One of the social media posts debunked by HaqCheck last week was a Facebook post sharing an image with a claim that soldiers of Eritrean, Ethiopian, and Amhara forces are transported to launch attacks via the Tekeze river up to northeastern areas of Tigray.
However, Haqcheck looked into the image and confirmed that the image doesn’t prove the claim.
The image was first posted one year ago on Sep 16, 2021. The post was rated False due to the fact that it used an inaccurate image.
A fighting between Ethiopian and TPLF armed units led by Sudanese generals
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.
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 using heavy artillery destroyed military vehicles in Eritrea.
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 in Feb 21, 2014, and describes that 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, the post was rated False.
A video on the situation of Adi Arkay town
A video regarding the current status of the town of Adi Arkay was shared on social media with different claims.
As the fighting between the Ethiopian government and the TPLF resumed in the end of last month, there have been claims on social media regarding the advance and military achievements of the belligerents.
There was a social media claim that TPLF forces took control of the town of Adi Arkay recently.
A few days later a video came out with a claim that TPLF forces didn’t seize the town of Adi Arkay.
The next day, the same video was posted with the claim that it shows TPLF forces took control of the place.
HaqCheck could not verify if the video was old or new, and where and who recorded it. However, the person shown in the video is heard of speaking in Amharic that the particular place was not yet controlled by the TPLF forces.
Recommendations
HaqCheck urges the government to ensure and guarantee full access to information by giving timely updates regarding ongoing issues of public affairs.
Social media users should not easily be misled. They should first cross-check the information at hand before they believe it and share it with others.
We recommend social media content creators be responsible and refrain from circulating false information.
Dissemination of false disinformation particularly on social media platforms was relatively intense in the past week. This is supposed to be mainly due to the resumption of conflict between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian government.
Amid the resumption of the fighting between the belligerents, reports of battles and aerial strikes appeared on social media and news sites. Many false images and videos circulated on social media supporting claims related to the fresh fighting.
In this summary are covered social media disinformation posts debunked by HaqCheck during the third week of September 2022.
False images of alleged prisoners of war
A Facebook page with 96 thousand followers posted an image on Sep 9, 2022, claiming that Amhara militants were captured in the ongoing war in the western Tigray region, Dedebit. The post was shared ten times.
However, HaqCheck confirmed that the image doesn’t show recent prisoners of war in the ongoing war. The image was first posted several months ago on Oct 16, 2021, along with an article regarding the ongoing war in Ethiopia.
Another Facebook post shared six images claiming that the pictures show drone attacks in Tigray.
HaqCheck found out that the five pictures of the images shared to support the claim were old and don’t show drone attacks in Tigray during the recently resumed fighting.
The first image was shared on Jul 14, 2016, on Facebook for the first time with a claim that it shows a car belonging to an official of the then EPRDF regime set on fire by the protesting youth of Debark.
The second image was published on a website on Oct 4, 2016, and shows protestors destroying trucks and machinery belonging to the Dangote Cement Factory located in Ada Berga town, Oromia region.
The third picture was published on a news site on Dec 21, 2021, along with a news article that drone attacks in Tigray hit a bus and marketplace at the time.
HaqCheck did not find the fourth image that accompanies the claim on Facebook.
The fifth and sixth images were shared on Facebook on Oct 9, 2021, with a claim that the TPLF forces had sustained drone attacks by the Ethiopian government.
Thus, the post was rated Partly False.
A false image of an alleged drone strike
A Twitter account posted an image claiming that the picture shows an Ethiopian drone attacking Mekelle.
The post appeared after reports of aerial strikes by the Ethiopian government in Mekelle emerged.
However; haqCheck confirmed that the image doesn’t show recent drone attacks during the ongoing war. The image was first posted more than a decade ago on Mar 2, 2008, titled Netherlands Apache strike in Afghanistan.
A false video of alleged recent prisoners of war
A viral video was shared on Twitter on Sep 13, 2022, claiming that it shows Ethiopian prisoners of war surrendered to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) forces during the resumed fighting.
The video was shared close to 700 times on Twitter and was watched by over 37 thousand users on the same platform.
The video-supported claim appeared on Twitter after the TPLF claimed that it destroyed many divisions of the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF) and the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF) that tried to advance into territories currently held by TPLF forces.
However, the video is found to be old and doesn’t show Ethiopian POWs captured by TPLF forces during the recently resumed fighting.
The video was published previously on Facebook by the Voice of America Amharic on May 19, 2022, in a news report that TPLF announced to release of 4208 POWs belonging to the ENDF.
A false image claimed to support the report of mobilization of forces by the Eritrean government
A Twitter account with more than 7 thousand followers shared a post on Sep 15, 2022, captioned, “Breaking! The despotic regime of Eritrea has ordered civilian workers under 55 years of age including banking professionals to military duty.”
The image was also shared on different Twitter accounts with a claim that the Eritrean government is forcing elders to join the Army.
HaqCheck crosschecked the image and found it previously shared on a website called Asmarino.com on July 03, 2016.
A false image of aerial bombardment in Mekelle
On Sep 15, 2022, a tweet appeared sharing an image to support a claim that the Ethiopian government recently bombarded Mekelle using drones.
HaqCheck found out that the image posted to support the claim was old and doesn’t show drone attacks in Mekelle during the recently resumed fighting.
The image was first posted on Dec 04, 2020, by VOA Afaan Oromoo one month after the war broke out between the TPLF and the Ethiopian government.
Recommendations
HaqCheck recommends social media users be skeptical and avoid sharing posts that are not verified. They should look for additional sources for controversial information they encounter before they share or take in the information on social media.
HaqCheck urges social media content creators to be responsible and avoid being the agents of the dissemination of disinformation.
The government and other concerned entities are recommended to guarantee full access to information and updates regarding ongoing matters.
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 six hundred times on Twitter and was watched by over 37 thousand users on the same platform.
However, the video is learned to be old and doesn’t show Ethiopian POWs captured by TPLF forces during the recently resumed fighting.
Fighting between the Ethiopian government and TPLF forces resumed after a cessation of hostilities 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.
On Sep 13, 2022, the TPLF claimed that it destroyed many divisions of the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF) and the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF) that tried to advance into territories currently held by TPLF forces.
Amid this situation, a claim backed by a video appeared on Twitter that the video shows Ethiopian prisoners of war captured by TPLF forces in the resumed fighting.
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.
Therefore, HaqCheck rated the Twitter post False due to the usage of inaccurate video to support the claim.
On Sep 13, 2022, a person tweeted 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.
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 humanitarian 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 their force towards some adjacent areas of the Amhara and Afar region. TPLF reached and controlled major Amhara towns, 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 secession of hostilities. Soon TPLF accepted the declaration.
Peace talks had been on the way 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 bring peace between the two parties.
However, TPLF announced 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. The TPLF said that the armed forces of the federal government fired artillery and attacked its forces.
It further announced 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 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 more than a decade ago on March 2, 2008, titled Netherlands Apache strike in Afghanistan.
Thus, HaqCheck rendered the post False due to its use of an inaccurate image to support the claim.
A video was shared on Facebook and YouTube with a claim that it shows Ethiopian drone strikes on the leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
Close to half a million viewers watched the video on Facebook and it got over one hundred thousand views on YouTube.
However, HaqCheck confirmed that the footage doesn’t show the Ethiopian army undergoing a drone strike on TPLF leaders.
The federal government of Ethiopia joined with the Eritrean government and other regional governments managed to oust TPLF from Mekelle and other major towns of Tigray after the war broke out on Dec 3, 2020.
However, the conflict became protracted and continued as TPLF resorted to guerrilla warfare. The federal government of Ethiopia together with the then Tigray interim administration declared a unilateral ceasefire in June 2021 and withdrew armed forces from many parts of the Tigray regional state.
Immediately, TPLF armed forces controlled the regional capital city of Mekelle and other areas.
Nonetheless, the fighting continued as TPLF advanced its forces toward the adjacent regional states of Afar and Amhara. The TPLF armed forces controlled many territories including major towns of the Amhara region that are very close to Addis Ababa.
As the Ethiopian military and other allied forces launched a counterattack against the TPLF armed forces, the federal government regained the territories in the Amhara and Afar regional states that were taken into control by the belligerent in the months of November and December last year.
On March 24, 2022, the Ethiopian government declared a cessation of hostilities with the TPLF. The TPLF instantly confirmed that it accepted the declaration of cessation of hostilities by the federal government.
Peace talks had been on the way as third parties tried to mediate between the Ethiopian government and TPLF. The African Union assigned former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, special envoy of the Union to the Horn of Africa to facilitate a potential peace talk between the Ethiopian government and the TPLF. Obasanjo had been back and forth meeting senior leaders of the belligerents trying to facilitate negotiations between them.
Later on, TPLF announced that it had no confidence in Obasanjo because Obasanjo was not impartial and competent enough to lead potential peace talks and negotiations with the Ethiopian government.
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.
The federal government however declined the allegations saying the TPLF provoked the attack and announced it would use necessary military measures to stop the military expansion of the TPLF to neighboring areas.
Against this backdrop, a claim supported by video came out with an assertion that it shows Ethiopian drone strikes on the leaders of the TPLF.
However, the footage is not of ongoing fighting between the belligerents in Ethiopia and doesn’t show the Ethiopian army undergoing a drone strike on the TPLF leaders.
The footage was taken from a video published on YouTube allegedly showing Turkish drones targeting enemy forces during the war of Nagorno Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020. The video was posted on Apr 7, 2021.
HaqCheck, therefore, rendered the claim on Facebook and YouTube False due to its use of inaccurate footage.
A Facebook page with more than 130 thousand followers shared a post on Sep 14, 2022, captioned, “ Two tanks were destroyed by an air raid at Alamata which were being loaded to Kobo.”
By the time this article is published the post had more than 700 reactions and was shared more than 25 times.
However, HaqCheck inspected the image and rendered it False.
The war between the Tigray people liberation front (TPLF) and the Federal government broke out on Nov 2020 after TPLF attacked the northern command settled in Tigray.
After a nine-month cease-fire for a humanitarian truce, the fighting between the Federal government and TPLF resumes 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 Sep 13, 2022, a Facebook page with more than 600 thousand followers with the name Dimtsi Weyane shared a post claiming that the federal government conducted an airstrike on Dimtsi Weyane Tv station.
Later, on Sep 14, 2022, Getachew Reda, the spokesperson of TPLF shared a tweet that reads “Abiy Ahmed’s drones a few minutes ago attacked a residential area in Mekelle killing and wounding innocent civilians. No desperate and cowardly act could reverse the regime’s battlefield losses.”
In an effort of confirming the correctness of the claim, HaqCheck found out that the image was first posted on Mar 6, 2022, on a website called suspilen.media which mostly published its articles in the Ukrainian language.
The image was found in an article titled “Fighters of the Transcarpathian Brigade destroyed a Russian BMP and captured a Russian soldier”. The article had images showing destroyed tanks and a captured soldier.
On Feb 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014. The invasion caused Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II, with around 7.3 million Ukrainians fleeing the country and a third of the population displaced.
Even though there are several claims that the federal government is conducting airstrikes in Tigray and is employing drones in the war, the image used by the Facebook account to support the claim is wrong. Therefore HaqCheck inspected the image and rendered it False.
A Facebook page with 96 thousand followers posted an image on Sep 9, 2022, claiming that Amhara militants were captured in the ongoing war in the western Tigray region, Dedebit. The post was shared ten times.
However; HaqCheck confirmed that the image doesn’t show recent prisoners of war in the ongoing war. This image was posted several months ago on Oct 16, 2021.
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 humanitarian 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 as TPLF advanced its forces towards some adjacent areas of the Amhara and Afar region. TPLF reached and controlled major Amhara towns, 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 a cessation of hostility with TPLF. Soon TPLF also accepted the declaration.
Peace talks had been on the way by a third-party mediator. The African Union nominated 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 bring peace between the two parties.
However, TPLF announced that it doesn’t have confidence in Obasanjo and questioned his competence and impartiality to facilitate the peace talk.
On Aug 16, 2022, TPLF announced that the federal government already violated the cessation of hostilities jointly declared at the end of March. The TPLF said that the armed forces of the federal government fired artillery and attacked its forces.
It further announced 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 announced that the TPLF started the war.
It is at this time that the Facebook page posted an image claiming that Amhara militants have been captured in the western Tigray region during the ongoing war.
However, Haqcheck looked into the image and confirmed that the image doesn’t prove the claim.
The image was first posted several months ago on Oct 16, 2021, along with an article regarding the ongoing war in Ethiopia.
Thus, HaqCheck rendered the post False due to its use of an inaccurate image to support the claim.
The social media landscape and the trend of information dissemination was dominated by false claims that are of the recent alleged resumption of fighting in the northern parts of the country.
All the claims that were fact-checked during the week were related to the resumption of fighting between the TPLF and the Ethiopian government.
In this summary are included the claims that were debunked by HaqCheck last week.
Ethiopian and Eritrean joint attack via Adyabo
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.
On Aug 16, 2022, TPLF announced that the federal government already violated the cessation of hostilities jointly declared at the end of March. The TPLF said that the armed forces of the federal government fired artillery and attacked its forces.
It further announced that the main intention of the attacks by the federal government was to launch an integrated attack on the western front.
However, Haqcheck confirmed that the image doesn’t show Ethiopian and Eritrean troops recently launching fresh attacks through northwestern Tigray, Adiyabo. The image is found to be old, posted nine months ago on Dec 20, 2021.
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.
Recently seized weapons in Raya Front
A Facebook page with more than 120 thousand followers shared a post on Sep 3, 2022, captioned “430 Kalashnikov and other weapons were captured at Raya front….”.
However, the images are found to be old and were first published in a news video on Amhara Media Corporations’ Youtube channel published on Feb 2, 2022.
The video also shows surrendered members of the claimed rebel group. Therefore, HaqCheck inspected the images and rendered the images used to support the claim False.
False image of an alleged air strike in Mekelle
On Aug 31, 2022, a Facebook post claimed 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.
The second image which pictures a woman, a running person, the Mekelle Martyrs’ memorial monument, and an airplane is found to be photoshopped. Thus, HaqCheck rated the post False.
False footage of a drone strike on TPLF leaders
A video was shared on Facebook and YouTube with a claim that the footage shows Ethiopian drone strikes on the leaders of the TPLF.
However, the footage is not of ongoing fighting between the belligerents in Ethiopia and doesn’t show the Ethiopian army undergoing a drone strike on the TPLF leaders.
The footage was taken from a video published on YouTube allegedly showing Turkish drones targeting enemy forces during the war of Nagorno Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 20202. The video was posted on YouTube on Apr 7, 2021.
False footage of an alleged ongoing fighting
A video was posted on Facebook on Sept 7, 2022, with a claim that there was active fighting between the Ethiopian government and the TPLF on three fronts recently. The post further asserted that the Ethiopian government captured thousands of TPLF troops and seized territories previously taken by TPLF forces. The video includes footage of a military operation.
However, the footage that shows a military operation doesn’t show a fighting scene in Ethiopia. The footage was taken from a video published on YouTube on Jun 15, 2017, and allegedly shows a NATO military drill in Romania.
Therefore, HaqCheck rated the post False due to its usage of inaccurate video.
Recommendations
HaqCheck recommends social media users be skeptical and avoid sharing posts that are not verified. They should look for further information regarding the matter before they share or take in the information on social media.
Social media content creators are the major agents behind false information dissemination across social media platforms. They are urged to be responsible and refrain from disseminating false information.
We recommend the government and other concerned entities give timely updates regarding ongoing issues as one means of reducing mass disinformation. They should also ensure access to information for the media and the wider public.
One of the claims HaqCheck fact-checked last week was a Facebook post that reported that the Ethiopian government conducted an aerial strike in Mekelle in the middle of the night using drones. It posted two images to support the claim and alleged that Ayder Hospital was also bombarded during the drone attack.
However, HaqCheck confirmed that the images do not show a recent aerial bombardment in Mekelle.
The post came out amid the resumption of fighting between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front ( TPLF) and the Ethiopian government. On Aug 31, 2022, TPLF claimed that there was a drone attack in the middle of that night in Mekelle.
The first image of the Facebook post is found to be from Syria and was taken on Oct 18, 2014. This image was published by the VOA.
The second image which pictures a woman, a running person, the Mekelle Martyrs’ memorial monument, and an airplane is learned to be photoshopped.
A plane claimed to be shot down while transporting weapons for TPLF
After the Ethiopian government announced that it shot down a plane that entered the Ethiopian airspace carrying weapons to TPLF via Sudan, many false images with the same claim appeared.
Among these posts with false images were two Facebook posts that used two images.
The first image was shared by a Facebook page with a Tigrinya and English caption stating the Ethiopian Air Force shot down an airplane entering the Ethiopian airspace from Sudan loaded with arms for TPLF.
The second was shared on a Facebook account with a claim that Ethiopia downed a place that belonged to the country’s historical enemies transporting weapons to the TPLF through Sudan.
However, HaqCheck confirmed that the images it came across from the two Facebook posts don’t show the alleged plane shot down by Ethiopian Air Force when it intruded the Ethiopian airspace from Sudan to transport weapons to Tigray for TPLF forces.
The first image was found in a news story that reported a plane crashed in the Amra Valley of the state of Arizona in the US in March 2021. The image was published on the website with a description that the image shows the crushed plane and the picture was taken by the Pima County law enforcement agency.
The second image was shared on Twitter on May 4, 2020, with a claim that the image shows an Uzbekistan Mig-29 aircraft.
Hence HaqCheck refuted the images used to support the claim as FALSE.
Ethiopian and Eritrean forces launching attacks on TPLF via Adyabo
HaqCheck debunked an image-backed post on Facebook with a claim that the Ethiopian and Eritrean forces jointly launched fresh attacks against the TPLF-led forces via northwestern Tigray, Adyabo.
However, Haqcheck confirmed that the image doesn’t show Ethiopian and Eritrean troops recently launching fresh attacks through northwestern Tigray, Adiyabo.
The image is found to be old posted on Dec 20, 2021. The image was published on a website along with an article regarding the ongoing war in Ethiopia making it inaccurate with the supposed claim.
Recommendations
We recommend social media users be continuous of potentially false and misleading information. They should look for original sources of the information and additional information to cross-check controversial posts.
Social media content creators are urged to be responsible and refrain from disseminating false information.
The government and concerned authorities should also widen and secure full access to information for the media and for the wider public. They should provide timely and sufficient information.
HaqCheck looked into the disinformation circulation trend during the month of August.
The trend was almost the same for the past few months. However, during the month of August, the trend followed a different path around the end of the month. August was characterized by more false posts and controversies than in the preceding months.
The major factor that caused many false posts and controversies was the resumption of war between the TPLF and the Ethiopian federal government.
The resumption of war
The war between the government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) resumed at the end of the month. On Aug 16, 2022, the TPLF announced that the federal government violated the cessation of hostilities declared and jointly adopted at the end of March.
The war erupted again after the TPLF stated that the federal government had launched attacks against its armed forces in the southern Tigray areas on the early morning of Aug 24, 2022.
Thereafter, many false image-backed posts emerged. HaqCheck fact-checked many claims that are related to the recently resumed war.
Some of the claims related to the war and debunked by HaqCheck are reviewed in this monthly summary.
False images of a plane allegedly shot down by Ethiopia while transporting weapons for the TPLF
The Ethiopian government claimed that it shot down a plane that entered the Ethiopian airspace carrying weapons to TPLF via Sudan. Instantly, Multiple images with the claim that a plane was shot down by Ethiopia when transporting weapons to the TPLF via Sudan were shared on social media.
These images were shared on social media platforms mainly on Facebook. They were shared by many accounts and pages.
HaqCheck cross-checked three images and confirmed that they don’t show a plane shot down by the Ethiopian Air Force when transporting weapons to the TPLF from Sudan trespassing the country’s airspace.
The first image was shared by a Facebook page with a Tigrinya and English caption stating the Ethiopian Air Force shot down an airplane entering the Ethiopian airspace from Sudan loaded with arms for TPLF. The image was found in a news story that reported a plane crashed in the Amra Valley of the state of Arizona in the US in March 2021. The image was published on the website with a description that the image shows the crushed plane and the picture was taken by the Pima County law enforcement agency.
The second was shared on a Facebook account with a claim that Ethiopia downed a place that belonged to the country’s historical enemies transporting weapons to the TPLF through Sudan. The image was shared on Twitter on May 4, 2020, with a claim that the image shows an Uzbekistan Mig-29 aircraft.
The third and the fourth images were also taken from other old publications and HaqCheck confirmed that they don’t show the alleged incident.
A false video of recently surrendered TPLF POWs
As the fighting between the TPLF and the federal government resumed, a number of claims emerged reporting that each side was capturing many prisoners of war. Among these is a video shared on social media that is claimed to show TPLF prisoners of war who surrendered recently.
The video was viral and was shared close to one thousand times.
However, the video is found to be old and doesn’t show TPLF prisoners of war who surrendered during the resumed fighting. The video was from months ago in Dec 2021 captured during the fighting between TPLF regional forces and federal government-led allied forces.
Incident-driven social information dissemination trend
Incidents continue to influence the trend of information circulation on social media. HaqCheck observed that disinformation in the Ethiopian media landscape is highly susceptible to events. The trend of disinformation and controversy swings according to incidents. Events such as war, conflict, violence, drought, and election highly influence the trend of false information dissemination, particularly on social media.
Some of the incidents that influenced social media information dissemination during the month of August were the following:
Famine and drought
The is an ongoing drought in the countries of the Horn of Africa especially in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya. The drought and other crises such as conflict have caused a dire shortage of food in the region.
International organizations have been warning of possible famine in the region due to the current periodical drought, conflict, and pandemic.
In this context, many social media false images were shared to allegedly show starved people or people dying out of hunger. HaqCheck debunked many such image-backed posts.
One of these claims was a Twitter post that shared three images claiming that the pictures show starved people in Oromia.
An image out of the three pictures is found to be old and doesn’t show the ongoing reality in the country. The image was taken from Uganda and was published to show starvation in that country. It was shared on a website in Jul 2022.
Another post that was debunked was an image-supported tweet sharing four pictures to support its claim that many Oromos are dying out of starvation.
However, three of the images were fetched from other sources and don’t depict the current drought and starvation in Ethiopia.
The first image was first shared on Facebook in May 2022 and the post stated that the image was taken in Mekelle.
The second image was taken from other old publications made in 2017 and 2018. The remaining image shows a famine in Sudan in 1993.
Elements of propaganda
As the war between the TPLF and the federal government of Ethiopia is ongoing, propaganda warfare had continued by the belligerents. Thus posts with elements of propaganda appeared in the past month.
One of the false claims that were disseminated as propaganda by the TPLF was that Ethiopia’s external debt stock skyrocketed since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power. The claim was made by the Dimtsi Weyane and Tigrai TV stations and on social media.
The information was presented in video and written content reporting that Ethiopia’s external debt dramatically increased from 28 billion dollars a few years ago to 56.6 billion dollars at the time being.
However, the claim was proven false by HaqCheck. According to the data analyzed by HaqCheck, Ethiopia’s external debt numerically stayed almost the same or with some fluctuation.
Diversified disinformation platforms
The major platforms for false information dissemination had been relatively diversified in August. For a long time, Facebook dominated being the fertile ground of false information circulation. It was the substantial landscape of disinformation particularly those of image-supported ones.
In the month, however, many other social media platforms have also become major fields for false information disseminators.
Telegram has become the major platform for circulating sensitive images and video-backed content. It is partly because there is little restriction on posting sensitive and graphic images and videos on Telegram. Many social media content creators were observed to invite their followers on their platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to go visit their Telegram channels for additional information, i.e., sensitive images and videos.
Twitter has also become a major platform for image-backed claims. HaqCheck found and debunked many false claims supported by false images that appeared on Twitter. As a showcase, a viral post published on Twitter shared an image alleged to show a plane that was recently shot down by the Ethiopian army while encroaching into the Ethiopian airspace to transport weapons for the TPLF.
The website was also somewhat one of the landscapes that enabled the dissemination of false information during the last month.
Recommendations
HaqCheck recommends the belligerents in the Tigray war be responsible and refrain from damaging propaganda content. They should respect the public and refrain from chronically disinforming the people on both sides.
We urge social media users to be skeptical and look for additional sources for controversial information they encounter. They should also look for fact-checks if already there regarding the issue at hand.
The government and other entities are urged to open up wider and secure access to information for the media and the public. They should avail timely and sufficing updates for the public.
