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Fact-checkers write YouTube, demand effective action against disinformation

Niyi Oyedeji
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Fact-checkers write YouTube, demand effective action against disinformation

FACT-CHECKERS across the globe under the auspices of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) has written to the management of the video-sharing platform, YouTube, demanding effective action against the spread of misinformation and disinformation on the platform.

The IFCN in a letter written to the YouTube CEO, Susan Wojcicki, frowned at the rate at which the video-sharing platform has consistently been used for the propagation of different forms of false information.

The letter which urged YouTube to collaborate with fact-checkers also proffered multiple solutions.

See the letter below:

An open letter to YouTube’s CEO from the world’s fact-checkers

January 12th, 2022

Ms. Susan Wojcicki,

It’s been almost two years since the COVID-19 pandemic started. The world has seen time and time again how destructive disinformation and misinformation can be for social harmony, democracy, and public health; too many lives and livelihoods have been ruined, and far too many people have lost loved ones to disinformation. As an international network of fact-checking organizations, we monitor how lies spread online — and everyday, we see that YouTube is one of the major conduits of online disinformation and misinformation worldwide. This is a significant concern among our global fact-checking community.

What we do not see is much effort by YouTube to implement policies that address the problem. On the contrary, YouTube is allowing its platform to be weaponized by unscrupulous actors to manipulate and exploit others, and to organize and fundraise themselves. Current measures are proving insufficient. That is why we urge you to take effective action against disinformation and misinformation, and to elaborate a roadmap of policy and product interventions to improve the information ecosystem – and to do so with the world’s independent, non-partisan fact-checking organizations.

In the last year we have seen conspiracy groups thriving and collaborating across borders, including an international movement that started in Germany, jumped to Spain and spread through Latin America, all on YouTube. Meanwhile, millions of other users were watching videos in Greek and Arabic that encouraged them to boycott vaccinations or treat their COVID-19 infections with bogus cures. Beyond COVID-19, YouTube videos have been promoting false cures for cancer for years.

In Brazil, the platform has been used to amplify hate speech against vulnerable groups, reaching tens of thousands of users. Elections are not safe either. In the Philippines, false content with over 2 million views denying human rights abuses and corruption during the Martial law years are being used to burnish the reputation of the late dictator’s son, one of the candidates in the 2022 elections.  In Taiwan, the last election was marred by unsubstantiated accusations of fraud. The whole world witnessed the consequences of disinformation when a violent mob assaulted the U.S. Capitol last year. From the eve of the U.S. presidential election to the day after, YouTube videos supporting the “fraud” narrative were watched more than 33 million times.

The examples are too many to count. Many of those videos and channels remain online today, and they all went under the radar of YouTube’s policies, especially in non-English speaking countries and the Global South. We are glad that the company has made some moves to try to address this problem lately, but based on what we see daily on the platform, we think these efforts are not working – nor has YouTube produced any quality data to prove their effectiveness.

Your company platform has so far framed discussions about disinformation as a false dichotomy of deleting or not deleting content. By doing this, YouTube is avoiding the possibility of doing what has been proven to work: our experience as fact-checkers together with academic evidence tells us that surfacing fact-checked information is more effective than deleting content. It also preserves freedom of expression while acknowledging the need for additional information to mitigate the risks of harm to life, health, safety and democratic processes. And given that a large proportion of views on YouTube come from its own recommendation algorithm, YouTube should also make sure it does not actively promote disinformation to its users or recommend content coming from unreliable channels.

With all this in mind, we propose some solutions that would make a great deal of difference in reducing the dissemination of disinformation and misinformation on YouTube.

  1. A commitment to meaningful transparency about disinformation on the platform: YouTube should support independent research about the origins of the different misinformation campaigns, their reach and impact, and the most effective ways to debunk false information. It should also publish its full moderation policy regarding disinformation and misinformation, including the use of artificial intelligence and which data powers it.
  2. Beyond removing content for legal compliance, YouTube’s focus should be on providing context and offering debunks, clearly superimposed on videos or as additional video content. That only can come from entering into a meaningful and structured collaboration taking the responsibility and systematically investing in independent fact-checking efforts around the world that are working to solve these issues.
  3. Acting against repeat offenders that produce content that is constantly flagged as disinformation and misinformation, particularly those monetizing that content on and outside the platform, notably by preventing its recommendation algorithms from promoting content from such sources of misinformation.
  4. Extend current and future efforts against disinformation and misinformation in languages different from English, and providing country- and language-specific data, as well as transcription services that work in any language.

We hope you will consider implementing these ideas for the public good and to make YouTube a platform that truly does its best to prevent disinformation and misinformation being weaponized against its users and society at large. We are ready and able to help YouTube. We wish to meet with you to discuss these matters and find ways forward on a collaboration and look forward to your response to this offer.

Are hand sanitisers flammable?

Pamela Ephraim
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Are hand sanitisers flammable?

A surveillance footage shows a man who had drenched his hair and bare body with hand sanitisers bursting into flames seconds after being tased by the Police.

This was reported by the New York Post.

The report generated reactions, part of which are hand sanitisers flammable?

READ: How true is that claim that washing wounds from dog bite with soap and water is effective against rabies?

The emergence of coronavirus brought hand sanitiser to the fore as part of the preventive methods to reduce transmission.

There are two broad categories of the product; non-alcohol-based hand sanitisers (NABHS) and alcohol-based hand sanitisers (ABHS).

The US Center for Disease Control says alcohol-based hand sanitisers contain ethyl alcohol that readily evaporates at room temperature into an ignitable vapour is considered a flammable liquid.

ALSO READ: Does water obtained from soaking unripe plantain cure ulcer?

These alcohol-based hand sanitisers predominate in health care settings given their low cost and efficacy of reducing infectious transmission, a report published on the National Center for Biotechnology Information notes.

A fact-check notes that, even though alcohol-based hand sanitisers are flammable, they do not self combust “the flammable ingredients in hand sanitiser would need to be at much higher temperatures, over 350°C, to combust without a spark”.

Is the world populated with more women than men?

Pamela Ephraim
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Is the world populated with more women than men?

A post circulating online in Nigeria puts forward that the population of women on earth is three times that of men.

The post, retrieved from a WhatsApp group, gave its source as the 2019 United Nations Demography Report.  It noted that there are 5.6 billion women to 2.2 billion men.

CLAIM

There are 5.6 billion women and 2.2 billion men on earth as of 2019.

Screenshot of claim circulated on Whatsapp

READ: How accurate is Atiku’s claim on population of social media users in Northern Nigeria?

THE FINDINGS

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is false.

The 2019 United Nations report on demography shows that the men to women population are almost at a 1:1 ratio. They are both at an estimated 3.8 billion each.

The 2019 demography puts the women population at 3,824,434 billion while men at 3,889,035 billion which is higher by 64.6 million.

From the data, some countries have a higher ratio of females to males. Nigeria is not one of them.

There are 101 million men to 99 million women in Nigeria [i.e 101,832 million and 99,132 million, respectively].

ALSO READ: Claim that National Population Commission is still recruiting is FALSE!

Consequently, the 2020 data also showed that the male population at 3.92 billion (3,929,974,000)   is higher than women at 3.86 billion (3,864,825,000).

THE VERDICT

The claim that the women population is thrice the number of the male population in 2019  is FALSE.

 

Update: 

21/01/22: The second paragraph under ‘The Findings’ was changed from “…are almost at a 50-50 ratio” to “…are almost at a 1:1 ratio”.

Were two brothers promoted to Major General on the same day?

Pamela Ephraim
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Were two brothers promoted to Major General on the same day?

A photo of two Nigerian Army officers has been circulated on social media with accompanying caption that they were two brothers promoted to the rank of Major General on the same day.

One of such posts archived here made by  Olusoga Owoeye (@olusogaowoeye) on Twitter has garnered over 1000 engagements, including retweets.

The post read in part, “Two brothers, same parents from Bayelsa, both belong to the Artillery Corp[s] of the Nigerian Army, and they were both promoted to the rank of Major General today.” 

THE CLAIM:

Two army officers who are brothers were both promoted to the rank of Major General on the same day.

A screenshot of the tweet reshared on Facebook.

THE FINDINGS:

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is false.

A senior officer of the Nigerian army confirmed to the FactCheckHub that both officers Taritimiye and Teriworie in the viral photo are brothers.

Taritimiye Ayibakuro is the eldest of the two Gagariga brothers.

However, they were not promoted to the rank of Major General on the same day.

The eldest, Taritimiye Ayibakuro Gagariga, was promoted to the rank of Major General several years before his younger brother, Teriworie,  who got his promotion in December of 2021.

The viral photo in circulation was taken when the older brother graced his younger brother’s promotion decoration ceremony to Major General.

As of 2019, Taritimiye was already a Major General.  Multiple reports when he led a fact-finding team on the Abonema killings addressed him as such.

In August and September 2021, different news reports also addressed him as a Major General.

THE VERDICT

The claim that two brothers, Taritimiye and Teriworie Gagariga, were promoted to the rank of Major General on the same day is FALSE.

Fake front-page apology to Meghan Markle circulates online

Niyi Oyedeji
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Fake front-page apology to Meghan Markle circulates online

Following a court judgement that ruled in favour of the Duchess of Sussex Megan Markle against the Associated Press over a letter she sent to her father, a front-page apology purported to be from the Mail on Sunday has been widely circulated online. 

The page retrieved on WhatsApp on December 26, 2021, has Markle’s picture on the left-hand side with a screaming headline underneath it which reads “She won!”

“We are sorry we ever messed with you Meghan. Your victory is well deserved, and we were out of order,” the accompanying article read in part.

THE CLAIM:

It shows the front page of Mail on Sunday, which offered Meghan Markle an apology.

The fake front page of The Mail on Sunday in circulation.

THE FINDINGS:

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE, the page in circulation has been manipulated.

It is different from the Mail on Sunday front page published on boxing day, December 26, 2021.

The language used in the apology page in circulation, the font size and the page layout were red flags that necessitated verification as they did not conform to the style of the Mail on Sunday.

Meghan had in 2019 started legal action against the Mail on Sunday, claiming that the paper unlawfully published one of her private letters, particularly the one she sent to her father, Thomas Markle, in August 2018.

However, two years down the line, the Appeal Court in the UK ruled in favour of Markle on the privacy battle.

The newspaper said that it was “very disappointed” and is considering an appeal to the UK’s Supreme Court.

Markle, in her part, celebrated the judgment and said that she hopes it would help in changing the UK newspaper industry.

“This is a victory not just for me, but for anyone who has ever felt scared to stand up for what’s right,” reads,” her statement read in part.

The Judge had ordered Mail on Sunday to report the court decision on its print and online versions.

The original front page of Mail on Sunday of December 26, 2021.

The newspaper made the publication on Boxing day. It had a headline on the front page “The Duchess of Sussex wins her legal case for copyright infringement against Associated Newspapers for articles published in The Mail on Sunday and posted on Mail Online – SEE PAGE 3”.

It also has a short report on page three published on its website titled “Duchess of Sussex”.

It stated that Markle won her copyright infringement case against them. It also added that “Financial remedies have been agreed.”

The publication at the top left hand on page three of Mail on Sunday.

THE VERDICT:

Findings by the FactCheckHub shows that the front-page apology in circulation has been manipulated and, therefore, FALSE.

Is Islam the second-largest religion in the United Kingdom?

Niyi Oyedeji
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Is Islam the second-largest religion in the United Kingdom?

ON DECEMBER 25, during the Christmas festivities, Nigerians on social media, particularly on Twitter, argued about the population of Muslims in the United Kingdom (UK).

In response to a particular post stating that children of Nigerian migrants in the UK are mostly going to end up in schools or churches, where they would be participating in Christmas activities, irrespective of their religious affiliations, A Twitter user claimed that Islam is the second-largest religion in the UK.

The Twitter user Ayo with the user ID, @AladejanaDeji, tweeted that about 4.4 per cent of the total population of UK residents were Muslims as of 2011.

He added that over 3.3 million people were estimated to be Muslim in Great Britain as of 2018.

“In 2011, 2,516,000 individuals, about 4.4% of the total population of UK residents were Muslims. In 2018, the Office of National Statistics estimated that there are about 3,372,966 Muslims in Great Britain alone. Islam is currently the second-largest religion in the UK,” his tweet read.

A screenshot of the tweets.

From the tweet, the following claims were established:

CLAIM 1:

‘2,516,000 people making up of 4.4 per cent of UK residents were Muslim as of 2011’

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is half true.

Data from the United Nation data bank show that there were  63.2 million (63,182,178) people in the UK as of 2011.

Out of the total population, almost 2.8 million (2,786,635)  identified as Muslims.

The 2,786,635 equate to 4.4 per cent of the total population.

The United Nations stated that the data was extracted from the population census conducted in the country in 2011

THE VERDICT: The claim is HALF TRUE. While 4.4 per cent of the total UK population were Muslims as of 2011, the total Muslim population were  2,786,635 and not 2,516,000.

CLAIM 2:

‘3,372,966 million people were estimated to be Muslim in Great Britain as of 2018.’

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is true.

A report by the UK’s Office for National Statistics stated that there were almost 3.4 million (3,372,966) Muslims in Great Britain as of 2018.

THE VERDICT: The claim is TRUE.

CLAIM 3:

‘Islam is the second-largest religion in the UK’

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is true.

Data from the United Nations show that the second-largest religious group in the UK is Islam, with  4.4 per cent of the population equating to almost 2.8 million (2,786,635) people identifying as Muslims.

Christianity is the largest religious group with  37.5 million (37,583,962) people.

However, 16 million (16,221,509) people said they had no religion, while another 4.5 million (4,528,323) did not specify.

The data was based on information from the census conducted in the UK in 2011.

Census in the UK is done every ten years.

The most recent was in March 2021; due to the COVID-19 pandemic,  the census in Scotland was shifted to be conducted in 2022. As such, the data is not yet available.

THE VERDICT: The claim is TRUE.

On the Immigration letter in circulation on planned terrorist attack

Bamas Victoria
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On the Immigration letter in circulation on planned terrorist attack

In the fourth week of December 2021, a circular with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) letterhead putting its officers at various border posts across the country on alert about a possible terrorist attack in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital surfaced online.

Blogs and mainstream media alike reported this.  It generated reactions, with some sceptical about its authenticity.

Reacting to the development, the Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola, when briefing  State House correspondents on the outcome of the emergency meeting of the National Security Council, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, said, “there isn’t any threat to safety and security of Abuja”.

He added that “Abuja is secure and very safe. If there was a leak, as you mentioned, it could just be [an] operational alert that does not require any worry or concern.”

However, a top government security official confirmed to The FactCheckHub that the document is authentic but was not meant for public consumption.

The official said the advisory was sent to the NIS because it concerns foreigners. The NIS, in turn, alerted its various commands and sectors.

The official explained that the document should have been classified so that the person who receives it in any of the commands would have treated it as such.

The letter dated December 23, 2021, was titled, ‘Terrorists Plan Attacks In Abuja’ and signed by the Land Border Patrol Commander, Edirin Okoto, on behalf of the Acting Comptroller General of Immigration Service, Idris Jere said the terrorist planned to in December.

The letter from NIS in circulation.

It reads in part, “The Office of the Ag CGI is in receipt of a Security Report (URGENT) from the Presidency (OSGF). The import is about a looming attack on Nigeria’s Capital City, Abuja, between 17th and 31st December 2021. The planned attack is purportedly being led by one DRAHMANE. OULD ALI, aka Mohammed Ould Sidat, an Algerian national to be assisted by one Zahid Aminon, a Nigerien national.

It further noted that the duo suspected of having four accomplices already in Nigeria were en route Nigeria from Mali through Gan and Niger Republic, riding a white Toyota Hilux van with Reg. No- AG157EKY.

The letter was addressed to all sector commanders and border patrol corps all over the country; Seme, Idi Iroko, Jibia, Illela land borders, as well as Immigration officers at the airports.  It directed them to intensify alert levels.

Similarly, in November, the DSS had alerted the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) of a possible terrorist attack on Ogun border communities.

Col Amanda Azubuike NOT highest-ranking female in US Military

Pamela Ephraim
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Col Amanda Azubuike NOT highest-ranking female in US Military

Several blogs in Nigeria reported that a Colonel, Amanda Azubuike is the highest-ranking female in the US Military.

Some of the blog posts archived here and here also stated she is the United States Southern Command Chief of  Public Affairs and the Spokesperson.

THE CLAIM

A Colonel, Amanda Azubuike, is the highest-ranking female in the US Military.

Screenshot of reported claim shared on Facebook

THE FINDINGS

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is false.

There are women in the US Military with ranks higher than a Colonel.

For instance, Laura Jane Richardson, the incumbent commander of United States Southern Command, is female and a four-star General.

She was sworn-in in October 2021.

There is Lorna Mahlock, who is a Brigadier General. She was the first black woman nominated for promotion as a Brigadier General in the United States Marine Corps.

Therefore, a Colonel which is a lower rank in comparison cannot be the highest-ranking female.

Furthermore, as of December 24, the website of the U.S. Southern Command has a Colonel, Manny Ortiz, listed as Chief of Public Affairs and not Amanda Azubuike.

The claim reported by blogs.

THE VERDICT

The claim in the blogs circulating in Nigeria that a Colonel, Amanda Azubuike is the highest-ranking female in the US military is FALSE.

Image of peeling road not from Imo but South Africa

Niyi Oyedeji
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Image of peeling road not from Imo but South Africa

A Facebook user, Ike Uche, on Friday, December 10, shared a picture of a defective road and alluded it is from Imo state.  

He stated that the road was constructed by the Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma.

“Uzodinma detachable road construction. Ndi Imo ndo nu. We shall overcome fraudsters,” the image caption read.  The sentence in Igbo ‘Ndi Imo ndo nu’, translates to sympathising with Imo people.

The post has garnered over 600 engagements.

THE CLAIM:

The peeling road was constructed in Imo state under the administration of Hope Uzodinma.

Image of peeling shared on Facebook.

THE FINDINGS:

Checks by The FactCheckHub show that the image emanated from South Africa.

A  Google reverse image search on the image showed it appeared on the internet on November 7, 2020, when it was shared online by a Twitter user.

Similarly, the news of the road referred to as the peeling road was reported in a South African media outlet, News24.

The report states that the image is of a road linking South Africa and Botswana.

Read Also : Viral images of football pitch submerged by flood not of Lekan Salami but Hillsborough

THE VERDICT:

The claim that the peeling road was constructed in Imo state is FALSE. The image is from South Africa.

Dana Air’s claim that fares on Asaba, Owerri, Enugu routes are N18,000 is misleading

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Dana Air’s claim that fares on Asaba, Owerri, Enugu routes are N18,000 is misleading

DANA AIR claimed on Friday that it had slashed airfares for passengers travelling from Asaba, Owerri and Enugu to Lagos to N18,000, but The ICIR’s fact-check shows that it is misleading.

The price slash, according to Dana Air, was valid between December 11 and 31, 2021, according to a statement forwarded to our correspondent on Friday and a telephone interview with the airline  on Saturday.

Dana Air flight from Owerri to Lagos  

The airline revealed its decision to slash the airfares during a courtesy visit by AHS Aviation Handling Services Nigeria Limited to Dana Air’s newly appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer Sukhjinder Mann.

Dana Air from Asaba to Lagos

”As part of efforts to celebrate our customers this yuletide, we have introduced N18,000 flash sales for our customers travelling from Asaba, Owerri and Enugu to Lagos and this will be on till 31st December, 2021.”

The airline did not specify the class of airfare slashed to N18,000 but presented the information to the general public as if all classes could be booked at that rate.

The ICIR fact-check, however, shows that Dana flight from Owerri to Lagos for December 15, four days after the ‘flash price,’ goes as high as N32,400 for the economy class and N117,000 for the business flexible class.

For Asaba to Lagos flight on December 16, the price of economy class is N32,4000 with economy saver reaching N44,100 and business saver at N95,400.

Dana Air’s Enugu to Lagos flight

Enugu to Lagos is not different. On December 15, economy class costs N40,500 while business saver is priced at N95,400

The only period the economy class is priced at N18,000, as found by our correspondent, is on December 22/23, with other classes also as high as the previous days.

The ICIR contacted the company to explain why its press statement on Friday contradicts what is on its website.

Speaking in a telephone interview, Dana Air Spokesman Kingsley Ezenwa said the price slash was on a first-come, first-served basis.

“The flash sales are expected to begin December 11 to December 31st. It is there in the press statement. You can check that. The price slash to N18,000 is for only 40- 50 per cent of the airline capacity after which the fare moves to the next class.

“It is only for economy and not business class. We could have put the fare at N23,000, but seats are far expensive than that. We slammed it on N18,000 to make everyone fly, not many airlines do that. We opened the slot to accommodate 40-50 per cent of the total bookings and it depends on when you book. If you are not smart enough, someone else would snatch up the offer just like how it goes for Jumia Black Friday where the flash sales are limited. When someone doesn’t meet the price at 18,000, they may think it is a scam,” he explained.

However, Dana Air did not provide these explanations to Nigerians on Friday. A woman, who gave her name as Miracle, a fashion designer and cook, expressed shock over that.

“I went to the website to book it myself on Saturday, but I saw different rates. The airline should just have explained all the details, but, maybe, left the details to attract customers. This is something a consumer protection agency should have taken up.”

Republished from the International Centre for Investigative reporting.

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