Fact Checks - Page 15 of 43

October week two summary

The Ethiopian social media landscape on various platforms was dominated by posts related to the resumed conflict between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

Many posts and images appeared with claims on the status of northwestern areas of Tigray such as Shire and damages caused by the belligerents.

HaqCheck debunked some social media posts that related to the issues in the week. Here are the false claims that emerged on social media and were fact-checked by HaqCheck.

Ethiopian-Eritrean rocket attack on Shire town of Tigray

A Twitter account with more than 16 thousand followers shared a tweet on Oct 28, 2022, captioned “Eritrean/Ethiopian rocket attack on Shire Town [Tigray] injured several children”, and attached two images along with the post.

However, HaqCheck found the first image on a Facebook page with more than 600 thousand followers in a post on Oct 8, 2022, captioned, “Civilians and animals are dead by a drone strike at Shire [Tigray].” and attached ten images with the post.

Whereas the second image was found on a licensed commercial photo sharing platform called depositphotos.com. The image was posted on March 24, 2022, and is explained to show an unexploded rocket launcher BM-21 “Grad” on the Saltovsky massif in Kharkiv

Even if there are several claims that there was an airstrike by the Eritrean government in different parts of Tigray, the image used to show the rocket attack is wrong.
Therefore HaqCheck inspected the post and rendered it Partly-False.

False images of alleged aerial strikes in Shire town

Another debunked post was on a Facebook page that shared two images claiming that there was an aerial strike in Shire, Tigray by the Eritrean government deliberately targeting civilians.

However, HaqCheck inspected the post and found out that the images posted to support the claim were old and don’t show recent aerial strikes in Shire town, Tigray during the recently resumed fighting. The first image was first previously posted on Dec 04, 2020, by VOA Afaan Oromoo. The second image was published by BBC News Gahuza, a Rwandan language, on Nov 27, 2021. Thus, the post was rated Partly False.

Cliams of the Ethiopian army taking control of Shire city.

On Oct 14, 2022, a tweet was made sharing an image with a claim that the Ethiopian army has taken control of Shire city. The tweet was viral and shared many times across the platform.

The claim was produced after reports of fighting between the Ethiopian federal government-led forces and TPLF forces in areas near Shire town such as Adiyabo.

However, HaqCheck investigated the image and confirmed that the picture doesn’t support the claim.

The image was first published by the Associated Press on 17 Nov 2020. The news agency also announced at the time that the image was taken from an undated video released by the Ethiopian News Agency at the time.

Therefore, HaqCheck rated the Twitter post as False.

Recommendations

We recommend social media users be skeptical of random social media claims and controversial information. They should crosscheck unconfirmed claims and look for original sources of the information.

The belligerents in the war have to give timely information regarding ongoing issues. The lack of sufficient and accurate information regarding the status of the resumed fighting has fueled disinformation and controversy on the social media landscape.

The government and other relevant bodies are urged to guarantee the right of the public and media access to information.

HaqCheck urges social media content creators and influencers to be responsible and avoid circulating false and unverified information on digital media platforms.

October week one summary

The claim of Ethiopian forces beheading civilians in Tigray

On Oct 6, 2022, a Facebook post appeared sharing a graphic image that shows a beheaded face of a man with a claim that the person was slaughtered recently by the Ethiopian allied forces in a place called Tselimoy, in western Tigray after a battle between TPLF forces and the Ethiopian military a month ago.

The image-backed post emerged after TPLF media outlets reported that Ethiopia and Amhara allied that forces committed atrocities in the area.

However, it is confirmed that the image doesn’t support the claim. The image is old and was taken from a post made on a Nigerian internet-based forum called Nairaland on Nov 23, 2020. Thus, the post is rated FALSE.

Addictive drugs allegedly seized from TPLF fighters

On Oct 4, 2022, a Facebook post appeared sharing three images claiming that the pictures show addictive drugs recently seized from TPLF fighters in Kobo town of Amhara regional state. The post was viral and was shared over fifty times.

The images were also circulating and posted by other Facebook accounts.

The post came out days later after the TPLF forces announced that their forces recently retreated and withdrew from some parts of the Amhara regional state.

However, two of the three images don’t support the claim. Therefore, the post was rated Partly False.

The first image was cropped from an image shared on Facebook on Aug 8, 2022, by the Fana Broadcasting Corporation with a description that drug dealers were captured in Gondar city.

HaqCheck could not find the second image.

The third image was published for the first time on Aug 18, 2020, on Facebook by a state media outlet with a news story that dealers who were smuggling addictive drugs were arrested in Addis Ababa.

Therefore, HaqCheck rated the post as Partly False.

TPLF forces acquiring Javelin anti-tank missile

A Twitter post appeared sharing an image claiming that the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) recently acquired a Javelin anti-tank missile before the third round of fighting with the Ethiopian government started.

The tweet also stated that the recent claim by the TPLF that it destroyed 16 enemy tanks might be factual as far as it acquired the javelin anti-tank missile.

The claim came after the TPLF claimed that they destroyed many enemy military equipment including three T-72 tanks, 16 tanks, and thousands of light and heavy firearms.

However, HaqCheck looked into the image and confirmed that the picture doesn’t prove the claim.

The image was taken from another old publication on a news site in November 2011 along with a news story that the French army ordered a new Javelin anti-tank missile kit to be integrated into VAB [Vehicule de l’Avant Blinde, a French military vehicle] armored vehicle.

Ethiopia transporting air force commandos From Debre Zeit to Asmara

A Facebook page with more than 700 thousand followers shared a 25 Second video on Oct 5, 2022, captioned, “Please have a look at this video showing how the Abiy regime [Federal Government] is sending its airforce commandos from Debre Zeit air force base to Asmara[Eritrea], it is not fair to deploy soldiers while talking about peace. Whatsoever, the Army of TDF [Tigray Defense Forces] will not be inattentive.”

HaqCheck used keywords to find the original 4-minute and 05 second-long video previously posted on Aug 29, 2022. The video was posted on a Facebook page with more than nine thousand followers captioned, “The FDRE national airforce training, watch the video”. The video has more than 500 views.

HaqCheck found the same video footage on both videos.

Given its findings that identified the real source of the footage, HaqCheck confirmed that the video was old and was shared in a different context a year before. The post was rated False.

Recommendations

We recommend social media influencers be responsible and avoid being the agents of false information dissemination and that content creators abstain from intentionally or unintentionally circulating such information. Social media users are urged to be skeptical of controversial information and try to cross-check it. They should try to figure out the authenticity and the original source of the provided information.

HaqCheck recommends the government and other entities offer timely updates regarding issues that matter to the public. The government should ensure the right of citizens and the media to access to information.

September monthly analysis

The month of September was characterized by higher false information dissemination trends related to the armed conflict between the TPLF and the Ethiopian government.

Here are the trends of disinformation traced during the month.

All contents are related to the armed conflict

All the false claims debunked by HaqCheck during the month of September were related to the armed conflict in the northern parts of the country.

Unlike the previous month, there was no diversification regarding the content of the false posts. Non-conflict-related false claims appeared during the month of August. HaqCheck debunked social media posts that are related to famine and drought in the country.

However, during September, posts other than the armed conflict were not much observed.

Another trend observed during the month was that all the false claims debunked by HaqCheck were related specifically to the war between the TPLF and the Ethiopian government.

Three main issues dominating false content claims

HaqCheck observed that the overwhelming majority of the false claims debunked are of three issues; false images and videos about Ethiopian aerial strikes in Tigray/ TPLF forces, claims regarding alleged TPLF/ Ethiopian POW, and weapons allegedly seized or destroyed

For instance, a Facebook post appeared on Aug 31, 2022, claiming that the Ethiopian government conducted an aerial strike in Mekelle in the middle of the night using drones. It presented two images as proof. The post also alleged that Ayder Hospital was also bombarded during the drone attack. The post was shared close to one thousand times.

However, HaqCheck confirmed that the images don’t show the alleged recent aerial bombardment in Mekelle. The first image is from Syria and was taken on Oct 18, 2014. This image was published by the VOA.

Another post appeared on Twitter on Sep 13, 2022, tweeting an image claiming Ethiopian drones attacked Mekelle and that one key leader of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) was executed. The tweet had been retweeted 703 times at the time this article was published.

However, HaqCheck confirmed that the image doesn’t show a recent drone attack during the ongoing war. The image is taken from a YouTube video titled, Netherlands Apache strike in Afghanistan. This video was uploaded on March 2, 2008.

Secondly, among the prominent disinformation social media publications are false claims regarding alleged TPLF or Ethiopian prisoners of war captured during the war.

A viral video was shared on Twitter on Sep 13, 2022, claiming that the footage shows Ethiopian prisoners of war surrendered to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) forces during the recently resumed fighting.

The video was shared close to 600 times on Twitter and was watched by over 37 thousand users on the same platform.

However, the video is confirmed not to show Ethiopian prisoners of war during the recently resumed fighting between the federal government and the TPLF forces.

The video was published on Facebook by the Voice of America Amharic on May 19, 2022, in a news report stating that TPLF announced to release of 4208 POWs belonging to the ENDF.

The third issue was regarding weapons allegedly seized or destroyed in the resumed fighting.

In this context a claim was made on Facebook on Sep 14, 2022, that two tanks were destroyed by an airstrike in Alamata which were heading to Kobo town.

However, HaqCheck found out that the image was first published over the Internet on Mar 6, 2022, on a website called suspilen.media which mostly publishes its articles in the Ukrainian language.

Elements of propaganda

HaqCheck observed that the false social media posts debunked during the month of September had elements of propaganda.

Some of them are presented below.

Ethiopian allied forces beheaded civilians in Tigray

On Oct 6, 2022, a Facebook post appeared sharing a graphic image that shows a beheaded face of a man with a claim that the person was slaughtered recently by the Ethiopian allied forces in a place called Tselimoy, in western Tigray after a confrontation between TPLF forces and the Ethiopian military a month ago.

The claim emerged following a battle between the Ethiopian federal government-led forces and TPLF forces in a place called Tselimoy was reported. After that, TPLF media outlets reported that Ethiopia and Amhara allied forces committed atrocities in the area.

However, the image doesn’t support the claim. The image is old and was taken from a post made on a Nigerian internet-based forum called Nairaland on Nov 23, 2020. Thus, the post is rated FALSE.

Ethiopia and Eritrea jointly launching attacks in Tigray via Adyabo

Social media posts backed by false images appeared after the TPLF announced that Ethiopia and Eritrea were jointly launching attacks against its positions. An image posted on Facebook on Sep 1, 2022, claimed that the Ethiopian and Eritrean forces jointly launched fresh attacks against the TPLF-led forces via northwestern Tigray, Adyabo.

However, Haqcheck looked into the image and confirmed that the image doesn’t prove the claim.

The image was first published on a website nine months ago on Dec 20, 2021, along with an article regarding the ongoing war in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia seized TPLF fighters’ addictive drugs at a battleground

The images were also circulating and posted by other Facebook accounts.

However it is learned that two of the three images don’t support the claim.

The first image was cropped from an image shared on Facebook on Aug 8, 2022, by Fana Broadcasting Corporation with a description that drug dealers were captured in Gondar city.

The third image was published for the first time on Aug 18, 2020, on Facebook by a state media outlet with a news story that drug dealers who were smuggling addictive drugs were arrested in Addis Ababa.

Therefore, HaqCheck rated the post as Partly False.

Recommendations

HaqCheck recommends social media users to be skeptical and look for additional sources for controversial information they encounter. They should also look for fact-checks on the contested issues.

We recommend that the belligerents in the war should be responsible and avoid contaminating public life through disinformation campaigns. They should give factual updates on the war to reduce the impact of disinformation.

We urge the government and other bodies to ensure the right of citizens and the media to an open and secure access to information.

False: The image doesn’t prove the Ethiopian army controlled Shire town.

On Oct 14, 2022, a tweet was posted sharing an image with a claim that the Ethiopian army has taken control of Shire town. The tweet was viral and shared many times across the platform.

However, HaqCheck investigated the image and confirmed that the picture doesn’t support the claim and is old. Thus, the Twitter post was rated False.

The conflict between the Ethiopian government and TPLF forces resumed in August after a cessation of hostilities which was declared on Mar 24, 2022.

On Aug 16, 2022, the TPLF said that the federal government already violated the cessation of hostilities jointly declared at the end of March. The TPLF claimed that the armed forces of the federal government attacked its forces with artillery and tanks.

The TPLF forces stated on Aug 24, 2022, that the federal government had launched attacks against its armed forces in the southern Tigray areas. It further announced that the primary intention of the attacks by the federal government was to launch integrated attacks on the western front.

Some weeks ago a battle between the Ethiopian federal government-led forces and TPLF forces in areas near the town of Shire, such as Adiyabo, was reported.

In this context, a Twitter post was made sharing an image with a claim that the Ethiopian army has taken control of Shire city. The tweet was viral and was shared many times across the platform.

However, HaqCheck investigated the image and confirmed that the picture doesn’t support the claim.

The image was published first by the Associated Press on 17 Nov 2020 for the first time. The news agency announced that the image was taken from an undated video released by the Ethiopian News Agency at the time.

Therefore, HaqCheck rated the Twitter post as False.

Does the image show an Ethiopian/Eritrean rocket attack on Shire Town [Tigray]?

A Twitter account with more than 16 thousand followers shared a Tweet on Oct 28, 2022, captioned “Eritrean/Ethiopian rocket attack on Shire Town [Tigray] injured several children”, and attached two images along with the post.

By the time this article is published the post had more than 243 reactions and was retweeted more than 500 times.

HaqCheck inspected the Tweet and rendered the post-Partly-False.

The war between the Tigray people liberation front (TPLF) and the Federal government broke out on Nov 2020 after TPLF alledgedly attacked the northern command in Tigray.

After five months of humanitarian truce, the fighting between the Federal government and TPLF resumed on August 24, 2022. Both sides blamed one another for the provocation of the conflict that led to the eruption of the engagement anew.

On Oct 1, 2022, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) wrote an open letter to TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael (Ph.D.). The commission invited the TPLF leader to the peace talk to be placed in South Africa from Sunday, Oct 8, 2022.

In a statement issued on Oct 5, 2022, TPLF announced that it accepted the African Union’s invitation to the peace talks.

The government communication service on its side said in its statement that “The African Union’s invitation was found to be consistent, with the government’s previous peace calls. It is remembered that the government has been taking all kinds of remedial measures to resolve the conflict and will continue to do so”.

It is in the situation of the resumed conflict that the tweet was produced.

In an attempt to ensure the correctness of images used by the Twitter account, HaqCheck used a google reverse image search and found the first image on a Facebook page with more than 600 thousand followers posted on Oct 8, 2022, captioned, “Civilians and animals are dead by a drone strike at Shire [Tigray].” and attached ten images along with the post.

Whereas the second image was found on a licensed commercial platform of photos called depositphotos.com. The image was posted on March 24, 2022, that shows an unexploded rocket launcher BM-21 “Grad” on the Saltovsky massif in Kharkiv

Even if there are several claims that there was an airstrike by the Eritrean government in different parts of Tigray. The image used to show the rocket attack is wrong.

Therefore HaqCheck inspected the post and rendered it Partly-False.

False: The images don’t show an aerial attack on TPLF forces.

A Facebook post appeared on Sept 30 sharing three images with a claim that the Ethiopian Air Force destroyed TPLF’s military base in the town of Shire.

The post was viral on Facebook and was shared close to one hundred times.

However, HaqCheck cross-checked the images and found out that the images are old and don’t prove the claim.

Fighting between the Ethiopian government and TPLF forces resumed after a cessation of hostilities which was declared on Mar 24, 2022.

The TPLF forces claimed that the Eritrean and Ethiopian governments conducted aerial strikes in Mekelle, Wukro, Adigrat, Adi Daero, and Shire. The TPLF said that the air strike in Adi Daero was made by Eritrea. However, the Ethiopian government stated that it conducted air attacks on TPLF facilities in Adi Daero.

Against this backdrop, a post emerged on Facebook sharing three images with a claim that the Ethiopian Air Force destroyed TPLF’s military base in Shire town.

However, the images don’t support the claim.

The first image was published on a news site on Apr 4, 2022, allegedly showing a smashed Russian tank during the recent Ukraine-Russia war.

The second image was posted on the Internet on Apr 4, 2022, allegedly showing destroyed Russian military equipment.

The third image was published on Apr 13, 2022, along with a news article that Ukrainian armed forces destroyed Russian military equipment.

Therefore, HaqCheck rated the post False due to its usage of inaccurate images.

False: The image doesn’t confirm recent drones attacks

On Sep 15, 2022, a person tweeted an image claiming two drones attacked a residential neighborhood in Mekelle, Tigray killing 10 people & injuring others.

However, HaqCheck inspected the image and confirmed that the picture doesn’t show the alleged drone attack. This image was first posted almost three years ago by VOA.

After months of tension, the federal government of Ethiopia and TPLF went to war on Nov 3, 2020.

The federal government allied with other regional government forces removed TPLf from Mekelle and other major Tigay region towns after three weeks of conventional war.

However, the conflict became protracted since TPLF proceeded with guerrilla warfare.

After months, the federal government together with the temporary administration of Tigray declared a unilateral ceasefire and withdrew its forces from most Tigray region towns

Immediately, TPLF forces controlled Tigray’s capital city Mekelle and most parts of Tigray.

The conflict didn’t stop there as TPLF advanced its force towards some adjacent areas of the Amhara and Afar region. TPLF reached and controlled major towns in the Amhara regions, which are very close to Addis Ababa.

As the Ethiopian military and other allied regional forces launched a counterattack against TPLF, the federal government regained the captured areas of the Amhara and Afar regions by TPLF.

On March 24, 2022, the Ethiopian government declared the secession of hostilities. Soon TPLF accepted the declaration.

Peace talks had been underway by a third-party mediator. The African Union assigned its Horn of Africa special envoy, Olusegun Obasanjo to facilitate the peace talks. Obasanjo was a former Nigerian president. He went back and forth to broker the peace process between the two parties.

However, TPLF indicates that it doesn’t have confidence in Obasanjo. TPLF said Obasanjo is incompetent and impartial to facilitate the peace talks between them.

On Aug 16, 2022, TPLF announced that the federal government already violated the cessation of hostilities jointly declared at the end of March. It claimed the armed forces of the federal government fired artillery and attacked its forces.

It further stated that the main intention of the attacks by the federal government was to launch an integrated attack on the western front. On the other hand, the Ethiopian government said TPLF started the war.

Reports of aerial strikes in Mekelle emerged amid the resumed fighting between the TPLF and the Ethiopian government.

It is at this time that the tweet is produced claiming that Ethiopian drones attacked Mekelle and ten people are killed and others injured during the ongoing fighting.

However, Haqcheck looked into the image and confirmed that the image doesn’t prove the claim.

The image was first posted a few months ago on June 30, 2022, by VOA in an article titled “International Commission Calls on Ethiopia to End Violations on Its Territory”.

Thus, HaqCheck rendered the post False due to its use of an inaccurate image to support the claim.

False: The images don’t show recent fighting between the Ethiopian government and Sudanese-led TPLF forces.

A Facebook post appeared on Sep 19 sharing four images claiming that the Ethiopian army along with the Amhara Special Police Forces and militia destroyed TPLF armed units that tried to launch attacks from Sudan via Humera and Metema. The claim also added that the TPLF armed units were led by Sudanese generals.

However, HaqCheck confirmed that the images presented in the post are old and don’t prove the claim. Thus, the post was rated False.

Fighting between the Ethiopian government and TPLF forces resumed after a cessation of hostilities was declared on Mar 24, 2022.

The TPLF forces stated on Aug 24, 2022, that the federal government had launched attacks against its armed forces in the southern Tigray areas. It further said that the primary intention of the attacks by the federal government was to launch integrated attacks on the western front.

On Sep 2, 2022, Bloomberg reported that hundreds of ex-UN peacekeepers joined a battle for a strategic town of Humera fighting against Ethiopian armed forces.

It is in this situation that a post emerged on Facebook sharing four different images with a claim that TPLF armed units led by Sudanese generals were destroyed by the federal government-led allied forces while trying to attack entering from Sudan.

Nonetheless, the images presented in the post are found to be old and don’t support the claim.

The first image was shared along with three other pictures on Facebook on Jan 2, 2021, with a description that TPLF forces destroyed military vehicles in Eritrea using heavy artillery.

The second image was published on Facebook on Jul 23, 2021, claiming that TPLF forces took control of Kobo town.

The third picture was published on a website on Feb 21, 2014, and describes that the picture shows Thailand’s battle tanks.

The fourth image was found on a YouTube video published on Jul 31, 2021, and was used as a thumbnail.

Therefore given the aforementioned discussions, the post was rated False.

False: the image doesn’t show transportation of soldiers during the resumed war

On Sep 20, 2022, a Facebook page posted an image claiming soldiers of Eritrean, Ethiopian, and Amhara forces were being transported to launch attacks via the Tekeze river up to northeastern areas of Tigray. This page has over 400 thousand followers and the post has been shared over 800 times.

However, HaqCheck looked into the image and confirmed that it doesn’t prove the claim. The image is old and was posted on Facebook on Sep 16, 2021.