Please note that the FactCheckHub has not obtained any right from the authors or copyright owners of all third-party contents from embedded links and shall incur no liability in this regard.
Please note that the FactCheckHub has not obtained any right from the authors or copyright owners of all third-party contents from embedded links and shall incur no liability in this regard.
Please note that the FactCheckHub has not obtained any right from the authors or copyright owners of all third-party contents from embedded links and shall incur no liability in this regard.
Please note that the FactCheckHub has not obtained any right from the authors or copyright owners of all third-party contents from embedded links and shall incur no liability in this regard.
A video showing hundreds of youths chanting multiple songs at the Emir of Ilorin’s palace has surfaced online with a claim that it shows hungry mobs protesting over hunger in Kwara state.
The 26-second footage shows hundreds of youths chanting songs by the entrance to the palace of of Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, who is the Emir of Ilorin and chairman of Kwara State Traditional Rulers Council, over hunger and hardship in Nigeria.
An X user, @Omoelerinjare, with over 48,000 followers posted the video alongside the claim on February 17, 2024.
His caption read: “Breaking News: Serious protest at the Emir’s Palace in Ilorin Kwara State! “We are Hungry, the state is Hungry”.
The claim has garnered over 400,000 views, more than 2,000 reposts, over 700 comments quotes and 2,700 likes as of February 18, 2024.
The video was also shared by many X users as seen here, here and here. It has also gone viral on multiple social media platforms including Instagram, Nairaland and TikTok, among others.
CLAIM
Video shows youths protesting over hunger at the Emir of Ilorin’s Palace in Kwara state.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by TheFactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING.
Checks revealed that the video has been online since as far back as 2021 as seen in a Facebook post here.
When contacted the emir’s spokesman, Mallam Abdulazeez Arowona told The FactCheckHub that the video is old, stating that it was an old video prior to Nigeria’s 2019 general elections.
“The video is an incident from 2019 when they were preparing for the 2019 general election. It was the kind of gimmick used among politicians then just to outsmart themselves”.
He added that the Emir’s palace being the central point for all and sundry was a meeting point for solidarity.
“The released video does not have anything to do with the current situation. It is an old video that people are circulating online in response to the hardship in the country”, he said.
Local media platforms also reported that the video is an old footage as published by Trust Radio and Punch newspaper.
THE VERDICT
The claim that youths stormed the Emir of Ilorin’s palace over hunger in Kwara state is MISLEADING; checks show that it is an old video which has been online as far back as 2021.
A video with a caption that states that bundles of new naira notes were found in a warehouse in northern Nigeria has been circulating on X.
The 30-second footage which was posted by an X user: @akerele_s showed several men entering a warehouse with some of them wearing a black jacket alongside a security operative in view.
Some of the men could also be seen taking footage of the box-like items which were in rows and high layers in the video.
The caption on the video read:
This is Nigeria. A stack of newly printed naira =N= found in a big warehouse in northern Nigeria. This country sef. They really took advantage of @MBuhari they messed us up to the level we are today. Baba @officialABAT that’s why I said I want you to be vigilant if those people around you sir. A word is enough for the wise. May Allah see you through sir.
The video post, now deleted, have garnered a traction of over 90,000 views, more than 200 likes and about 200 reposts as of February 16, 2024.
Another X user, @goziedragon007 posted the same video with another caption thus:
Lovers of Nigeria come and see where una money is used to build walls
Bundles of new Naira being hidden in a warehouse in the North.
The video has also garnered a traction of over 49,000 views, more than 500 reposts and over 400 likes since when it was posted on February 15, 2024.
CLAIM
Video shows bundles of new naira notes hoarded in a warehouse in northern Nigeria.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING!
Screenshot of the video post on X. INSERT: Misleading verdict.
A version of the same video was uploaded by Arise News, TVC News and other credible media platforms on Tuesday, February 13, 2024.
The footage was from a scene of an operation carried out by the Public Complaints and Anti-corruption Commission (PCAC) in Kano state.
Media reports indicated that the anti-graft commission had embarked on the operation led by the executive chairman of the PCAC in Kano state, Muhuyi Magaji, following a tip-off that warehouses in two major markets in the state were hoarding food items.
The food items that were hoarded include millet, sorghum, sugar, flour, maize, spaghetti and macaroni.
A careful look at the video showed that one of the items with a green seal was the Golden Penny’s Mai Kwabo Spaghetti from the stable of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc (FMN).
THE VERDICT
The claim that the video shows bundles of new naira notes hoarded in a warehouse in northern Nigeria is MISLEADING; the items in the video were identified as food items via multiple media reports.
AN Arise TV journalist, Reuben Abati and other social media users have shared a photo showing a goalkeeper with a black object strapped to his back with a claim that it shows the goalkeeper of Côte d’Ivoire, Yahia Fofana, with a charm at the 2023 African Cup of Nations’ (AFCON) final match.
Côte d’Ivoire beats their Nigerian opponents at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan on Sunday, February 11, 2024, to add a third African title.
They rallied back from a goal down to finish the match 2-1. The Ivorians who smiled home with the $7 million prize money won their third title after winning in 1992 and 2015.
In his post on X (formerly Twitter), Abati posted the screenshot with a blogpost attached to it.
“Video of Ivorian goalkeeper allegedly ‘wearing juju’ during AFCON final sparks speculation.”
The post has garnered over 680,000 views, more than 1,700 reposts, about 1,500 comments and over 4,500 likes as of February 16, 2024.
In the report, he referenced a post a by an X user, @DAMIADENUGA who posted a video alongside a caption that read:
“Be like ivory coast use jazz for us during that AFCON final.”
The post has generated over 40,000 views, with over 100 reposts and more than 400 likes on X as of February 16, 2024.
CLAIM
Video shows Ivorian goalkeeper wearing a charm at AFCON 2023’s final match.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING.
Screenshot of the purported image on X showing Ivorian goalkeeper with a charm.
The FactCheckHub reviewed the highlight of the match and found out that the goalkeeper in the viral image is not the Ivorian goalkeeper.
First, TheFactCheckHub observed that the Ivorian goalkeeper, Yalia Fofana, wore a black jersey during the match but the goalkeeper in the viral video wore a navy blue jersey.
A further look showed that the goalkeeper in the viral video has an inscription which reads ASC JARAAF (Association Sportive et Culturelle Jaraaf) on his shirt which is a Senegalese professional football club based in Dakar. They play in the top division in Senegalese football and their home stadium is Stade de Diaraf in Dakar, Senegal.
In addition, the viral goalkeeper also wears jersey number 16 while the Ivorian goalkeeper wore the jersey number 1 during the match.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the video shows the Ivorian goalkeeper with charm strapped to his back during the final match of AFCON 2023 is MISLEADING; findings show that the video is unrelated to the tournament.
THE Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine is a digital storage of information on the internet.
The platform enables users to access archived versions of webpages with Wayback Machine which holds more than 866 billion archived webpages, dating back to 1996 while also allowing them to save webpages.
It allows you to view and compare changes between two iterations of a webpage, view old versions of webpages, view webpages that no longer exists.
The platform enables fact-checkers to access claims made in the past or published in news reports or deleted posts to back up their findings.
Steps
1. Visit the Wayback Machine Website: Go to the Wayback Machine website here: web.archive.org 2. Enter the URL: In the Wayback Machine’s search bar, enter the URL of the website or webpage you want to explore or view its historical versions. 3. Select a date: The Wayback Machine will show you a calendar with highlighted dates indicating when snapshots of the website were taken. Select a specific date to view the archived version from that time. 4. Explore archived pages: Once you select a date, you’ll be taken to a snapshot of the website as it appeared on that day. You can click on links within the archived page to navigate to other pages of the same date. 5. View different versions: You can use the navigation bar at the top to switch between different archived versions of the website.
The number of snapshots available may vary depending on the frequency with which the website was crawled.
Wayback Machine also has a feature that enables you to save the link of a social media or website post in such a way that it is accessible and usable for future reference even if the original post is deleted by the source. We make use of this feature to keep record of misleading posts. We also reference the archived links in our posts rather than the misleading links to avoid giving more visibility to false information.
How to save web page on Wayback Machine. SOURCE: Internet Archive.
All you need to do is to scroll down and go to the save page option, put the link inside the box, click save page and allow it to generate a new link. The new link is the archived version which can be used for referencing.
JOURNALISTS and developers at ChequeaBolivia have developed Checki, a chatbot that uses multimedia content and games to fight misinformation among young people.
According to ICFJ, Illanes, based in Bolivia, launched this project with a grant from the centre’s Disarming Disinformation initiative, a three-year global effort supported by the Scripps Howard Fund.
The centre said he was one of the 18 people from around the world who received training and funding through the programme to test innovative ways of distributing the truth to counter the spread of misinformation.
Others who work on the project are Paola Céspedes who served as developer, Enid López as editor, Yirleyn Montaño as media literacy specialist, Sara Villanueva as outreach coordinator, and Juan Carlos Uribe as project coordinator.
“Illanes and his team spent over a month developing their initial framework. This included building a database, establishing a visual identity for the chatbot, and performing language testing before they launched their prototype in July,” the report reads.
“Their team overcame significant obstacles in the production and development of the chatbot, including several rejected API requests and having to learn an entirely new coding language.”
The process led to the creation of an interactive chatbot centered on games meant to train the user on fact-checking and verification through several levels of increasing complexity.
The levels include games on how to identify misinformation, avoid scams on WhatsApp, verify images, conduct searches for accurate information, and quizzes on verification strategies.
With this partnership, Spain marked the second European expansion of the TFCN, joining existing newsrooms in the United States, Brazil, Germany, and India in recognizing the crucial role Gen Z plays in the digital landscape. The programme equips them with the skills and tools to navigate the often murky waters of social media.
“Teens are the future, and their ability to discern fact from fiction online is paramount,” says Brittani Kollar, deputy director of MediaWise. “The TFCN empowers them to actively participate in the fight against misinformation, benefiting not only themselves but also their communities.”
Through the programme, 10 Spanish teenagers will undergo a four-month intensive training, learning journalistic script writing, fact-checking techniques, and media literacy principles.
Guided by professional fact-checker, Ona Sindreu, from Verificat, they’ll tackle trending topics and create engaging short videos for Instagram and TikTok, platforms where they and their peers spend significant time.
Alba Tobella, director of Verificat, emphasizes the importance of critical thinking: “Teens are constantly bombarded with information online, and they must learn to evaluate it critically. The TFCN encourages them to find their areas of interest and develop their methods for verifying information, ensuring the quality of their sources and research.”
Mobile World Capital Barcelona, a foundation dedicated to digital development and innovation, recognizes the TFCN’s potential.
“Combating misinformation is essential in today’s digital world,” says Eduard Martín, CIO of MWCapital. “This project aligns perfectly with our mission to empower everyone, and we’re proud to support the next generation in acquiring the skills they need to identify and debunk fake news.”
With Spain’s addition, the TFCN continues its global expansion, fostering a network of young fact-checkers who are making a difference in the online world. As misinformation continues to pose a challenge, these empowered teens are emerging as crucial allies in the fight for a more informed and media-literate future.
The inaugural TFCN Spain cohort is underway, but applications for the second group are open until March 13, 2024. Spanish residents interested in joining the fight against misinformation and developing their digital literacy skills can find more information and apply on the application website.
THE Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has asked Nigeria Police Force Cyber Crime Centre (NPF-NCCC) to clamp down on persons spreading fake news online to jeopardise national security.
A statement issued by NPF spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, said certain individuals have started sharing old contents on various social media platforms to “undermine public trust in the policing system.”
He said Egbetokun has directed that persons found spreading false information or engaging in cyber bullying should be prosecuted.
Adejobi said the Force condemned dissemination of fake news and the perpetuation of cyber bullying aimed at discrediting police personnel.
The Force spokesperson said fake news and cyber bullying are against the provisions of Cyber crimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015.
He added that fake news and cyber bullying do not only pose a threat to the Force but also have the potential to incite fear and discord within the country.
“In response to this alarming trend, the NPF is intensifying its efforts to combat fake news and cyber bullying through increased vigilance and monitoring of online platforms,” the statement reads.
“The IGP has ordered the NPF National Cyber Crime Centre (NPF-NCCC) to clamp down on those individuals and groups of people who are bent on jeopardizing our national security and stability via the spread of fake news and misinformation.
“The IGP also ordered that all perpetrators found spreading false information or engaging in cyber bullying be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
“The Police will work closely with relevant authorities to ensure swift and appropriate legal action against offenders.
“The NPF, therefore, calls upon all citizens to exercise caution and discernment when consuming and sharing information online.
“Together, we must stand united against the spread of misinformation and cyber bullying, recognizing that the safety and well-being of our country depend on our collective efforts to uphold truth and integrity,” the statement added.
It will be recalled that earlier in January this year, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command debunked reports of kidnapping in Bwari and other communities in the FCT.
Again on January 21, 2024, the police debunked reports of an abduction at River Park estate along the Lugbe – Airport Expressway in Abuja, clarifying that the supposed victim, one Nnandi Agu, had faked his kidnap to defraud his brother who lived in the estate.
On January 24, 2024, the FCT Police Command also debunked reports of an explosion in Maitama, noting that preliminary findings had shown that the explosion was caused by an overheated metal refuse bin, causing injuries to two refuse evacuators.
IF you were active on X in January 2024, you must have noticed that the word “Dr Betta Edu” trended for days on the social media platform.
The name appeared on the trends section of the X platform without significant updates from Nigerian authorities or Ms. Edu regarding her disbursement case.
In this analysis, The FactCheckHub findings show that the trend is a disinformation campaign orchestrated and launched by individuals aiming to pressurize the authorities into reinstating the suspended Humanitarian Affairs minister.
More than fifty X accounts have been found pushing a disinformation campaign to launder the image of the suspended Nigerian minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, a social media investigation by The FactCheckHub has shown.
These accounts which include parody and verified accounts converge online to simultaneously push similar narratives about the suspended minister on X (formerly Twitter).
The FactCheckHub observed that the trending hashtag (Dr Betta Edu) is a disinformation campaign launched by a network of social media influencers organized to shape public sentiment and impact crucial decision-makers on her disbursement case currently before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Nigerian government.
President Tinubu suspended Edu on January 8, 2024, following a leaked memo alleging that she approved the transfer of over N585 million into the personal account of one Oniyelu Bridget Mojisola.
Following her suspension, the EFCC invited her for questioning but she was subsequently released after hours of grilling and expected to report daily to the anti-graft commission.
The FactCheckHub uncovered more than fifty X accounts attempting to whitewash the suspended minister and downplay her alleged crimes despite the ongoing investigation. The common factor among these posts is the consistent use of “Dr Betta Edu” aimed at making her name trend and influence topical discussions on the social media platform.
Each account meticulously writes the name and honorifics in the same way. They also avoid the use of hashtags to escape detection. This uniformity, combined with shared content being disseminated and synchronized posting times, strongly suggests a deliberate influence operation to manipulate public perception around the case.
Influence Operations are coordinated efforts by actors to manipulate or spread disinformation, or propaganda to achieve desired goals and outcomes. The primary objective of influence operations is to sway the target audience’s beliefs or actions.
The process involves targeting its audience or population (Nigerians), identifying and creating a suitable narrative or story (Edu’s good deeds) and creating a suitable network of accounts on social media especially influencers to promote the narrative. The goal is reportedly to bring the minister back to power.
The Betta Edu saga
Ms. Edu came under criticism from Nigerians for authorising the transfer of the N585.2 million into the private bank account of a civil servant, who is the accountant in charge of grants for vulnerable Nigerians.
The transfer contravenes various sections of Nigeria’s Financial Regulations 2009, which are meant to prevent fraud and other forms of corruption in the country.
According to the suspended minister’s memo, the fund in question was transferred from the National Social Investment office account and meant for disbursement to vulnerable people in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Lagos, and Ogun states, under the federal government poverty intervention project called Grants for Vulnerable Groups.
Edu said in the memo that the official, Bridget Oniyelu, whose private account with the United Bank of Africa the N585.2 million was paid into, is the project accountant.
In response to the public outrage, President Tinubu suspended the minister and directed a thorough investigation of the transfers by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Tinubu said his decision to suspend her was in line with his pledges and commitment to uphold integrity, transparency, and accountability in managing the commonwealth of Nigerians.
She was at the EFCC a day after the former minister of the ministry, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, submitted herself to the commission in Abuja for grilling over alleged abuse of office under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
While the outcome of the investigation is still pending, the social media networks are putting the investigators in a tight spot by shaping public opinion using the power of social media.
The FactCheckHub observed that there has been a surge in the mentioning of the suspended minister’s name on social media and the internet since the issue began.
For instance, posts containing the name of the suspended minister had over 500,000 interactions on Facebook in January, according to data obtained from CrowdTangle. The trend shows that her name attracted more interest in January 2024 when her travail began.
Media coverage of Betta Edu in January 2024.
Using Media Cloud, an open-source platform, The FactCheckHub monitored the digital news attention or coverage of the suspended minister and we found out that the name gained more news coverage in January 2024. With over 3,000 published stories, the interest in the case rose within the time-frame earlier mentioned. Her name appeared in over 600 media reports on January 8, 2024 when she was suspended.
Enters a social media campaign
The FactCheckHub observed that these accounts post simultaneously, using the same fliers, images and videos to portray the suspended minister as hardworking and divert the attention of the public from her corruption case. However, they vary their captions to evade detection.
They make their posts simultaneously to ensure it is among the top trends at a particular time. This is to ensure that the narratives they are pushing gain enough visibility. The FactCheckHub also observed that the campaign became more coordinated from January 11, 2024.
On that day, more than 50 social media accounts circulated a flier claiming Edu empowered over 400 displaced persons in Niger state among other claims, found to be false. Even though media reports showed that the minister paid a visit to the IDP camp in the state in September 2023, there was no evidence of any empowerment.
Some X accounts shared fliers whitewashing suspended minister in a coordinated manner.
The social networks included a parody account of Chioma Roland, the wife of the popular Nigerian Afrobeat artiste, David Adeleke, popularly called Davido. The account has shared numerous posts and has been consistently involved in the campaign.
Another X user, @Anitasmily_ also posted the flier claiming the suspended minister built over 1 million homes for poor and displaced people.
“Dr Betta Edu good works and great service to humanity have always been her age long trade mark. The humanitarian minister ensured that over 1 million homes were built and completed to shelter the poor, IDPs & refugees across Nigeria,” @Anitasmily_ posted.
The FactCheckHub found out that this claim is also FALSE as no credible media platform reported the stride. The post was also shared by @callmemichaels and other X accounts in the network around 8 am and 10 am same day.
Between 5pm and 6 pm, on January 21, 2024, some X accounts such as @Tykun_Grey, @MotundehBaby, @Onlysamson, @Activityqueen and @frankdozi shared a video of a public affairs analyst, speaking in support of the suspended minister and asking the Nigerian president to reinstate her.
Some X accounts shared an interview with an Analyst in a well-coordinated influence operations order.
Around 2pm to 4pm on January 23, 2024, the X accounts shared a screenshot of a publication titled “Betta Edu: A resilient leader amid controversy” and a letter to the president urging him to reverse the suspension of the embattled minister. All the X users in this network such as @TheChefChifan, @Tykun_Grey, and @its_heady_again shared the content.
On January 24, 2024, these social media accounts disseminated a video of the suspended minister during a visit to patients in an hospital and an image of her giving out a grant. A few of the posts can be found here, here and here.
Around 7pm on January 26, 2024, the X accounts promoted a social media card highlighting the strides of the suspended minister such as conditional transfer and empowerment programmes. The social media cards were posted by X networks including @Sirbaloo_Naija, @jenifa_, @Hass_Szn and @iam_lakays.
A similar flier showcasing the list of some achievements of the suspended minister was simultaneously shared on January 29, 2024. The flier contains images of the suspended minister collaged with the image of President Tinubu. It also consists of several achievements reportedly accomplished by the minister. A few of the posts are archived here and here.
Some X accounts shared video of the suspended minister sharing food items to some less privileged as part of the disinformation campaign.
What was used on January 31, 2024 was the video of the suspended minister sharing food items with some less privileged. The video was posted by these social networks with captions showcasing her achievements as minister. The content was shared around 2pm that day by some X users including @Tinuola_baby, Minat_mk, @lotanna_obi, @callmemichaels and @sharllousbaby, among others.
Who are the people behind the campaign?
On the day this disinformation campaign started on social media, a certain X user, @Oserume1 raised an alarm alleging that social media influencers were being paid to launder the image of Ms. Edu.
The account posted a screenshot of a WhatsApp group where the social media influencers were allegedly being given directives to post contents in favour of the minister. He reportedly linked the campaign to Bulama Muhammad Bukar.
He posted, “Betta Edu Media Center is working with “Dr. Betta Edu”. We see the work they are doing today ooh.”
Bulama was appointed as Borno State Coordinator of the Betta Edu new Media Centre in October 2023.
But The FactCheckHub couldn’t confirm the authenticity of that chat (WhatsApp screenshot).
A look at some X accounts involved in the disinformation campaign shows that they have a minimum of 1,000 followers; thus meaning they might have been carefully selected. A keyword search on these accounts showed that most of them started posting about the suspended minister on the same date – January 11 and the intervals between their posts are often short, our fact-checker observed. This has been shown in the earlier instances.
Topping the list of social media accounts running this campaign is an X account, @its_heady_again. The account has 14,000 followers and it has a telegram link where pirated Nollywood movies are distributed attached to this account.
Infograph showing some X accounts trending the name of the suspended minister and number of times her name appeared on their timeline during the disinformation campaign.
Analysis of the account showed that he has trended the keyword 15 times in January 2024 alone. The account hardly posts about politics before the campaign started.
Another X account at the campaign’s frontline is Chioma’s parody account. The account name bears Chioma but has a different X ID. The account posts majorly entertainment content but the posts about the minister stood out on her timeline. The account posted the keyword 15 times within the time frame analysed. Though the account has a few followers, her posts get reasonable engagement. That likely explains why the account was chosen for the campaign.
Several other accounts involved in the campaign also share some similarities – They have a high number of followers and engagement and they hardly post about politics until the disinformation campaign kicked off.
Nigerians frustrated over ‘promoted’ trend
Meanwhile, Nigerians using social media have raised concerns about what they are describing as “paid PR” in favour of the suspended minister. They are expressing dissatisfaction with the narratives continuously appearing on their timelines, courtesy of social media influencers promoting these narratives.
An X user, Cyril Idoko Agbo expressed concern over the prevalence of promoted content on his page. He said, “Paid PR for Betta Edu all over my TL. We don’t talk about them enough. A good number of influencers are part of the problems we are faced with in the society today.”
Dr Betta Edu trended online on January 31, 2024.
Similarly, another X user, Nikky Perry, alleged that the suspended minister paid the influencers for image laundering. “The money Dr Betta Edu stole is enough to change the poverty of this country. Dr. Betta Edu paid some influencers on X to cover up her failure!!!!,” she posted.
Another X user, Lola Okunrin, wondered why the minister allegedly decided to engage influencers rather than coming out clean and facing the investigation squarely.
He posted: “Why do Nigerians always run to PR whenever they do something wrong instead of apologizing and doing the needful? Isn’t it madness? When Bolt passengers were dragging Bolt online that year, instead of putting measures in place, they quickly engaged hungry influencers.
“Betta Edu, after being caught in the midst of mismanagement, she engaged all these 500 Naira for 3 tweets influencers. Ify, after being dragged for owing, wrote a long epistle to fine tune who she is without being sober or planning rectification on the allegation. Must it always be about your image? What about the people you wronged?”
Another X user, Victor Emeadi believed the coordinators are exploiting the poverty in the country to recruit ‘hungry’ influencers into such disinformation campaign.
He said, “The reason Dr. Betta Edu is trending is just because Nigeria is the world’s capital of poverty, if not for poverty. Why will an educated human being accept to trend her for money? if job opportunities were plentiful? This nonsense will never happen. hungry influencers everywhere.”
The action of these social media accounts involved in the disinformation campaign violated the X’s manipulation and spam policy which prohibits using its services “in a manner intended to artificially amplify or suppress information or engage in behaviour that manipulates or disrupts people’s experience or platform manipulation defences.”
The policy lists the forms of platform manipulation which include “inauthentic engagements that attempt to make accounts or content appear more popular or active than they are.”
It also includes coordinated activity that attempts to artificially influence conversations through the use of multiple accounts, fake accounts, automation and scripting.
Ikulajolu Adesola, a former Managing Editor with RoundCheck, said the campaign may sway the attention of the public and distort the investigation by the EFCC.
“It is obvious that there is actually a deliberate social media push to paint the Minister in good light despite her case with the EFCC and her suspension as well,” he said. “The whole mission is simple, just to make her name trend as a hardworking Minister. There is nothing wrong, just that it is coming at a time she has been suspended for financial malpractices that could distort the fact which the anti-graft agency is working on.”
“The issue is related to finance and it is one aspect everyone especially public office holder wants to wash their hands off. This public campaign with the name of the minister will gear people towards overlooking her misdeeds.”
He noted that the international community may also call for her reinstatement based on the narratives being promoted on social media.
“They are all orchestrated to divert the attention of the agency from focusing on her offence – it is just a call for public sympathy,” he concluded.
On his part, Vahyala Kwaga, a Senior Research and Policy Analyst at BudgIT Nigeria, highlighted the need for the anti-graft agency to investigate the matter professionally regardless of the pressure from social media.
“I think there is definitely a coordinated attempt at whitewashing the scandal and diverting attention away from it. Unfortunately, social media users tend to have short attention spans and the scandal may likely fritter out of public consciousness soon enough.”
“The bright side is that if the investigating agencies handle this professionally, the social media campaign will be of no effect. The facts remain what they are and without a calculated campaign, they can still carry out their investigation. The real question is whether or not they will follow through,” he concluded.
Anyone that contracts typhoid fever must have ingested human faeces directly or indirectly.
THE FINDINGS
Checks by TheFactCheckHub show that the claim is HALF-TRUE.
The UK-based National Health Service (NHS), in an online article, explains that typhoid fever is “caused by a bacterium called Salmonella Typhi.”
Photomicrograph of Salmonella typhi also known as Typhoid fever. PHOTO CREDITS: Britannica.com.
“Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection that can spread throughout the body, affecting many organs. Without prompt treatment, it can cause serious complications and can be fatal.
“It’s caused by a bacterium called Salmonella typhi, which is related to the bacteria that cause salmonella food poisoning.
“Typhoid fever is highly contagious. An infected person can pass the bacteria out of their body in their poo or, less commonly, in their pee.
“Suppose someone else eats food or drinks water that’s been contaminated with a small amount of infected poo or pee. In that case, they can become infected with the bacteria and develop typhoid fever,” it wrote.
Similarly, the US-based Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), stated that “typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever are most common in parts of the world where water and food may be unsafe and sanitation is poor.”
“These diseases are spread through sewage contamination of food or water and through person-to-person contact.
“People who are currently ill and people who have recovered but are still passing the bacteria in their poop (stools) can spread Salmonella Typhi or Salmonella Paratyphi,” it stated.
Symptoms of Typhoid Fever. PHOTO CREDITS: Homage.com.my
It noted that you can get typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever if:
You eat food or drink a beverage that has been touched by a person who is shedding (getting rid of) Salmonella Typhi or Salmonella Paratyphi in their poop and who has not washed their hands thoroughly after going to the bathroom.
Sewage contaminated with Salmonella Typhi or Salmonella Paratyphi gets into water you drink.
Sewage contaminated with Salmonella Typhi or Salmonella Paratyphi gets into water used to rinse food you eat raw.
It further stated that if you consume a food or drink contaminated with Salmonella Typhi or Salmonella Paratyphi, the bacteria can multiply and spread into the bloodstream, causing typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever.
What doctors say…
Reacting to Ms. Arowolo’s Instagram post archived here, Damian Avar, a medical practitioner and health influencer with the Instagram handle, @therealsabidoctor made a video to explain the claim medically.
In the video found here, he explained that typhoid can be contracted through human faeces. He noted that typhoid is an unscrupulous bacteria called “salmonella typhi” which is only transmitted ‘Feco-orally.’
“’Feco-orally’ transmission occurs when bacteria come directly from faeces and enter the body through the mouth,” Avar stated in the video archived here.
He further pointed out that what most Nigerians treat as typhoid is severe malaria, as anyone can contract typhoid directly or indirectly by consuming the faeces of a contaminated carrier.
The FactCheckHub reached out to him via his IG handle to know his view on urine transmission and clarify whether the only way to contract typhoid is through the consumption of faeces, but he is yet to respond as at the time of filing this fact-check.
However, in an interview with The FactCheckHub, Genevive Onyinye Mbanefor, a medical officer with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), said: “Truly, typhoid fever is transmitted via ‘Feco-oral route’, meaning that eating food or any edible contaminated by faeces of a carrier can predispose to contracting the bacteria responsible for causing enteric fever.”
When asked if typhoid can be gotten from urine transmission too, she said, “it is basically Feco-oral transmission. But rarely, not a common thing, it can be gotten via contamination by carrier urine.”
She went further to explain that “a carrier is a source of contamination.”
“The infection can be transmitted when it has entered the mouth orally. It then gets to the gastrointestinal tract and starts causing issues. It can also hide in the gall-bladder. Also, if a carrier contaminates a surface or object with his unwashed hands after using the toilet, and another individual comes in contact with the surface. He or she can only get the bacteria if they use the contaminated hand to prepare or consume food and water orally,” Ms Mbanefor said.
THE VERDICT
The claim that anyone that contracts typhoid fever must have ingested human faeces directly or indirectly is HALF-TRUE; findings revealed that it is one of the transmission modes of the illness, as carriers can also contract the illness via urine or contact with an already contaminated surface, sewage, foods or drinks, among others.
*EDITOR’S NOTE: The headline has been updated while our verdict has been changed to HALF-TRUE to reflect the updated findings by this fact-checker. Kindly take note.
AFTER teaching children how to spot fake news, it is important to also know how to help them navigate dealing with misinformation and disinformation in this digital age.
With increasing growth of technology and influx of Chat GPT applications, there is still a probability for them to fall for some false and misleading content such as AI-generated images, videos and even news.
The impact of misinformation are largely negative and can exist in various forms, such as phishing scams, cyber bullying, sarcasm, and fake news.
While it can cause adults to be more suspicious and careful in the kind of content they consume, it can have adverse effects on children, which can cause them to be embarrassed, cause anxiety and affect their mental health.
It can also cause them to lose confidence in their facial or body features as there is an influx of individuals using AI to make their photos look perfect in a certain way.
Additionally, cyber bullying may or may not entail individuals using deepfakes to make fun of how a particular child looks, walk or talk, which can make kids question their physical appearance or biological development.
It is very essential to help them navigate that moment of their lives by helping them deal with the impact of misinformation so that they would understand, recognize and handle such situations if they come across them in future. They would also, in turn, help their friends or schoolmates to overcome the challenge and even form peer groups like the FactCheckHub‘s fact-checking clubs in Nigerian schools.
Below are steps to take to help children become knowledgeable about the information disorder phenomenon and enable them cultivate the culture of fact-checking:
Verify and fact-check Information together
After teaching your child or ward how to identify fake news, they are likely to fall for it again as new and different techniques are being employed to disseminate misinformation online, which might be discouraging to them.
Encourage them and let them understand that it is normal to fall victim to misinformation. Give them some time to review the false information and the red flags. Talk about the reasons behind their belief that made them think it was true, and show them the signs that the content was misinformation while teaching them how you would go about verifying the accuracy of the content. Engaging in this exercise with them would enable them to critically access and identify misinformation in future.
For illustration only. PHOTO CREDITS: Pexels.com
Teach them to own up to their mistakes
Encourage your child or ward to accept responsibility for their mistakes if they spread misinformation to others. If they share something on social media, they may respond with a post stating that it was untrue. They could also communicate accurate information while apologizing.
Wherever feasible, they have to remove the false information.
Seek and offer support to them
In cases of cyber bullying, physical appearance, and phishing scams, children would need additional support to help them overcome, such as speaking with a counsellor or obtaining assistance from your child’s school. Words of affirmation would also help. It is also important to keep checks on their mental health while keeping tabs on the content they consume constantly to avoid further occurrences.
Teach and help them report false and misleading content
Lastly, most social media apps contain guidelines for reporting false and misleading content. While some policies are more stringent than others and will remove such content, others call for more consideration.
It is important to let your child or ward report any false or misleading content they come across. You can either show them how it is being done or guide them during the process.
To report content on Instagram, click the ‘three dots’ icon on the post or profile you want to report and choose ‘False information’when giving a reason. To report misinformation or fake news on TikTok, click the ‘three dots’ icon on the post or profile you want to report and choose ‘Misinformation’ when giving a reason.
To report misleading video content and channels on YouTube, click the ‘setting’ icon located at the top right edge of the video or channel and tap ‘Report’; then choose ‘Misinformation’ when giving a reason. Similar steps should be taken when reporting on other social media platforms like Facebook, Threads and X (formerly Twitter) too. For WhatsApp and Telegram, you can report any contact or channel sharing misinformation while also blocking the contact too. Simply click the ‘three dots’ on the top right of the contact or channel and click ‘Report’. Then select any applicable option or ‘Other’ to state the kind of misinformation you’re reporting.
