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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.
YOUTUBE has launched a verification system for United Kingdom-based doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals to curb the spread of misinformation and fake medical news on its platform.
The FactCheckHub had earlier reported that the video-sharing platform announced a new framework aimed at combating medical misinformation that contradicts local health authorities or the World Health Organization (WHO) on its platform.
Vishaal Virani, team lead of UK Health content for YouTube, told the BBC that this is important owing to a vast number of people now accessing healthcare information on the platform.
The platform also introduced a new seal of approval to accounts run by licensed doctors, nurses, psychologists, and other healthcare practitioners or organizations who have passed stringent verification checks to fight misinformation.
“Whether we like it or not, whether we want it or not, whether the health industry is pushing for it or not, people are accessing health information online, Virani told the BBC.
“We need to do as good a job as possible to bring rigour to the content that they are subsequently consuming when they start their care journey online,” he said.
The verification process, which commenced in June, is now open for applications from healthcare professionals in the UK holding an active medical license.
YouTube accounts participating in the verification scheme are starting to receive the mark of authenticity for their videos, facilitating users in identifying content from qualified healthcare professionals.
In addition, the verification process includes a review of previous videos, and accounts will not receive verification if they have previously shared medical misinformation on YouTube.
AN X (formerly Twitter) user, @LifeofNapaul, has claimed that a Nigerian-trained lawyer cannot practice the legal profession abroad.
He made the claim following the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) which upheld the victory of Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election held on February 25, 2023.
The judgement did not sit well with supporters of opposition parties especially the Labour Party and Peoples Democratic Party who filed the petitions against Tinubu’s emergence as Nigeria’s democratically-elected president at the poll.
The post, published on his X page on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, reads:
“You know what’s funny about studying law in Nigeria?! You can’t practice anywhere else in the world. It’s either you practice here in NG were the law books ain’t respected or you go abroad & wash plate.”
The post has since garnered over one million views, more than 900 reposts and over 3,000 likes as of Friday, September 8, 2023.
CLAIM
Nigerian trained lawyers cannot practice abroad.
Screenshot of the viral X post. Insert: MOSTLY FALSE verdict.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MOSTLY FALSE.
Checks show that a Nigerian-trained lawyer can practice outside the country depending on the requirements set by the host (foreign) country on the practice of law in their nation.
Nigerian lawyers who sit for and passed law exams of foreign country, right in their home country, can have multi-jurisdictional qualifications which allow them to practice law in that country and in Nigeria simultaneously, ThisDay newspaper reported. This was also corroborated by a Daily Trust report published in 2022.
However, this isn’t solely an embargo on lawyers trained in Nigeria; traditionally, any foreign lawyer seeking to practice in a different country must fulfill requirements set by the country. This requirement exists due to the potential differences in laws between countries, which makes it important for foreign-trained lawyers to familiarize themselves with the legal framework of their intended practice location.
Even in Nigeria, a foreign lawyer intending to practice must pass the Nigerian Barexams. Upon successfully passing the Bar final exam, such a foreign-trained lawyer will be admitted to the Nigerian Bar to become eligible to practise law in Nigeria.
A foreign lawyer cannot practise law in Nigeria without passing through the law school except a limited extent where they obtain a warrant from the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) for the purposes of a specific proceeding or appeals arising from such proceedings.
In Canada, it’s based on province. An applicant must apply to the law society of that province and meet its requirements before they can be licensed to practice. The licence is subjected to assessment and examination that will be conducted by National Committee on Accreditation (NCA), a committee responsible for evaluating foreign-trained lawyers seeking admission into the Canadian bar. This is followed by taking the Barrister Licensing examination and the Solicitors Licensing Examination, 10-month internship and character fitness test.
In United Kingdom, a lawyer is either addressed as a barrister or a solicitor. Therefore practising in the United Kingdom means an applicant will have to apply and be qualify as either of the two.
To qualify as a solicitor, the requirements include law degree equivalent to a UK law degree, passing solicitors’ qualifying examinations (SQE1 and SQE2), two years of qualifying work experience, passing the character and suitability test.
To qualify as a barrister, the applicant must possess a law degree, equivalent to a UK law degree, pass the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC), complete one-year studentship with a barrister’s chambers and also pass the character and suitability test.
Speaking with The FactCheckHub, a Nigerian-trained lawyer, based in the United States, Israel Olawunmi, confirmed that Nigerian-trained lawyers can be licensed in the United States and other countries.
“Nigerian-trained lawyers can easily get licensed in European and North American countries. It’s why you see Nigerian-trained lawyers in law firms in these parts of the world,” he said.
He pointed out that tons of Nigerians take the New York and California bar exams yearly, and they get licensed to practice in both states.
“The thing is, the US, UK, Canada, Australia and some of these popular destinations are common law countries; the same legal system practiced in Nigeria. So, it makes transitioning easier,” Olawunmi stated.
He explained that Nigerian-trained lawyers can still get licensed to practice in non-common law countries, subject to fulfilling the requirements to practice in the given country.
“The Nigerian training is no barrier to practicing in other countries. In fact, as a foreign-trained lawyer in Nigeria, to practice in Nigeria, there are some requirements such a person must satisfy, including attending the Nigerian Law School among others,” he added.
In few cases, he explained that Nigerian-trained lawyers may not even need to attend the law school of the countries they intend to practice.
He noted further: “In fact, in the UK, if you have practiced satisfactorily as a barrister in Nigeria, you do not need to take any exams, you can apply for a waiver, and would be ultimately admitted as a barrister in England and Wales.”
THE VERDICT
The claim that a Nigerian-trained lawyer cannot practice outside the country is MOSTLY FALSE; findings revealed that if the person passes all the necessary requirements of the foreign country where he intends to practice law, then they will be licensed to practice law outside their country.
A new research has revealed that a significant number of women experiencing menopause are not getting the appropriate treatment for their symptoms, largely due to the prevalence of misinformation.
The research, led by Susan Davis from Monash University in Australia, calls for more personalised treatment plans that address the greatly varying physical and mental symptoms of menopause.
“Now, there’s been this real surge of interest in menopause,” the report published on Wednesday, August 16, 2023 stated. The journal ‘Cell‘ then invited Davis and her colleagues to provide a comprehensive summary of what is known about menopause, what’s not known and the challenges in the area.
“One of the challenges being most symptomatic women are not getting appropriate therapy. More than 85% of women in high-income countries do not receive effective, regulator-approved treatment for their menopausal symptoms,” according to the review, which examined over 200 sources going back to 71 years.
“Midlife for women can be pretty tough. They have got a lot of balls in the air. They’re balancing a lot of things in their life. And then you add into the mix sleep deprivation from hot flushes and night sweats, unexplained waves of anxiety, lack of confidence [and] vaginal dryness so you don’t want to have sex with your partner because it hurts.
“A whole lot of these symptoms are treatable. But you’re not being treated, and that really impairs your quality of life,” Davis said.
According to Davis in some cases, hormone therapy is inappropriately prescribed when other treatments such as lowering blood pressure and correcting cholesterol would be more appropriate.
However, many ineffective therapies are advised as a result of persisting misinformation around menopausal hormone therapy, which is a medication that contains Oestrogen (also known as estrogen), progesterone and sometimes testosterone used to manage the symptoms of menopause, she added.
“On the wave of the fear factor [around MHT] came all the people who said you can take all these alternative herbs and spices and things that are going to make you better with no foundation. But because women were symptomatic and fearful of hormone therapy, if you’ve got terrible symptoms, you will take what you can get,” Davis stated.
The study revealed that non-hormonal interventions supported by evidence are available for managing menopausal symptoms. However, the most effective approach for alleviating troublesome menopausal symptoms is evidence-based menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), which can reduce bone loss and potentially offer cardio-metabolic advantages.
While only 30% of women experiencing menopause will encounter moderate to severe symptoms, Davis emphasized that subtle changes, like declining bone density, often occur silently in the body.
He encouraged all individuals going through menopause to undergo a comprehensive health assessment because optimizing health during this period serves as the gateway to healthy aging for women.
AN X (formerly Twitter) user, @TheSerahIbrahim shared a post with a photo of some wigs in a courtroom on September 6, 2023 alongside a caption that reads:
Justice Ugo has not raised his head since the beginning of this judgement. His head been bowed low. His eyes are extremely red, possibly from either crying or lack of sleep. Justice Bolaji has been sitting like she built the courtroom, looking extremely stern and nodding all through like “if you disagree, come and beat me. Justice Adah has the document in front of me, visibly seen reading along and following up to ensure no mistakes in the rubbish that is being read. Justice Bello looks totally uninterested and uncomfortable. LET IT BE KNOWN We believed and we trusted.
The photo was being shared while sitting of the presidential election petition court (PEPC) was underway.
It could be recalled that both the Labour Party and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidates Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar were not satisfied with the election results which gave victory to the incumbent president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, at the February poll and had gone to seek redress in court.
There had been a series of court proceedings and the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) had set September 6 2023 as the Judgement Day after it had initially set September 16, 2023.
Since the post was made, it has garnered about 300,000 views, over 1,400 reposts and more than 2,700 likes as at the time of filing this report.
CLAIM
Photo shows judges presiding at Nigeria’s presidential election petition court on Wednesday, September 6, 2023.
Screenshot of the X post. Insert: MISLEADING verdict.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by the FactCheckHub revealed that the claim is MISLEADING.
Checks conducted using Google Reverse Image search show that the image has been on the internet for some months prior to Wednesday’s presidential election petition court (PEPC) sitting.
The search led our researcher to several samples of the same image used as featured image on newsreports by media outlets few months ago and it was dated as far back as May 2023.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the photo shows judges presiding at Nigeria’s presidential election petition court on Wednesday, September 6, 2023 is MISLEADING; the photo is from one of the previous sittings of the presidential election petition court few months ago.
ON Monday, September 4, 2023, an X (formerly Twitter) user posted a photo collage showing some guests at the inauguration of the Blue Line rail project in Lagos state.
The images showed Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in Nigeria’s 2023 general election, Olajide Adediran, the Lagos state gubernatorial candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alongside his running mate, Funke Akindele, and Labour party’s governorship candidate in Lagos, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, some Arise News presenters – Rufai Oseni, Ojy Okpe, Reuben Abati – and Aisha Yesufu at the launching of the Blue Line rail.
Both Adediran and Rhodes-Vivour contested against APC’s Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the current Lagos State governor, during the 2023 Lagos gubernatorial election held in March 2023.
The Punch reported that Sanwo-Olu, had on Monday, September 4, 2023, flagged off commercial operations of the Blue Line Rail in the state. The governor became the first passenger to ride on the train during its inaugural ride as operations began immediately.
The X user posted the images in a photo collage alongside a caption that reads:
At least we are generous Everyone was invited.
The post has garnered over 90,000 views, more than 500 likes, and 150 reposts as of Tuesday, September 5.
CLAIM
The photo collage shows Peter Obi, Olajide Adediran, Funke Akindele, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, Aisha Yesufu, Rufai Oseni, Ojy Okpe, and Reuben Abati at the inauguration of the Lagos Blue Line rail.
Screenshot of the social media post with the photo collage. Insert: FALSE verdict.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by the FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
Checks conducted using Google Reverse Image search show that the image has been manipulated using a photo editing software.
The search led us to the original images which revealed that Peter Obi, Olajide Adediran, Funke Akindele, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, Aisha Yesufu, Rufai Oseni, Ojy Okpe, and Reuben Abati were all inserted into the images that made up the photo collage.
Further checks show that the X user specializes in manipulation of images of notable public figures and politicians.
The photo was also customised with his name and a Latin phrase “Caveat lector” which means “Let the readers beware,” a pointer to the fact that the photo collage has been doctored.
A photo collage showing the original images.
The Punch also published images from the inauguration of the Blue Line operation in Lagos and none of the persons mentioned in the claim above were sighted there.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the photo collage shows Peter Obi, Olajide Adediran, Funke Akindele, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, Aisha Yesufu, Rufai Oseni, Ojy Okpe, and Reuben Abati at the inauguration of the Blue line rail is FALSE; the images were doctored.
THE military coup that took place in Gabon on August 30, 2023 has attracted the attention of the general public to the country, particularly the media, as both local and international media platforms report the incident in the country.
The coup which took place on Wednesday, unseated the Gabonese President, Ali Bongo Ondimba, whose family has held power for more than half a century just minutes after he was named the winner of a contested election in the country.
The ousted President had faced accusations of electoral fraud and corruption since he began ruling the nation nearly 14 years ago.
Gabon is now part of the seven African countries under military rule.
In some news reports, the country is being referred to as a country in West Africa, which can be seen here and here.
CLAIM
Gabon is located in West Africa.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by the FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
Gabon is located on the west coast of Central Africa astride the Equator and was a French colony until its independence in 1967. The capital is Libreville.
The country shares borders with Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon on the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west; the islands of Sao Tome and Principe are situated off the coast.
It acquires dense rainforests and unique ecosystems containing more than 3,000 species of vegetation, including the okoumé, a hardwood tree that forms the backbone of Gabon’s timber industry.
The rainforest is inhabited with various animals such as antelope, monkeys, gorillas, numerous tropical birds, and varieties of elephants which contributes to the wildlife conservation and sustainability of the country, with a significant portion of its land dedicated to several national parks and protected areas.
Gabon is part of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) member states.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Gabon is a West African country is FALSE; it is a Central African country located on the west coast and is part of ECCAS.
THE Pulitzer Center is seeking applications for in-depth and investigative stories related to science misinformation, science denial, and the spread of pseudoscience while using journalistic approaches to identify and address the scourge of scientific misinformation and disinformation.
The opportunity is for its new grant initiative, Truth Decay funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s (HHMI) Department of Science Education. It is open to all newsroom staff and independent journalists in the United States and abroad.
In a statement, the Pulitzer Center stated that the objective of the initiative is to expose the purveyors and platforms that spread science misinformation and disinformation with accountability journalism and to support newsrooms and journalists to develop their own innovative responses to the spread of mistruths in their communities or countries.
The center is hoping to receive pitches that explore reasons and methods on how scientific misinformation spreads, journalists roles in exposing and countering it, the challenges involved, the sponsors and the different perspectives on pseudoscience and misinformation in the mass media and society.
Ideas related to science and misinformation which resonate with your audiences and communities most, are essential as the initiative is a first of its kind. The center is open to all forms of investigative journalism for the initiative, from data journalism, radio and podcasts, to news and documentary videos.
It also encourages potential grantees to bring proposals with creative and innovative solutions for reaching new audiences on a variety of platforms such as Instagram or TikTok. Apart from these mediums, other creative options for audience reach include shortwave radio features with Indigenous tribes, bus stop poster campaigns, comic books and poetry performances are also welcome.
Topics of any type is welcomed by the center as long as they are underreported and relate to the spread of science misinformation, science denial or disinformation.
ON August 30, 2023, an X user, @MosesInna posted a photo showing some protesters holding placards with a claim that it shows Nigerians based in the United States protesting over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s academic certificate controversy.
Some of the protesters held placards with different messages such as “Democracy under threat in Nigeria”, “Let Nigerian votes count”, and “Nigerians reject the election result”.
Some held the Nigerian flag while others held the American flag in front of the White House in what appeared to be a call for the review of Nigeria’s 2023 general election.
The post was captioned thus:
“BREAKING: Peaceful protest at the Chicago State University by Nigerians living in the US.”
The tweet has generated over 600 reposts and more than 1,000 likes as of August 31, 2023.
THE CLAIM
Photo shows Nigerians in the US protesting over Tinubu’s academic certificate controversy.
Screenshot of the viral post. Insert: FALSE verdict.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by the FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
There has been criticisms over time among Nigerians on whether the Nigerian president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, graduated legitimately from Chicago State University. This is despite the confirmation by the University that the president graduated from the school.
The Punch reported on Tuesday that the University locked its X microblogging handle following pressure from Nigerians especially supporters of the opposition party over Tinubu’s controversial certificate from the institution.
Checks conducted using Google Reverse Image search show that the photo revealed the moment when supporters of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of Labour Party, staged a protest at the White House and Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., in April to reject Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election results.
Several media platforms such as TheCable reported that the protesters insisted that Tinubu did not meet the constitutional requirements for the presidency, thereby questioning his legitimacy.
The FactCheckHub ran a search on the internet but found no credible media report regarding the purported recent protest over President Tinubu’s certificate as of the time of filing this fact-check.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the image shows Nigerians in the United States protesting over President Tinubu’s certificate controversy is FALSE; the photo has been online since April 2023.
META said it has shut down close to 9,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts, groups and pages associated with a Chinese political spam network that had targeted users in Australia and other parts of the world.
This was disclosed in a report released by the social media company recently.
Meta said it had removed 7,704 Facebook accounts, 954 pages, 15 groups and 15 Instagram accounts identified as violating the company’s inauthentic behaviour policy.
In the course of its investigation, Meta uncovered the influence operation on more than 50 online platforms and forums including YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, Pinterest, Medium, Blogspot, Livejournal and X (formerly known as Twitter), in addition to Instagram and Facebook.
The Guardian reported that following questions about several accounts uncovered by the company, TikTok also removed 284 accounts associated with a Chinese disinformation campaign.
The network also attempted to spread negative commentary about the U.S. and disinformation in multiple languages about the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This network originated in China and targeted many regions around the world, including Taiwan, the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan and global Chinese-speaking audiences,” Meta said.
Meta started looking for signs of a Chinese influence operation on its own platforms after reports in 2022 highlighted how a disinformation campaign linked to the Chinese government targeted a human rights non-governmental organization.
Its researchers were able to link this latest disinformation network to a prior influence campaign in 2019, code named Spamouflage.
Meta also detected and thwarted additional activities, subsequently releasing an in-depth analysis of a Russian disinformation effort it pinpointed shortly after the commencement of the 2022 conflict in Ukraine.
These steps precede what is expected to be a contentious election period.
Previous apprehensions about the impact of influence campaigns on past elections prompted social media platforms, including Meta, to implement more rigorous regulations concerning the type of political content permissible and the accompanying labels attached to such content.
ON August 30, 2023, an X user and Labour Party supporter, @Chimaobi_nteoma posted a video showing a woman dancing and smoking at a party claiming that it shows the Nigerian Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa.
The video shows the woman smoking what appears like an electronic cigarette while dancing to music at a party.
She posted the video with a caption thus:
“See your minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy. Naija, una do well o.”
The post has generated over 1,000 reposts and more than 800 likes as of August 31, 2023.
THE CLAIM
Video shows Nigerian minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa dancing and smoking at a party.
Screenshot of the viral social media post. Insert: FALSE verdict.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by TheFactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
The FactCheckHub analyzed the original video which was shared by Dior Events and Parties (@Dior05) on TikTok. Our findings show that, though the woman in the footage resembles the minister, she is not the one in the viral video.
Our researcher observed some key features which distinguish the woman from the minister.
For example, in contrast to the minister, the woman in the video clip possesses a huge physique with a sizable waist. Furthermore, she is of shorter stature than the minister and has a more elongated, pointed nose. Musawa is also lighter than her (woman in viral footage) in complexion.
Also, the woman who appears to be a Yoruba is seen dancing to a Fuji music in the video, a genre typically understood by Yoruba speakers as she fluently recites the song along with the musician. Meanwhile, Musawa is of Fulani tribe from Katsina state.
Further checks indicated that the Nigerian minister was likely in Abuja when the footage hit the social media, as posts on her Instagram handle suggests, among others.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the video shows the Nigerian minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa dancing and smoking at a party is FALSE; findings show that the woman in the video is not the minister.
