Analysis Archives - Page 4 of 6

July monthly disinformation trend analysis

HaqCheck observed that disinformation and the circulation of false information followed incidents.

There were major incidents that happened in the month of July and at the end of the month of June that triggered disinformation during the given month. False information circulated in the background of these events.

The major events that were followed by disinformation were; the massacre in Wollega in the month of June, the condominium lottery draw cancellation, the Al Shabaab attacks, the rumors on the whereabouts and safety of PM PM Abiy, and the academic dress worn by Tedros Adhanom.

haqCheck intercepted many false social media posts that were made in the context of these occurrences or just followed the incidents.

Some of the posts circulated amid such events and debunked by HaqCheck are presented in this summary.

Massacre in Wollega in the month of June

The massacre in the Wellega zone of Oromia regiona was reported in the previous month of June. However, the event was one of the main factors for the disinformation trend that surfaced during the month of July. Many related social media posts emerged in this framework. False information and images circulated on social media platforms falsely claiming old images to depict the massacre.

For instance, a Facebook page shared an image on Jul 14, captioned, “This baby is not the Rwandan Tutsi Immaculée [Immaculée Ilibagiza] … She is the Ethiopian Amhara Immaculée who survived to tell us what really happened. Abiy Ahmed and his group are killing people whom the world saved in the ‘We are the World’ campaign in 1985.”

Actually, the image is found out to be old and is of the Rwandan Tutsi genocide that happened in 1994. The image doesn’t show victims of the massacre in Wellega.

Condominium lottery draw results cancelation

The condominium lottery draw that was conducted on July 8, 2022 was later canceled due to alleged tech tampering issue. The event was followed by widespread controversies.

False claims emerged immediately after the draw. Among the viral controversies was that Muluken Haftu, former head of the City Administration’s Innovation and Technology Bureau, and Yasmin Wohabrebbi, head of the Housing Development Bureau were arrested in relation to the lottery draw fraud. The claim was later proven false.

Muluken Haftu was not arrested at the time. But on July 15, the Addis Ababa City Council revoked the immunity of its member, Mulukun Haftu in connection with alleged links with tech tampering by the city administration officials. He was taken into custody after the meeting on the same day.

Related to the incident, a false claim that Yonas Zewde, the head of the Communications Office of the Addis Ababa City Administration, resigned from his position because of widespread corruption within the current government followed.

However, the former communications head didn’t resign from his previous post and was just appointed to another position by the administration.

Al Shabaab attack on Ethiopian forces

At the end of the month of July, Al Shabaab opened attack on the security forces of the Ethiopian Somali region both in Somalian and in Ethiopian territories along the border of the two countries. Fighting then erupted between Al Shabaab militants and Somali regional special police forces.

The event was then accompanied by various false images claimed to be of the recent skirmishes between Somali regional forces and Al Shabaab militants.

One instance of these was an image-backed social media claim that Somali regional forces recently killed militants of AlShabaab in the Elekere woreda of the Somali Regional State.

Nevertheless, the image was taken from an old publication. It was first published on May 24, 2018, on a self-described independent news outlet in a short news story that heavy fighting erupted between Puntland and Somaliland forces in the Sool region of Somaliland.

Rumors on the whereabouts and safety of PM Abiy

There were various rumors circulating regarding the whereabouts and safety of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed during the month. These rumors fueled disinformation all over social media landscapes.

Many false and old images were shared with different claims. Some claimed that the Prime Minister is leading a military operation against insurgents in the southwestern parts of the country. Others claimed that he was ill and was being treated in a hospital.

The allegation was one of the major factors for massive social media disinformation.

Academic dress worn by Tedros Adhanom

There were false claims that the academic dress that was worn by Tedros Adhanom, Director of the World Health Organization when he received an honorary degree from Edinburg University represents the flag of Tigray Regional State.

Others shared images of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Indian movie actor Sha Rukh Khan, and the football legend Pele all wearing the same academic dress claiming that it represents the Tigray regional flag. Such claims were viral across social media platforms.

However, the claims were false and honorary degree recipients of the University of Edinburgh wear the scarlet gown with a yellow velvet hood according to the university’s code of gown dressing.

Hashtag Campaign and Disinformation

HaqCheck observed hashtag posts sharing false images. Employing false images in hashtag campaigns trended during the month. Hashtag themes and phrases were accompanied by false and emotionally appealing images.

For example, a Twitter account shared two images with a text that the Amhara people had been targeted by the Ethiopian government. The tweet shared graphic images that show human dead bodies laid on the ground.

It was shared with a hashtag text #AmharaGenocide. But, one of the images was from Nigeria.

Faking Twitter handles

Another disinformation technique that was pointed out by HaqCheck in the month of July is faking Twitter handles. A Twitter handle was learned to be faked using deceptive methods.

Two twitter accounts seemingly with the same handles appeared. Having or sharing the same Twitter handle with others is never allowed on the platform and thus people may be misled and challenged to identify which one is the authentic account if the two have the same handles.

The two accounts seemingly have a handle @martinplaut. However, the other one was faked to look like the authentic account. The faked handle used the capital letter of ‘i’ that looked like the small letter of ‘L’.

This was a new trend observed just recently.

Recommendations

The government should not be the main agent of disinformation and controversy. The rumors regarding the whereabouts and safety of the Prime Minister caused massive disinformation.

The government should have given timely information regarding the allegations. Government bodies should offer the public timely and sufficient updates on state affairs.

Social media users are urged to be skeptical and should avoid conceiving and sharing unconfirmed claims.

People should pay critical attention to Twitter accounts and handles. They should cross check the authenticity of the handles too.

July week four disinformation trend summary

Faked Twitter handles

One of the disinformation techniques is circulating false information with social media accounts that impersonate celebrities and popular personalities.

HaqCheck came across a faked Twitter handle creating controversies as people can easily be misled due to the similarity of the handles.

The Twitter accounts presented in the screenshots below may seem similar because they appear to have the same Twitter handle. The difference people can easily identify between these accounts is only the verification tag and the number of followers.

Twitter handles can not be the same or duplicated and every Twitter account has to be unique, according to Twitter. However, these two Twitter accounts seem to have the same handle which is @martinplaut.

The first Twitter account is created in 2010 and the second one in 2020. The second Twitter account created in 2020 faked the Twitter handle of the real and verified one.

The second Twitter account faked the handle which is @martinlaut by replacing the small letter ‘l’ in the handle with a capital letter ‘I’. This way, the two accounts resemble to have the same handle. These two letters seem the same and can only be identified by changing them into small or capital letters. They can also be identified by size. The small letter of ‘L’ is larger than the capital letter of ‘i’. When we copy-paste the two letters from the two handles and have a thorough look magnifying them, the letter ‘l’ which is ‘L’ is visibly taller than the second letter which is ‘I’.

Thus, people should pay attention to such imitation and false information circulated by accounts faked to appear as authentic ones.

A claimed public protest which occurred in Mekelle and its vicinities

HaqCheck came across a circulating image of the front page of the Reporter newspaper with a bold headline that reads that people in Mekelle are revolting against TPLF. Facebook posts shared the image across the platform.

Manipulated front-page

The image of the front page of the newspaper is learned to be manipulated from the original front page of the newspaper by giving it a fake story headline. The headline from the original front page reads, “People Were Killed due to a Conflict in Two Neighboring Zones in Amhara region”. This headline was erased and replaced by the faked headline that reads, “TPLF is Facing a Fierce Opposition in Mekelle of Sebaa Enderta”.

Original front-page

The front page image is taken from the July 13 publication of the biweekly Amharic Reporter newspaper. The original article on the top front page of the publication is titled, “People Were Killed due to a Conflict in Two Neighboring Zones in Amhara region” and there is no picture on the page accompanying that particular news article. The original front page of the publication can be found here. Accordingly, HaqCheck rated the claim False.

Old images claimed to show recent massacres

A Twitter account shared two pictures on Jul 26, 2022, captioned “Amhara people in Ethiopia every place been targeted by their identity by the genocidal government of Ethiopia.”

However, the first image in the tweet is found to be old and doesn’t show a recent massacre in Ethiopia. HaqCheck discovered one of the images published on Mar 12, 2018, on a website called BIAtimes.org under the heading “Nigeria: Fulani Herdsmen Invade Primary School in Ogun State Killing Children.”

The post was therefore rated Party-False.

Recommendations

Regarding twitter handles, HaqCheck recommends social media users look into the handles to check their authenticity. They have to search the handles on Twitter with the same letters and prove if they really exist on the platform. Some lowercase letters may look similar to other uppercase letters or vice versa.

We urge social media users to be skeptical and cross-check information as it may be false or manipulated. They should not be misled by similar accounts or manipulated images.

HaqCheck urges the government and other relevant bodies to guarantee full access to information to the public and to the media. They should avail information on timely issues.

July week three disinformation summary

Tedros Adhanom’s academic dress claimed to represent the Tigray flag

There were controversial and false claims all over social media platforms that the academic dress worn by Tedros Adhanom when he received an honorary degree from Edinburg University represents the flag of Tigray Regional State.

HaqCheck fact-checked the claim whether the academic dress represents the regional flag of Tigray. A Facebook page with more than 54 thousand followers on July shared a collection of images featuring Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Director of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom (Ph.D.), Indian movie actor Sha Rukh Khan, and the football legend Pele all wearing a similar academic dress of red gown and yellow velvet hood, implicitly telling that the red and yellow robe represents the Tigray regional flag.

The post was published after Tedros Adhanom, Director of WHO, received an Honorary Degree from the University of Edinburgh clad in a similar academic dress on Jul 14, 2022. Different social media pages have shared an image of different celebrities and influencers wearing red and yellow Gown claiming it to be the Flag of Tigray.

Many social media posts also appeared sharing images of various politicians and celebrities wearing the same academic dress in a bid to show that these renowned personalities followed Tedros’ lead of honoring Tigray by wearing the same dress.

A Facebook page with more than 138 thousand followers shared a post on Jul 16, captioned, “Indian Movie Actor Sha Rukh Khan has joined ‘The Tigray Prevails Movement’.” by the time this article is posted the post had more than 300 reactions.

Honorary degree recipients of the University of Edinburgh wear the scarlet gown with a yellow velvet hood according to the university’s code of gown dressing and has no connection with the Flag of Tigray or any movement. And the referred recipients of the University’s honorary degree, Justin Trudeau, Sha Rukh Khan, and Pele received their degrees in Jul 2017, Oct 2015, and Aug 2012 respectively, which shows they were not part of a claimed Tedros-led pro-Tigray campaign.

Therefore HaqCheck interrogated the Claim and rendered it False.

False images regarding the whereabouts of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed

False and old images were circulating during the week regarding the whereabouts of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. There were image-backed false claims. Some of the image-supported social media posts claimed that PM Abiy Ahmed went to a war front in southwestern Ethiopia to lead a military operation against insurgents.

Others claimed that the Prime Minister is ill and receiving medical treatment in a hospital. Old images had been circulating to support the claim.

However, the above image is found to be old and was even previously fact-checked by HaqCheck in January 2020. The original image can be accessed with the following link.

Somali regional forces killing Al Shabaab militants

As reports that fighting erupted between Somali regional forces and Al Shabaab militias emerged, false images started to circulate making the same claim. One of these image-backed claims was inquired by HaqCheck. A viral Facebook post appeared on June 21 sharing an image with a claim that Somali regional forces recently killed militants of AlShabaab in the Elekere woreda of the Somali Regional State. The claim stated that the Al Shabaab militias entered the Somali regional state in 14 vehicles and withdrew to the Bakool region of Somalia after they suffered a major defeat by the Somali regional special police force.

VOA reported on July 20, 2022, that fighting erupted between Al Shabaab militants and Somali regional special police forces, in areas along the Ethio-Somalia border, in the northwestern region of Bakool, within the territory of Somalia.

It is in this situational backdrop the viral report emerged claiming that military engagement recently erupted in the Somali region of Ethiopia between Al Shabaab militants and regional Somali special police force and Somali regional forces killed militants of Al Shabaab in the Elekere woreda of Somali regional state.

However, HaqCheck found out that the image used in the report was old and doesn’t show a recent military engagement between Al Shabaab militants and the Somali regional forces. The image was taken from an old publication.

The image was first published on May 24, 2018, on a site named Puntland Mirror, a self-described independent news outlet based in the city of Garowe, Puntland’s capital. It was published in a short news story that heavy fighting erupted between Puntland and Somaliland forces in the Sool region of Somaliland.

Therefore, HaqCheck rated the post False due to its use of an inaccurate image that doesn’t prove the claim.

A false image of an alleged massacre

False images had also been circulating with claims that they show victims of the massacres in different parts of the country. A Facebook page shared an image on Jul 14, claiming that the baby in the image is an Amhara who survived a recent massacre.

However, HaqCheck confirmed that the image is from Rwanda and shows a baby sitting among dead bodies during the Tutsi genocide. HaqCheck found the images in different posts at different times.

Therefore, HaqCheck has rendered it False.

Recommendations

We recommend social media users be cautious and cross-check information before they share it with others. They should look for sources of the issues to confirm the authenticity of that information.

HaqCheck urges social media content creators to avoid fabricating and circulating false information.

The government and other concerned authorities are urged to ensure full access to information to the media and the wider public and to offer timely briefings regarding controversial matters.

Did Ethiopia’s total debt mount from 28 to 56 billion dollars?

Tigrai Television on July 22, 2022, published a website article claiming that Ethiopia’s debt has dramatically increased since the coming of PM Abiy Ahmed to power in 2018. Citing a report by BBC Amharic on July 22, 2022, the media outlet stated that Ethiopia’s total debt was 28 billion dollars in 2018 and now after four years has amounted to 56.6 billion dollars.

Dimtsi Weyane Television on Jul 26, 2022, claimed that Ethiopia’s debt stock has skyrocketed since PM Abiy came to power.

Tigrai Television again reported the same claim that Ethiopia’s debt soured from 28 billion dollars four years ago to 56 billion dollars in a video report made and released on YouTube on August 11, 2022.

The claim by Tigray Television and Dimtsi Weyane Television was based on a report published by the BBC Amharic on July 22, 2022. BBC Amharic in its article misleadingly said “according to the World Bank in 2020, Ethiopia’s debt was 30.36 billion dollars. But after two years now, Ethiopia’s external and domestic debt is 56.6 billion dollars.”

The statement by BBC Amharic is misleading because the figure ‘30.36 billion dollars’ was only Ethiopia’s external debt stock.

The World Bank on its website has data regarding Ethiopia’s external debt stock from 1970 to 2020. The World Bank data indicates that Ethiopia’s debt in 2020 was 30.36 billion dollars.

A country’s total debt is a combination of external and domestic debts. The World Bank defines external debt as “the outstanding amount of actual current, and not contingent, liabilities that require payment(s) of interest and/or principal by the debtor at some point(s) in the future and that are owed to nonresidents by residents of an economy.” It is owed to sources that are external or non-residents and is repayable in currency, goods, or services. It is obtained from outside sources or lenders such as multilateral financial institutions, foreign governments, foreign commercial banks, external corporations, private households, etc.

On the contrary, domestic or internal debt is all liabilities owed to internal or residential lenders within the country.

Ethiopia’s external creditors are generally categorized into three; multilateral, bilateral, and commercial. Multilateral creditors are international financial organizations such as the World Bank, IMF, and other multilateral development banks.

Bilateral lenders are foreign governments and commercial creditors are external commercial banks or private financial organizations.

According to the annual report of the 2020/21 fiscal year issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia, the country’s external debt was 29.5 billion dollars in July 2021.

As of March 31, 2022, Ethiopia’s total (external and domestic) debt was 56.5 billion dollars, according to a statistical bulletin issued by the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance in May 2022. Out of that, external debt amounts to 28.5 billion dollars. The remaining 28 billion dollars was owed to domestic creditors (internal debt). Accordingly, external debt accounts for 50.4 percent and domestic debt for 49.6 percent of the overall debt Ethiopia owed.

Most of the loans Ethiopia borrows have been gained from multilateral financial institutions. As of the 2020/21 fiscal year, Ethiopia owed 19.5 billion dollars to multilateral lenders, 6.7 billion dollars to bilateral creditors, and the remaining 3.3 billion dollars out of the total 29.5 billion dollars in external debt were obtained from commercial lenders.

Out of the 28.5 billion dollars, 14.9 billion dollars, or 52 percent of the total external debt of Ethiopia as of March 31, 2022, was owed to multilateral creditors such as the International Development Association (a subsidiary of World Bank), the African Development Fund (a subsidiary of African Development Bank), IMF, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (an agency of the UN).

Loans from multilateral development banks such as the World Bank, IMF, and the African Development Bank are usually cheap and accessible. Additionally, poorer countries tend to these development banks for loans because their creditworthiness is low and commercial lenders cant lend to them fearing the risk of default.

Ethiopia’s creditworthiness has been decreasing from to time. That means that external lenders are not confident enough to extend loans to Ethiopia. Last year, Standard & Poor’s (S&P), a top global credit rating organization, downgraded Ethiopia’s creditworthiness to “junk”. In addition to that, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Ethiopia’s credit rating from B2 to Caa1 indicating Ethiopia’s higher susceptibility to defaulting on its debts.

Ethiopia’s external debt has been steadily increasing since 2007. According to the World Bank, the country’s external debt stock was 2.59 billion dollars in 2007. It has since then enormously expanded to reach 30.36 billion dollars in 2020.

In 2006 Ethiopia’s external debt stock significantly decreased and was the lowest since the year 1982. It was 3.28 billion dollars in 1982 and 2.22 billion dollars in 2006.

In 2006, the external debt of Ethiopia fell to 2.22 billion dollars from 6.18 billion dollars in the previous year and from 10.36 billion dollars in 1998.

Ethiopia benefited from the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI), both debt relief initiatives targeting poor countries. The prominent multilateral financial institutions, the World Bank and IMF together with the governments of developed countries, particularly the G8 countries started the debt relief to poor and indebted countries initiatives.

The HIPC Initiative was launched in 1996 by the IMF and World Bank to help poor countries struggling with debt burdens. The MDRI initiative was approved in June 2005, by the G8 countries.

Countries should meet the requirements set in order to obtain debt relief under these two initiatives.Ethiopia completed the preconditions of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative in 2004, and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative in 2005. Thus, the country managed to get its 1.3 billion dollars debt canceled under the HIPC initiative and obtained 2.3 billion dollars of debt relief under the MDRI program.

July week two disinformation and controversy summary

A false image of the alleged attack in Ataye

An image-backed claim appeared on Facebook last week that armed Amhara militias assaulted Oromos in Ataye. A Facebook page shared the post on Jul 12, captioned “Amhara extremists have turned back to Ataye because their deadliest massacre plan in Wollega has not worked out.”

The Page uses the map of the Amhara region and from the map points to an image claiming to show Amhara militias in the fortress.

The claim followed reports of a fresh conflict in Ataye, a town in the northern Shewa Zone of the Amhara region. There were different reports of gunfire in Ataye.

HaqCheck inspected the image used to support the claim that Amhara armed militias opened an attack on Ataye. It is found that the image was published on May 12, 2015, on a website called intriguing history.com under the title “New Data Register of the Anglo Boer War 1899-1902”.

HaqCheck rendered the image-accompanied claim False as the image used by the post was inaccurate.

Yonas Zewde’s claimed resignation due to rampant government corruption

A viral claim appeared on Facebook on July 14 reporting that Yonas Zewde, the head of the Communications Office of the Addis Ababa City Administration, resigned from his position. The post further explained that the communications head resigned because of widespread corruption within the current government and that the administration doesn’t care about the future of the country.

The claim that Yonas Zewde recently resigned from his post followed the controversy over the condo houses lottery draw.

Yonas Zewde was appointed by the Mayor to be the head of the City Administration’s communication head last year.

Al Ain Amharic reported quoting him a few days ago that the former communications head Yonas Zewde is just assigned to another post. Yonas’ transfer to another position is also confirmed in the report by Abdi Tsegaye, the current head of the Communications Office who succeeded Yonas.

HaqCheck however confirmed that the former Addis Ababa City Administration communications head did not resign from his position. Yonas Zewde was just assigned to another position by the administration.

Controversy over a recent condominium lottery draw

A condominium lottery draw was conducted by Addis Ababa City Administration on July 8, 2022. The draw was followed by widespread controversies.

Addis Ababa city administration dismissed the recent condominium lottery draw due to a claimed tech tampering by officials within the city administration.

Many, from Facebook users to political parties circulated the information. However, the claim was later proven false.

Muluken Haftu was not arrested at the time. But on July 15, the Addis Ababa City Council revoked the immunity of its member, Mulukun Habtu in connection with alleged links with tech tampering by the city administration officials. He was taken into custody after the meeting on the same day.

Yasmin Wohabrebbi, head of the Housing Development Bureau also has not yet been detained or accused in relation to the public houses lottery draw controversy. She said on July 16, that her office apologizes to the residents of the city. Yasmin stated that her office will cooperate with [the police] to hold those who are responsible for the problem accountable.

Recommendations

HaqCheck urges social media users to be skeptical and crosscheck information including the authenticity and source. They should look for additional information and credible sources.

It is also recommended that social media content creators refrain from being agents of disinformation.

We urge the government to guarantee full access to information to the media and the wider public. Government offices should provide the public with timely and sufficient information on ongoing matters as one way of tackling disinformation.

HaqCheck also urges political parties, media outlets, government offices, and other entities to avoid disinformative statements.

Weekly social media disinformation and controversy summary: July week one

Engagement between OLA/GLF and government forces

One of the claims that appeared during the week and were debunked by HaqCheck was an image-related claim that contends the image showed a military engagement between the government and rebel forces. A Facebook page shared the post on June 24, 2022, captioned, “OLA [Oromo Liberation Army] and GLF [Gambella Liberation Front], two militant groups fighting the Ethiopian government, have engaged in fierce combat. The two military forces have entered the capital of the Gambella region.”

The post attracted many audiences and received hundreds of shares and reactions.

The post presented two images in a bid to prove the claim. HaqCheck looked into the claim and found out that one of the two images was shared previously on Facebook. The original post stated that the image shows a military attack by the TPLF forces on the Ethiopian government-allied forces a year ago.

The second image is published on a website called OLAcommunique.com on Oct 20, 2021, detailing updates on OLA’s operation. The article relates the claimed victory OLA achieved in the Bule Hora, Gumi Eldalo, and Saba Boru districts. HaqCheck spotted the image in the article with the caption, “destroyed patrol vehicle in Bule Hora”.

Therefore, HaqCheck rated the image-backed claim False.

Sudan opening a fresh military attack on Ethiopia

Another claim was that Sudan had been opening a fresh military attack on Ethiopian forces along the Ethiopia-Sudanese border. A Facebook page published a post with two images on July 03, 2022, claiming that Sudan has pressurized Ethiopia by employing military incursions. The post managed to get hundreds of reactions and shares on the same platform.

HaqCheck looked into the images and confirmed that one out of the two images was old. The second image was taken from an old publication and didn’t show Sudan’s heavy weapons that arrived at the Ethiopian border.

The image was previously published in June 2011 on a news site along with an article that military engagement between Sudanese and South Sudanese forces on contested territories seemed imminent at the moment.

Thus, the post was rendered Partly False by HaqCheck due to the lack of relevance between the image and the claim.

Monkeypox outbreak in Ethiopia

There was a controversy regarding a monkeypox outbreak in Ethiopia during the week. The Ethiopian Reporter newspaper said that two people had been quarantined after being suspected of monkeypox.

The quarantined people, according to the newspaper, were isolated until the cases are confirmed by laboratories abroad where the samples are sent.

However, the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia denied the claim and announced that the information by the newspaper that two people had been isolated after being suspected of acquiring monkeypox was false.

The Ministry said that no suspect had been identified or caught the virus so far.

Recommendations

HaqCheck urges social media content creators to be responsible and avoid fabricating false and misleading information across social media platforms.

Media organizations and news outlets are recommended that they should avail accurate and sufficient reporting on matters of interest to the public.

We urge the government and public authorities to offer the media and public timely and sufficient information. Open access to information should be guaranteed.

HaqCheck recommends social media users be skeptical of controversial information and look for other trustable sources to cross-check the information at hand.

June monthly disinformation trend Analysis

Misleading titles and thumbnails of YouTube videos

Many YouTube videos with misleading titles and thumbnails have recently trended over social media platforms, particularly on YouTube.

YouTubers are using the tactics of employing misleading and false titles and thumbnails in their videos to grab people’s attention and compel them to watch their videos.

HaqCheck debunked such videos in June 2022. They were found on the video-sharing social media platform.

HaqCheck came across a YouTube video that premiered on July 23 with a thumbnail and title that reads “TPLF hijacked a plane”.

The entire content of the video was examined. However, the video explains that TPLF blocked humanitarian aid flights to Mekelle. It doesn’t state that TPLF recently hijacked a plane.

The video tells that TPLF denied the landing of a plane in Mekelle. There is no connection between the thumbnail and title of the video and its actual content.

Therefore, HaqCheck rendered the video MISLEADING due to the absence of relevance between the thumbnail/title and the content.

Again, on June 17 a video emerged on YouTube with a thumbnail having a title claiming the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) stated it is not interested in holding negotiations with the federal government of Ethiopia.

Though the thumbnail and the title of the video report that TPLF has no interest in negotiation, the content of the video explains the five preconditions set by TPLF for the supposed negotiation.

The title and thumbnail say that TPLF announced it doesn’t want negotiation while the content states TPLF presented five preconditions for negotiation.

HaqCheck, therefore, rated the video MISLEADING as there is no coherence between the title/thumbnail of the YouTube video and its content.

Conflict and violence

Conflict and violence across the country have still been a source of disinformation dissemination and controversies. Here are some examples of such claims that emerged in the context of these conflicts and ethnic violence.

The conflicts that have prompted the circulation of false information are the armed conflict between the government and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), which is addressed by the government as Shane.

A Facebook page shared a post on June 24, 2022, captioned, “OLA and GLF [Gambella Liberation Front], two militant groups fighting the Ethiopian government, have engaged in fierce combat. Be aware that the two military forces have entered the capital of the Gambella region which they were in the past week And take the attack on the military camps.”

HaqCheck cross-checked the post and found out that the image was shared previously on a Facebook page with a caption, “Campaign Alula Abanega demonstrates how the struggle in Tigray has raised the status of our heroes’ by one level.” The second image was found on a website called OLAcommunique.com on Oct 20, 2021, in an article about OLA’s operation update #13. The article details the claimed victory of OLA in the Bule Hora, Gumi Eldalo, and Saba Boru districts. The image is used in the article with the caption, “destroyed patrol vehicle in Bule Hora”. Therefore, the post was rendered False.

The other conflict that exacerbated disinformation was the military campaign conducted by the government against an armed group called Fano in the Amhara Regional State.

HaqCheck came across and debunked a claim that government forces destroyed the properties of Zemene Kasse’s [a Fano leader] mother with fire amid the government’s operation against Fano armed group.

Nonetheless, the image’s inspection showed it doesn’t prove the claim. HaqCheck found the image alongside the other three posted previously on Jan 23 on Twitter captioned in Afaan Oromo, “These pictures show the damage the armed forces, who came here crossing the Nile, caused on the properties of Oromo farmers in Amuruu district of Horroo Guduruu Region.”

The third factor of disinformation eminent in the month of June is violence. Inter-ethnic and other forms of violence have been occurring in many regional states of the country. In this regard, subsequent massacres have happened in Western parts of Oromia. Amid the incidents, false information about the massacres was spotted and debunked by HaqCheck.

After the June 18 Tole Kebele massacre in Western Wollega, false videos and images circulated with claims that they show the massacre. A Facebook page on June 21 shared a 13-minutes and 5-seconds video captioned “this video shows the massacre in West Wollega.”

However, HaqCheck confirmed that the video was first shared on Jul 23, 2021, by a Facebook account. The video was first shared with a caption, “WBO [OLA] is freeing prisoners, thousands of WBO commandos are marching to 4 Kilo.” The post was then rated False.

Recommendations

HaqCheck urges YouTube content creators and social media outlets to be responsible and avoid creating misleading video titles and thumbnails.

False titles and false thumbnails that have nothing to do with the actual content of videos have become the main disinformation trend on social media recently. This trend is overwhelming mainly because of commercial motives of obtaining more viewership for video content.

We recommend social media users be critical. It is advised to cross-check information rather than consuming and sharing it without questioning the authenticity of the information at hand. They should look for original and trustable sources for potentially misleading and deceptive issues.

Government authorities should ensure full and open access to information to the media and public. Public offices should also avail timely and sufficient information.

Weekly Summary: June week three

A false video of the Wellega Massacre

A Facebook page with more than 196 thousand followers shared a 13-minute and 5-second video on Jun 21, 2022, captioned, “this video shows the massacre in west Wollega”. By the time this article is published the video had more than 83 thousand views and the post was shared more than a thousand times.

HaqCheck inspected the video and found out that the video was first shared on Jul 23, 2021, on a Facebook Account. The video is captioned, “WBO [OLA] is freeing prisoners, Thousands of WBO commandos are marching to 4killo.”. The post had more than 400 views.

Therefore HaqCheck counterchecked the post and rendered it False.

TPLF hijacked a plane

A YouTube video premiered on July 23 having a thumbnail and title that reads “TPLF hijacked a plane”. Over two thousand viewers have watched the video so far.

HaqCheck looked into the full content of the video and confirmed that the actual content doesn’t state that TPLF recently hijacked a plane. The video tells that TPLF denied landing a plane in Mekelle. Therefore, the video is rated MISLEADING.

On June 23, 2022, the Ethiopian government accused TPLF of blocking humanitarian aid flights to Mekelle Airport, Tigray.

TPLF, responding to the accusation, stated that the airport has ceased operation due to the absence of fuel to run the facility.

In this context, a video captioned and titled that TPLF hijacked a plane emerged. However, the video explains that TPLF blocked humanitarian aid flights to Mekelle. There is no connection between the thumbnail and title of the video and its actual content.

Therefore, HaqCheck rendered the video MISLEADING due to the absence of relevance between the thumbnail/title and the content.

A manipulated Image

A manipulated image of Amleset Muchie, wife of the pop sensation Tewodros Kassahun was shared on Twitter. The manipulated image shows the Amleset kissing a Kalashnikov rifle.

HaqCheck fact-checked the image and confirmed that the picture was manipulated. The original image was taken from a Facebook page in the name of Amleset Muche and depicts Amleset holding and kissing an arm of a child.

Report on a claimed death of an artist

There was a report on Facebook claiming that Solomon Bogale, an artist died of an illness. The claim stated that the artist was abroad for medical treatment but died within 24 hours of his return back to Addis Ababa.

However, HaqCheck inquired into the claim and confirmed the information was false.

Recommendations

HaqCheck urges social media users to be cautious and cross-check information. They should refrain from sharing unconfirmed information immediately.

We recommend social media content creators be responsible and refrain from fabricating and circulating false claims and misleading statements.

YouTubers are urged to be accurate in reporting and should avoid misleading thumbnails and titles in order to grab people’s attention. YouTube videos with false and misleading titles and thumbnails have been trending recently.

June week two: disinformation trend summary

TPLF rejecting negotiation with the government

Last week, a false video clip emerged on YouTube on June 17, 2022, with a thumbnail title claiming that the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) announced it doesn’t want negotiations with the federal government of Ethiopia.

Though the thumbnail and the title of the video claimed TPLF’s rejection of the negotiation, the content of the video is an explanation of the five preconditions presented by TPLF.

HaqCheck, however, confirmed that the content of the video doesn’t state TPLF’s refusal to negotiate. The content tells that TPLF has presented five non-negotiable conditions to negotiate with the federal government.

Thus, the video clip was rendered MISLEADING because there is no connection or relevance between the video’s thumbnail, title and its actual content.

Dawit Nega passing away after being beaten in Addis Ababa

False claim came out after the news of the death of Dawit Nega, a popular Tigrinya singer. They claimed that the singer was dead after being beaten by Eritreans in Addis Ababa.

However, the claim was proven false. BBC News Tigrinya interviewed Dawit Nega’s family and confirmed he was dead shortly after a pneumonia illness. He was taken to Addis Hiwot Hospital for treatment but passed away within a few days.

Imposter Twitter account

HaqCheck observed imposter content on Twitter last week. A Twitter account created in the name of Addis Ababa Police shared information that sex toys were caught in Bole.

However, HaqCheck confirmed that the account was not the official Twitter account of the Addis Ababa Commission. The city’s police commission has its own authentic and verified Twitter account.

The imposter’s Twitter account was later changed from ‘Addis Ababa Police’ to ‘Dark Nigga’ after sharing the viral tweet.

Recommendations

HaqCheck urges social media users to be cautious of false information and imposter accounts. They should look for authentic accounts and search if the information originated from there.

They should cross-check information by resorting to mainstream media outlets and fact-checking organizations.

Social media content creators are recommended to be responsible and refrain from circulating false and unverified content across social media platforms.

YouTube has been a major platform for false and misleading content. We observe YouTube channels disseminating misleading and false titles, thumbnails, and information to seek audiences’ attention given its financial incentives for viewership. HaqCheck urges YouTubers to avoid disinforming users across social media.

June week one: disinformation trend summary

The week was relatively calm compared to the previous weeks. Major controversies and disinformation trends had not been observed during the week.

This summary discusses the false claims debunked by HaqCheck and a controversy that came out at the end of the week.

Government forces destroyed properties that belong to Zemene Kase’s mother

A Facebook page shared an image claiming that government forces burned and destroyed properties belonging to the mother of Zemene Kasse, a Fano militia leader in the Amhara regional state.

The post explains that the forces demolished the properties by government forces looking to arrest the Fano leader.

Different social media posts were also observed reporting the properties of Zemene Kasse’s families were destroyed by federal and regional forces.

However, HaqCheck found the image alongside other three pictures posted on Jan 23 previously on a Twitter account with more than 13 thousand followers captioned in Affan Oromo, “These pictures show the damage the armed forces, who came here crossing the Nile, did to Oromo farmers in #Amuruu District of Horroo Guduruu Region.”

Therefore, HaqCheck confirmed that the image doesn’t prove the claim and rated the post False.

Yemane Gebremeskel is Eritrea’s Foreign Minister

A video claiming that Yemane Gebremeskel is the Foreign Minister of Eritrea was published on YouTube on June 9, 2022. The video explains that while Ethiopia’s relations with the United States have recently improved, Eritrea’s on the contrary worsened. It is stated in the video that ‘Eritrea’s Foreign Minister Yemane Gebremeskel’ and the US embassy in Asmara have been quarreling over political, international, and religious issues signaling the deterioration of the relationship between the two countries.

It is true that senior Eritrean official Yemane Gebremeskel and the US Embassy in Asmara have been observed to debate on social media on various issues.

However, Yemane Gebremeskel is Eritrea’s Information Minister, not Foreign Minister. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Eritrea is named Osman Salih.

Yemane was appointed Information Minister in 2015 after the former Minister Ali Abdu defected. Previously, he was Chief of Staff of the Office of the Eritrean President.

Thus, HaqCheck confirmed that Yemane Gebremeskel is not Eritrea’s Foreign Minister, debunked the claim, and rated it False.

TPLF abandoning its ownership claim to Wolkait-Humera territories

At the end of the week, a news article came out claiming that negotiations will be held between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian government in June 2022 in Arusha, Tanzania. The French newspaper Le Monde stated that it obtained the information from Western and African diplomats close to the case.

Same reportings emerged citing the French newspaper that TPLF gradually abandoned its claim to ‘Western Tigray’ territories.

Getachew Reda, a spokesman of TPLF denied the report that TPLF is abandoning the claim to the contested territories in a tweet he made.

Recommendations

As we always do, we recommend social media users be cautious and cross-check information. They should avoid sharing unconfirmed information instantly.

Social media content creators are urged to be responsible and refrain from fabricating and circulating false claims.

Government and other authorities should avail sufficient information regarding timely issues. The government should also ensure full access to information for the media, public, and other entities.

Media organizations and news outlets should offer their audience accurate and sufficing information about controversial issues.