, to strengthen its primary healthcare system. However, the number of doctors to be recruited was unspecified. According to 2022 data obtained from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) published by The Cable Index, there are 1,777 medical doctors in Edo State.
Source: Edo State Government Website, The Cable Index
Verdict: INSUFFICIENT PROOF
Claim: An X user @Ponukwu claimed the current governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, won the 2020 elections in Akoko Edo Local Government for the PDP and thus a stronghold of the PDP.
Findings: INEC’s final result for the 2020 governorship election in Edo state shows the APC won the election in Akoko Edo LGA with 22,953 votes while the PDP got 20,101 votes.
Source: INEC
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: An X user, @OladepoTaiwo15, claims INEC deployed five resident electoral commissioners (RECS) from APC states Kaduna, Nasarawa, Yobe, Ondo, and Ebonyi to the Edo state elections. The social media user warned the PDP to “watch out”.
Findings: INEC’s deputy director of publicity, Adenike Tadese, confirmed to the NFC that the commissioners were deployed from the states to Edo but clarified that the RECs are randomly selected from different states, and are not affiliated to any political party.
Source: INEC
Verdict: MISLEADING
CLAIM: An X user, @BigBrother_M007, claims Nigeria’s Supreme Court disqualified the PDP’s governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo, on the eve of the 2024 Edo governorship election.
Findings: A suit challenging the candidacy of Ighodalo in the 2024 Edo election was dismissed by a Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal for lack of merit. Both dismissals were widely reported in the media. There is no evidence of the apex court sitting on the matter or any other matter as of 20th September 2024. Mr. Ighodalo remains on INEC’s final list of candidates
Source: TVC News, ThisDay, INEC
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: A viral press statement is claiming the Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata has withdrawn from the governorship election and endorsed the PDP’s candidate. It is being shared on Facebook and X.
Findings: The statement was forged using one of Akpata’s public releases and features conflicting dates: September 20, 2024, at the top and July 29, 2024, at the bottom. Zekeri Idris Junior, head of the Labour Party’s campaign media team, confirmed to NFC that the viral statement is fake and that their candidate remains in the race.
Source: Labour Party’s campaign media team
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: An X user, @Crown PrinceCom2 claimed that the governor of Edo state, Godwin Obaseki said the Edo election is a “do or die affair.”
Findings: According to TheCable, Obaseki referred to the Edo election a “do or die affairs” while speaking at the grand finale rally of the People’s Democratic Party on September 13 in the Ekenwan area of Benin City, the state capital. In a follow-up interview with Channels TV, the governor reiterated the statement and expressed no regret for making it.
Source: Channels TV, The Cable
Verdict: CORRECT
Claim: An X user @kunmydrey claimed Edo PDP governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo stepped down for Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata.
Findings: A press statement by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday night stated that Asue Ighodalo Is very much in the race.
Source: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) official X account
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: An X user, @Crown PrinceCom2 claimed that the governor of Edo state, Godwin Obaseki said the Edo election is a “do or die affair.
Findings: According to TheCable, Obaseki referred to the Edo election as a “do or die affair” while speaking at the grand finale rally of the People’s Democratic Party on September 13 in the Ekenwan area of Benin City, the state capital. In a follow-up interview with Channels TV, the governor reiterated the statement and expressed no regret for making it.
Source: Channels TV, The Cable
Verdict: CORRECT
Claim: An X user @kunmydrey claimed Edo PDP governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo stepped down for Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata.
Findings: A press statement by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday night stated that Asue Ighodalo Is very much in the race.
Source: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) official X account.
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: An X user @lwadiDevelopmen, shared a WhatsApp message stating that the court has disqualified the APC governorship candidate, Monday Okpebholo, in the 2024 Edo election.
Findings: The Cable reports that a magistrate in the Federal Capital Territory, Abubakar Mukhtar, has denied any order disqualifying the APC candidate. The APC candidate had been invited by the court over the discrepancies of his birth certificate, but the court has not passed judgement yet.
Source: The Cable, Platform Times, APC’s spokesperson.
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: An X user, OlanipekunTobiD claimed that the Electoral Act does not recognise the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
Findings: A court ruling confirmed the Electoral Act 2022 doesn’t mandate electronic result transmission, only BVAS use. Amina Miango a lawyer working with CJID also noted IReV is a viewing platform, and INEC transmits results manually, as allowed by section 50(2).
Source: Channels TV, Punch
Verdict: CORRECT
Claim: An X user, @drkenon posted two videos claiming the police officers seen in the first clip were officers deployed to Edo election, and that the other video shows some Nigeria Police Force officers destroying ballot boxes in the 2023 presidential election.
Findings: Checks by NFC revealed that the first video shows police officers in Edo state ahead of the 2024 Edo governorship election, while the second video was from Lugbe Primary School, Abuja in the 2023 Nigeria presidential election.
Source: News Central TV, Punch
Verdict: Partially Correct
Claim: An X user, @Bigwhaledd, posted a video, claiming it shows the chaos that ensued in a polling unit after some APC thugs were caught trying to steal during the election.
Findings: NFC found that the video had been on the internet before the commencement of the Edo state election on September 21. Therefore, the video is not related to the ongoing Edo election.
Source: OSINT, Google
Verdict: MISLEADING
Claim: An X user, @awkabay001, posted pictures allegedly showing APC rented thugs who are disrupting the elections in Benin, Edo State.
Findings: Analysing the three images with Google Lens shows they had been used during the 2019 general elections. The images have also been used by reputable media outlets including the Premium Times. The Cable, and Daily Trust before the 2024 Edo election.
Source: Google Lens, ICIR, Premium Times, The Cable, BBC
VERDICT: MISLEADING
Claim: An X user, @PO GrassRootM shared an image with the claim that results have been illegally written in Edo North.
Findings: NFC checks, using TinEye and other reverse image searches, show that the picture has been on the internet as far back as 2018 during Nigeria’s 2019 general elections. INEC is yet to announce results from various local governments in Edo State.
Source: OSINT, BBC News
Verdict: Incorrect
Claim: An X user, @jamesatts claimed that INEC no longer transmits electronically for real- time result monitoring.
Findings: With the tweet made at 4:02 pm Saturday 21 2024, checks revealed that INEC has uploaded over 3,715 polling unit results as at 4:55pm on the portal which serves as a real-time result monitoring.
Source: INEC IREV
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: An X user, @Imranmuhdz claims that 1,381 out of 4,519 results have been successfully uploaded to the INEC IREV server for the Edo Governorship Election as of 3:47 pm on Saturday, September 21.
Findings: The INEC IREV portal indicates that 3,845 out of 4,519 results had been uploaded as at 6:07 pm on Saturday, September 21. Bakare Majeed, a Premium Times’ journalist, also confirmed that while some polling units had successfully uploaded their results, others, such as Open Space Osagiede Uzzi in Oredo Local Government were still facing network challenges at the time.
Source: INEC IREV portal, Premium Times
Verdict: CORRECT
Claim: An X user claimed thugs disrupted the election process in Ward 3, Unit 33, Egor Local government area of Edo state.
Findings: The deputy director of publicity of INEC Adenike Tadese, confirmed thugs invasion and disruption in some polling units in Egor LGA.
Source: INEC PRO, The Guardian, BBC News
Verdict: CORRECT
Claim: An X user, @PO GrassRoot shared an election result sheet, claiming rigging in Osholo Primary School polling unit, Etsako East LGA, Edo State.
Findings: The result uploaded to the INEC IREV portal suggests potential rigging. According to the summary, 493 voters were registered, and 213 accredited, yet 406 valid votes were recorded along with one void. These discrepancies indicate possible manipulation at the polling unit.
Source: INEC IREV Portal
Verdict: CORRECT
Claim: An X user, @unlimitedeniola, posted that INEC has moved the declaration of results for the Edo elections to another location while allowing only APC agents access to the location.
Findings: Daily Trust has reported that collation is yet to begin at the INEC head office in Benin, Edo State as at 10:44 am on Sunday despite the promise by Dr. Anugbum Onuoha, INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, to kick off collation by 10am. Similarly, Premium Times reported that INEC moved the commencement of the election collation to 11 am, and not location.
Source: Daily Trust, Premium Times
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: An X user, linhsonnel, claims that the APC is leading with 212,442 votes after the collation of governorship election results from 15 out of 18 LGAs in Edo state.
Findings: The tweet was made at 2:13 pm, a few minutes before the 16th LGA’s result was announced. Before the 16th LGA was announced, the total sum of results from 15 out of 18 LGAS stood at APC: 212,442; PDP: 178,471; LP: 11,232. With two more LGAS left, it now stands at: APC: 244,549; PDP: 195,954; LP: 13,348
Source: The Cable Index, INEC
Verdict: CORRECT
Claim: An X user, @emmaikumeh, claimed the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has won 4 out 5 Local Government Areas in Edo Central which include Esan South-East, Igueben, Esan North East, Esan West and Esan Central LGAS.
Findings: Checks by NFC showed that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won Esan South Rest, Esan North East and Igueben LGAs in Edo Central Senatorial District of the state. However, the All Progressives Congress (APC) won both the Esan Central and Ezan WEST LGAS of the state.
Source: Daily Trust, Channels TV
Verdict: INCORRECT
Claim: An X user, @hon_sadiq claimed that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) held a press conference and announced Edo election results.
Findings: Checks by the NFC show that the PDP leadership addressed the press in the early hours of Sunday, Sept 22 in Benin city, Edo state. During the press conference, the governor of Adarnawa state Ahmadu Fintiriicoblod .call results reportedly collated by the agents of the party in some Local Government Areas of the state. However, he later clarified that he did not announce results but only informed the public of the exact figures from the party’s agents.
Source: PulseNG, The Cable
Verdict: CORRECT
]]>Members of the coalition will work from two situation rooms in Abuja and Lagos, monitoring, fact-checking, and debunking misinformation and disinformation that could incite violence, engender voter apathy, undermine trust in the electoral process, and affect the outcome of the election.
Launched in June 2022, the coalition includes three International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) signatories – Africa Check, FactCheckHub, and Dubawa. Other partners are the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), RoundCheck, Digital Africa Research Lab, Daily Trust, TheCable, Premium Times, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) and FactsMatterNG.
The NFC debunked dozens of false information about Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, leveraging effective collaboration among researchers, fact-checkers, editors, data analysts, and social media specialists.
The coalition’s model has been adopted in other countries including Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa.
The NFC Coordinator, Opeyemi Kehinde, who is also the editor at the FactCheckHub, said the NFC is committed to stemming the tide of misinformation and disinformation, which have become a weapon in elections.
“Just as we did during the general elections, our team is ready to fact-check false information that could potentially influence the election.
“The fact-checking organisations in the coalition are collapsing all their staff for the Edo election operation to ensure that Nigerians and most especially Edo residents make informed decisions from accurate information only during the election,” he said.
The Nigeria Editor of Africa Check, David Ajikobi, said the coalition deploying manpower and resources to monitor the Edo election underscores the importance of keeping the information space void of false and misleading narratives during elections.
“Elections provide the opportunity for the electorate to make important decisions that have real-life consequences. Voters should have accurate information about the candidates, parties, and the electoral process to help them make informed choices. These are the reasons we are doing this.
“Considering that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has raised concerns about the spread of false information ahead of the Edo election, and the history of contentious elections in that state, we are approaching this carefully. We hope to significantly mitigate the impact of disinformation on the conduct and outcome of the election,” he said.
Ajikobi added that the coalition will be fact-checking and verifying claims made by political actors, news reports, social posts, photos and videos related to the Edo election, and publish fact-checks online to counter false or misleading information.
Dubawa Nigeria Editor, Kemi Busari, said “Election periods are a sensitive time marred with mis/disinformation. This level of disinformation requires coordinated efforts to combat hence the need for collaborations such as this under the umbrella of the coalition. This collaboration has so far proven to be effective in combatting election-related mis/disinformation.”
Beyond the Edo election, the coalition also plans to up its fact-checking activities for the next off-cycle governorship election coming up in Ondo State in November 2024.
]]>The protest, under the hashtag EndBadGovernance, saw Nigerians take to the streets to express their grievances, which led to the deaths of 22 people, according to Amnesty International’s Nigeria office.
Additionally, at least 31 journalists were attacked while covering the EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests, according to the Press Attack Tracker (PAT).
The protesters listed ten government demands: hunger, insecurity, government waste/cost of governance/ bloated nass, #endsars, protecting farms and farmers, human capital development, electoral reform, a living wage, and constitutional and judicial reforms.
However, as Nigerians came out in their numbers, misinformation contents were shared on social media platforms, contributing to the already existing tension.
Some of this series of misinformation raised serious concerns for fact-checking experts.
“Misinformation could make the protest degenerate into a huge violence. You know people were angry and misleading videos or images could make them make irrational decisions,” said Nurudeen Akewusola, a fact-checker at TheFactCheckHub.
Series Of Misinformation Flood Protest Posts
On August 1st, a picture was used to represent the killing of protesters in Niger State.
This image was published on several media platforms claiming that protesters were shot in Niger state.
After a careful review by ROUNDCHECK, we found the image to be wrongly used. We discovered that the Image came from Kano State where citizens protested in front of the Kano government house.
Also, a video of a murdered woman and police officers was circulated on Meta’s WhatsApp, linking it to the EndBadGovernance protest.
The video was later discovered to be misleading and was a shootout incident that took place in Imo State in July 2024.
On the 3rd of July, 2024, a prominent Nigerian, Dele Momodu, posted a video on Instagram that showed a large crowd protesting on a busy street– to depict the EndBadGovernance protest in Niger State.
This video after a careful review was misleading and emanated from Kenyans’ protest against the finance bill in Nakuru, Kenya.
On the 7th of July 2024, a viral video post on X (formerly Twitter), claimed that protesters chased soldiers away with stones in Kaduna State.
The post, which garnered over 250,000 views alongside over 1,100 comments with more than 1,300 likes, and over 800 reposts as of August 7, was later discovered to be from Kenya during the finance bill protests that engulfed the East African country around July 2024.
Speaking on why the information during protests should be fact-checked, Akewusola continued, saying that there is a need to keep the people informed.
“We need to keep the public informed and save them from confusion. As well, there is a need for us to set the record straight and hold the authorities who were trying to suppress the protest accountable,” he said.
Akewusola added: “ For instance, there was a video of people looting a warehouse and stealing foods. Though it’s old, if it’s not fact-checked, it could spur people to start doing so in every part of the country”.
What Can The Media Do
While highlighting the consequences of misinformation during protests, FactCheckHub Editor, Opeyemi Kehinde noted that it disrupts the free flow of accurate information and has led to violence and killings, referring back to the Lekki toll gate killings during the EndSARS protest.
He stated that a dedicated fact-checking desk within a media organization can aid in monitoring and combating misinformation during protests.
“It can range from a team of three to six Journalists and researchers (or more, depending on the size of the organisation) skilled in using OSINT tools for verification. During such times, the team can be led/supervised by an Editor and tasked with providing verified information to the newsroom from a vast amount of user-generated content from citizen journalists and online users,” he emphasized.
Another way is to ensure that all reporters undergo fact-checking training to help them self-verify news information before publication.
Opeyemi added that media organisations could also disseminate digital and media literacy content to educate the public on the importance of verifying every piece of information they come across online and offline during protests.
]]>Nigeria’s credit scheme is a financial framework designed to give individuals and businesses access to affordable credit facilities.
The scheme aims to promote economic growth, eradicate poverty and increase financial inclusion.
This report is to give an overview of what Nigeria’s credit scheme is about, the application process and facts surrounding it.
Nigeria’s Credit Scheme
President Bola Tinubu had recently approved the launch of the inaugural phase of the Consumer Credit Scheme in Nigeria in April 2024.
This programme is designed for Nigerian citizens across the country to give them credit facilities.
In line with the President’s directive to boost access to consumer credit for Nigerians, the Nigeria Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP) established an online portal where individuals can express their interest in obtaining consumer credit.
CREDICORP is a federally-owned entity with a clear objective to increase consumer credit availability to 50% of Nigeria’s working population by 2030.
This launch was announced in a statement issued by the then President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale (before he proceeded on leave).
According to the statement, the programme will be implemented in phases, commencing with Federal civil service employees and subsequently extending to the general public.
This project is said to mark a significant step towards improving access to consumers in Nigeria, and CREDICORP is poised to play an essential role in achieving this goal.
7 Facts About Nigeria’s Credit Scheme
- The scheme aims to grant access to consumer credit for all eligible Nigerians, transforming the industry.
- It seeks to unify, standardize and democratize credit registry and credit scores, using the National Identification Number (NIN) as the singular identifier.
- This scheme addresses structural impediments to consumer credit, boosting the market through capital infusion.
- This aims to remove barriers and accelerate access to consumer credit for 50% of working Nigerians by 2030.
- The rollout will be rapid, yet phased:
Phase 1 (May 2024): Federal and state civil servants, white-collar workers and informal workers with traceable cash flows.
Phase 2 (May 2025): General public.
- The initiative provides credit guarantees to financial institutions, promoting people-centered credit products and the purchase of locally manufactured goods and services.
- CrediCorp collaborates with key stakeholders, which are the Central Bank of Nigeria, financial institutions and policymakers, to achieve its mission through its consumer credit guarantees fund.
Guide To Apply For Nigeria’s Credit Scheme
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to apply to enjoy this opportunity.
Step 1: Understand the Scheme
Before you apply you need to understand what CREDICORP offer is all about.
Step 2: Check Eligibility
The scheme is open only to civil servants. So, make sure you are employed in a civil service role to proceed with the application.
Step 3: Prepare your Documents
You will need the following documents to apply: proof of employment in the civil service, identification documents like a passport or national ID, and proof of income or salary slips.
Step 4: Visit their Website
You need to visit the CREDICORP application portal through Credicorp. ng
The website will give you detailed information.
Step 5: Fill the Application Form
Ensure you complete your application form available on the website. Make sure the information is valid to avoid any delays in your application process. So, carefully check before you submit.
Step 6: Submit your Application
Immediately, you complete filling out the form and apply through the website. You will receive a confirmation email or a notification on the portal for your submission.
Step 7: Wait for Feedback
After submission, wait for a response from CREDICORP. This can take a few days or weeks, depending on the volume of applications. So, keep checking your email for any information.
Step 8: Follow Up
Maybe you didn’t hear back within the expected timeframe, but it is good to follow up through the contact details that are provided on the CREDICORP website.
]]>“The disruptive capabilities of manipulated information are rapidly accelerating, as open
access to increasingly sophisticated technologies proliferates and trust in information and institutions deteriorates”, the Global Risks Report 2024 noted.
Published earlier this year, the report presents the Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS) findings, which capture insights from nearly 1,500 global experts.
“In the next two years”, it reported, “a wide set of actors will capitalize on the boom in synthetic content, amplifying societal divisions, ideological violence and political repression – ramifications that will persist far beyond the short term.”
Fact-checkers at ROUNDCHECK have observed the information ecosystem in Africa and the predictions of the global report are manifesting in less than a year.
“Mis/disinformation has been widespread globally and in Africa in recent years”, Caleb Ijioma, the organization’s executive director shared. “We can see how disinformation overshadowed events in the Israel-Hamas crisis and how different players used disinformation tactics in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.”
As one of the newsrooms on the frontline fighting misinformation “we verified some images and videos that were widespread during the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict and discovered them to be incorrect”, Mr. Ijioma added.
AI Sparks Misinformation Explosion
Mischievous actors can now easily manipulate videos and images and spread them online, whether they are deep-faked or doctored. Thanks to Artificial Intelligence, “misinformation and disinformation is a new leader of the top 10 rankings this year.”
The report stated: “No longer requiring a niche skill set, easy-to-use interfaces to large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) models have already enabled an explosion in falsified information and so-called ‘synthetic’ content, from sophisticated voice cloning to counterfeit websites. To combat growing risks, governments are beginning to roll out new and evolving regulations to target both hosts and creators of online disinformation and illegal content. Nascent regulation of generative AI will likely complement these efforts. For example, requirements in China to watermark AI-generated content may help identify false information, including unintentional misinformation through AI hallucinated content. Generally however, the speed and effectiveness of regulation is unlikely to match the pace of development.
“Synthetic content will manipulate individuals, damage economies and fracture societies in numerous ways over the next two years. Falsified information could be deployed in pursuit of diverse goals, from climate activism to conflict escalation.”
But the consequences are grave and could destabilize societies as the government may not be proactive in tackling the impending crisis.
“New classes of crimes will also proliferate, such as non-consensual deepfake pornography or stock market manipulation. However, even as the insidious spread of misinformation and disinformation threatens the cohesion of societies, there is a risk that some governments will act too slowly, facing a trade-off between preventing misinformation and protecting free speech, while repressive governments could use enhanced regulatory control to erode human rights.”
Elections At Risk
Many countries worldwide are likely to conduct elections before the end of the year 2024. Some countries that held elections last year were hit by a flood of misinformation and disinformation. The misleading information in the media, especially social networks, decimated public trust in the polls.
The report predicted that misinformation will intensify mistrust in elections as over three billion people go to the polls across several economies, including. the United States, India, Kingdom, Mexico and Indonesia within two years.
While political actors themselves could orchestrate the spread of misinformation against one another during and after campaign, legitimacy of the victorious candidates will remain troubled in aftermath of the elections. The report noted that misinformation could trigger political unrest, violence and terrorism, and a longer-term erosion of democratic processes.
Although social media platforms have been a fertile ground for misinformation to go viral, the report noted that advanced new technologies will “enhance the volume, reach and efficacy of falsified information, with flows more difficult to track, attribute and control.” This will make fact-checking ejournalism, an already herculean task, more 1difficult.
Meanwhile, owners of social media companies will not be spared by the devastating effect of misinformation: platforms integrity will be tested as clash of campaigns overwhelm the media.
Aside the general impact, targeted misinformation has effect on minority communities, as hate speech could be “disseminated through more opaque messaging platforms such as WhatsApp or WeChat.”
According to the report, the identification of AI-generated mis- and disinformation in these campaigns will not be clear-cut.
“The difference between AI- and human-generated content is becoming more difficult to discern, not only for digitally literate individuals, but also for detection mechanisms.” Meanwhile, research and development continues at pace, but this area of innovation is radically underfunded in comparison to the underlying technology, the report stated.
Furthermore, labelling of synthetic content will not stop its spread. In fact, it could be problematic as consumers can share labeled content simply because it carries “warnings”.
“For example, an AI-generated campaign video could influence voters and fuel protests, or in more extreme scenarios, lead to violence or radicalization, even if it carries a warning by the platform on which it is shared that it is fabricated content.”
While the report zooms in on countries across the globe, the ROUNDCHECK director observed that “in Africa, it is not any different.”
He added: “Misinformation has affected voters’ participation in elections, influenced their health decisions, and also affected their online security. In the Imo election held in 2023, we saw how the IPOB used disinformation techniques to threaten electorates and to promote voters’ apathy. We also saw how misinformation flooded the 2023 Nigeria general elections, and also in the just held #EndBadGovernance protest, there was incorrect information in the public space.”
‘Defining truth’
On the terrible impacts of misinformation, the global report noted: “False information could not only be used as a source of societal disruption, but also of control, by domestic actors in pursuit of political agendas.
“Although misinformation and disinformation have long histories, the erosion of political checks and balances, and growth in tools that spread and control information, could amplify the efficacy of domestic disinformation over the next two years.”
According to the report, global internet freedom is already in decline and access to wider sets of information has dropped in numerous countries.
“Falls in press freedoms in recent years and a related lack of strong investigative media, are also significant vulnerabilities that are set to grow. Indeed, the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation may be leveraged to strengthen digital authoritarianism and the use of technology to control citizens.
“Governments themselves will be increasingly in a position to determine what is true, potentially allowing political parties to monopolize the public discourse and suppress dissenting voices, including journalists and opponents. Individuals have already been imprisoned in Belarus and Nicaragua, and killed in Myanmar and Iran, for online speech.”
“The implications of these manipulative campaigns could be profound, threatening democratic processes. If the legitimacy of elections is questioned, civil confrontation is possible – and could even expand to internal conflicts and terrorism, and state collapse in more extreme cases. Depending on the systemic importance of an economy, there is also a risk to global trade and financial markets. State-backed campaigns could deteriorate interstate relations, by way of strengthened sanctions regimes, cyber offense operations with related spillover risks, and detention of individuals (including targeting primarily based on nationality, ethnicity, and religion).”
Solutions
Mr. Ijioma stressed the need for collaboration to effectively combat misinformation.
“There is a need to do more, we need to look more closely at how and where misinformation can emanate from and close the gap. We need to understand these misinformation actors, their attitudes, and how they operate, and be one step ahead of them. Everyone needs to be involved, from those at the top level to the rural communities, to students and even kids. Helping them understand the fact-checking process so that the spread of misinformation can be reduced.”
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