There were some disinformation elements and controversies which were notable last week. HaqCheck in this piece summarized the information disorder in the Ethiopian social media landscape.
Controversy over Lion Pharmacy compound
Last week, there were claims and counterclaims over the Lion Pharmacy compound found in Piassa.
The first claims appeared, alleging that Lion Pharmacy and Neon Addis compounds will be demolished by the City Administration. The claims added that the lots are going to be given to business people affiliated with the government.
Later on, reports came out that the compounds are not going to be demolished. A local news outlet reported that the Ethiopian Federal Housing Corporation stated that the compounds will only be renovated without damaging them.
World Bank loan Vs grant controversy
Another controversy observed in the previous week was regarding the 300 million dollar World Bank financial support to Ethiopia. There were two sides to social media reporting about the type of support: some said it was a loan and some stated that it was a grant.
However, haqCheck investigated the matter and confirmed that the fund was a grant to Ethiopia to help the country deal with the aftermath of conflict.
Therefore, it was confirmed that the World Bank’s recent financial support given to Ethiopia is a GRANT, not a LOAN, and rated the claims asserting it is a loan, FALSE.
Government soldiers captured by OLA
HaqCheck investigated an image-backed claim last week. The Facebook post shared an image claiming that the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) /addressed by the government as Shane/ captured a truck full of soldiers of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces.
The claim came out amid reports that the Ethiopian government recently launched a military offensive against OLA.
However, HaqCheck confirmed that the image was old and taken from previous publications. The image appeared first on a Facebook post made on Jul 4, 2021.
Recommendation
We urge social media users to cross-check information, images, videos, and their sources before they use or share it with others. They should be cautious of claims and counterclaims on social media. They are also advised to have a look at fact-checks done by fact-checking outlets.
HaqCheck recommends media outlets be responsible and abstain from disseminating false information.
Disinformation always intensifies amid lack of up-to-date and sufficient information. The government should ensure open information access to the media and the wider public.
Recently, HaqCheck observed controversial statements on social media, mainly on Twitter, in the context of the World Bank’s announcement of financial provision to Ethiopia.
Some said that the support was a loan while others stated that the financial provision was a grant.
Here are some of the contrasting statements that appeared on Twitter regarding the issue:
The World Bank announced on Apr 12, that it approved a 300 million US dollars grant for Ethiopia. The grant aims at helping the country address the aftermath of the conflict in five regional states including Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Oromia, and Benishangul Gumuz.
The Bank stated that the support will be given to Ethiopia in the form of an International Development Association (IDA) grant for the Response-Recovery-Resilience for Conflict-Affected Communities in Ethiopia Project.
What is an IDA grant?
The International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960, is one wing of the World Bank. The IDA and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) together form the World Bank. The former provides financial, technical, and policy support to the poorest developing countries like Ethiopia. On the other hand, IBRD helps middle income and credit-worthy poor countries.
IDA mainly gives three kinds of support to the poorest states: grants, zero to low-interest loans, and policy advice.
Thus, according to the World Bank’s recent statement, the financial support approved to Ethiopia is a 300 million dollars grant via the IDA, one of the two institutions of the Bank.
However, HaqCheck observed claims across the Ethiopian social media milieu that the financial provision is a loan. Some also said it is a grant. They seemed to use the two terms interchangeably.
What is the difference between grant and loan?
Merriam Webster dictionary defines grant as a sum of money or gift given by one entity to another for a particular purpose. And defines loan as an amount of money a lender gives to a borrower for temporary use and usually at interest. A loan is repayable while grants are given with no supposition of repayment.
According to the World Bank, IDA offers two types of financial assistance; concessional loans (credits) and grants. The loans are with zero or very low interest charges and are repayable in 30 to 40 years. The grants IDA provided to the poorest countries are assistance given with no future repayments.
Therefore, the recently approved support by the World Bank to Ethiopia was a GRANT, not a LOAN. The 300 million dollars IDA grant will be given to Ethiopia with no future repayment responsibility. It means that it is a gift.
Thus, HaqCheck confirmed that the World Bank’s recent financial support given to Ethiopia is a GRANT, not a LOAN, and rated the claims asserting it is a loan, FALSE.
A Twitter account with more than 21 thousand followers shared an image on Apr 7, captioned, “A whole truck surrendering without a single gunshot! Oromia will be liberated by its children!” By the time this article is published the post was retweeted more than 38 times and had got more than 190 reactions.
However, HaqCheck found out that the image was old and rated it False.
Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), which is called OLF-Shane by the federal government of Ethiopia, was a military wing of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) from which it claimed to split independently later on May 1, 2021.
After several alleged attacks, it is claimed to commit in different parts of the country, targeting civilians and public infrastructure over the past couple of years, the Ethiopian government included both TPLF and OLF-Shane to its terrorist group list.
In a statement the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) issued on Apr 9, it urged the government to resolve the armed conflict it is engaged in with OLF-Shane in peaceful Terms and bring the armed group to the political space. The party also appealed to the government to stretch its hands of peace to OLF-Shane as it did in Tigray.
It is in consideration of the relevance of the claim in this situation that the Twitter post is published.
HaqCheck found out that the image used by the tweet was first posted on Jul 4, 2021, on a Facebook page called Eritrea & Ethiopian fun pages in a Tigrigna language captioned,“ሓዱሽ ሕጂ ዝበፀሓና ምስሊ ድማ ብጃል መሮ ዝምራሕ ናይ oromiya ነፀናት ሓይሊ ንናይ ፒፒ ኣቢ ኣሕመድ ሰራዊት ሓመድ ድፋጭኡ ድሕሪ ምእታው ብመኪና ክሃድም ድሕሪ ምፍታኑ ብናይ ድብያን ቆረፃን ብኸምዚ ትሪኡዎ ኣብ ትሕቲ ቁፁፁሩ ኣውዒልዎም ኣሎ።”
The caption is translated as, “The Oromia Liberation Army under a command of Jal Marroo is gaining victory over Prosperity Party’s [Abiy Ahmeds’] soldiers and captured them.”
Even if there are several claims of the war undergoing between the Federal government and the Oromia Liberation Army, HaqCheck inspected the image used as a showcase to the claim and proved that the image is old. Therefore HaqCheck rendered the post False.
One of the controversies last week was about mass graves claimed to be found in Wolkait. Amhara Media Corporation (AMC) reported that the University of Gondar found mass graves of ethnic Amharas killed and buried by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) since 1982.
It stated that the university was conducting research in the area on the secret prisons belonging to the TPLF and came across mass graves in the vicinity.
Counterclaims came out instantly alleging that the Amhara regional government was clearing the trace of dead bodies of ethnic Tigrayans killed by the government itself. They claimed that this report came amid the decision by the UN to dispatch the independent investigative commission into human rights violations.
The progress and status of the US Congress draft bills on Ethiopia
Last week, media outlets including state-owned ones reported that the American Congress decided to drop the draft bills of S3199 and HR6600.
They claimed that the draft bills were held up because of the humanitarian truce declared by the Ethiopian government and endorsed by TPLF.
However, there were counterclaims that the draft bills were not dropped or held up.
The two draft bills were sent to the US Senate and House of Representatives by respective Foreign Affairs Committees to be voted on.
However, there is no official information from the US government about the current status and progress of these draft bills.
Public spaces being plowed at Lemi Kura
HaqCheck debunked an image-backed false information last week that had been circulating on Facebook.
The Facebook post shared an image and claimed that those who have a special privilege are grabbing land including public spaces in the Lemi Kura sub-city. It stated that the land shown being plowed was a playground (stadium) in Ayat.
However, HaqCheck confirmed that the image used to prove the claim was taken from an old online publication. The image was published for the first time in May 2019 along with an article titled “Addis Ababa’s football fields are being transformed into a farm by those who say they are lords of the time.”
HaqCheck recommends social media users cross-check information, images, videos, and their sources beforehand. They should be skeptical and should avoid sharing social media claims instantly.
HaqCheck urges media outlets to be responsible and abstain from circulating disinformation. This also applies to social media content creators.
The government should ensure open information access and rights. The public and media need to get full access to information. Lack of information fuels disinformation tendencies both online and offline.
The disinformation trend in the Ethiopian social media landscape during the month of March relatively subsided.
HaqCheck identified and fact-checked many claims and controversies. However, most of the issues revolved around armed conflicts and inter-ethnic violence across the country. The armed conflict between the federal government and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) which started in November 2020 and developments regarding it was the major topic of disinformation on social media.
The process of discussion on the ratification of the two draft bills at the US Congress was another major topic behind the disinformation trend and controversies on social media last month. Many false and misleading claims emerged about the status and ongoing development of the proposed bills.
A new trend of information disorder regarding inflation and increasing cost of living is also evolving recently. For several months, the Ethiopian social media landscape has been solely dominated by issues concerning armed conflict, inter-communal violence, and political instability in the country.
But since recently, the rapidly skyrocketing cost of products has become one topic of social media disinformation and controversy. We observed claims regarding the ongoing galloping inflation and related economic crises trending on social media. Some of them were circulating in satirical forms.
The other information disorder trend was a famine and related social crises in Tigray due to the armed conflict. Some claims and images emerged over the last month.
Other false claims and controversies that appeared on social media during the month of March were mostly one-time issues. They appear and vanish without trending for a long time. For instance, HaqCheck came across false image-related claims on the commemoration of the battle of Adwa, Russia allegedly building a nuclear weapons factory in Ethiopia, Oromos hanged by Emperor Menelik, the appointment of Girma Wake as CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, and scams.
Here are briefly presented the false claims and controversial issues that emerged in the Ethiopian social media realm during the month of March.
Russia constructing a nuclear weapon manufacturing facility in Ethiopia
This claim appeared at the beginning of last month amid the Russia-Ukraine war. It signified that Russia is going to construct Africa’s biggest nuclear weapons manufacturing facility in Ethiopia.
The post used a false image to support the information. The image shows heavy missile systems being transported on trailers.
Ethiopia and Russia signed an agreement to develop a nuclear facility for civilian purposes in March 2022. The agreement is about developing a nuclear electric power generation facility and nuclear technologies to be used in other civilian sectors.
However, the post becomes misleading by asserting otherwise that the agreement was about the construction of a nuclear weapons manufacturing facility in Ethiopia.
In support of the claim, the post used an image that shows heavy missile systems being transported on trucks. The image was taken from a video released by China Central Television (CCTV) in Sep 2019. The video shows a military parade on Sept 30, 2019, during the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China since the Communist Party of China took power on Oct 1, 1949.
The missile shown in the image is called DF-5B and is a sophisticated intercontinental ballistic missile.
In light of the actual facts, HaqCheck rated the claim MISLEADING.
Rally made in Chelenqo during the commemoration of the battle of Adwa
A claim appeared reporting that there was a rally in Chelenko to remember the ‘brutality of Menelik’. A Facebook page shared an image titled, “Menelik’s brutality is remembered today at Chelenko”. The post was published on March 2, 2022, the day the 126th victory of Adwa is celebrated in Addis Ababa.
HaqCheck inquired into the image and confirmed that it was taken from an article on the Oromian Economist website published in 2015 with a headline, “The Calanqoo Massacre Memorial Monument Inaugurated on 21st March 2015”.
Thus, HaqCheck rendered the post FALSE.
Gumuz rebels attacking GERD workers
An image-backed post emerged reporting that rebels in Benishangul Gumuz attacked workers of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The Facebook post, published on Mar 3, 2022, claimed that the workers were attacked while traveling from the dam to a metropolitan area.
HaqCheck confirmed that the image presented to prove the claim was taken from an old article posted on Sep 1, 2017, with a description that an American journalist named Christopher Allen was shot dead in South Sudan.
Therefore, HaqCheck rendered the post False.
TPLF army marching toward Eritrea
A military standoff among the belligerents of the Tigray conflict was announced recently. In this context, a Facebook post shared an image on Mar 5, 2022, with a claim that the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) was mobilizing its armed units towards Eritrea.
HaqCheck inspected the image and learned that it was an old picture taken from a Facebook post on Aug 3, 2019. The image shows a military parade in Sawa, Eritrea on August 01, 2019.
HaqCheck confirmed that the image was old and rated the post FALSE.
Procurement of 40 million edible oil from abroad
A controversy regarding the shortage of edible oil and the government’s response was one of the viral issues on social and mainstream media. As a response to the sudden shortage, the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration announced that the government would import 40 million liters of edible oil.
The Ministry of Finance then denied that there was no agreement with anyone to procure the claimed amounts of edible oil. The ministry also confirmed that there was only a study being conducted to solve the shortage of the product.
Amhara militants burnt houses in Oromo Special Zone
A tweet shared an image on March 13 supporting a claim that Amhara militants burned Oromo houses in the Dawa district of Wollo Oromia Special Zone, in Amhara Regional State.
HaqCheck investigated the image and confirmed the image was old and doesn’t show recently burnt houses in Wollo.
The image was taken from a publication made on Dec 23, 2020, in an article about a ‘massacre in the Benishangul Gumuz Regional State’.
Therefore, the claim was rated FALSE.
Oromos hanged by Emperor Menelik ll
A Twitter account shared images on Mar 17, 2022, with an overlay text that reads, “Menelik Genocide on Oromo people 1897 in Finfinnee.”
However, HaqCheck learned that the images were taken from old sources and don’t support the claim.
The first image was taken from an article describing the 1935 Italian invasion of Ethiopia. The description of the image stated that it shows Ethiopians who resisted the Italian army and were hanged by the Italian soldiers.
The second image was found on a website post about Eritrea’s short history. The website story shows Eritrean People Liberation Front (EPLF) fighters who were hanged by the then Ethiopian military regime, Derg during the Eritrean independence armed struggle.
Accordingly, the claim was rated FALSE.
Drone attack in Shire, Tigray
Among claims of recent drone attacks in Tigray, an image was posted on Facebook on March 04 reporting that a drone strike took place in the town of Shire around 11:20 am amid an alleged secret negotiation.
HaqCheck interrogated the image and found out that it was taken from previous publications. The first image in the post was from an article published about Bayraktar TB2 Tactical UAV on Jan 6, 2021, on a website named Army Technology. The second image was taken from a tweet made on Oct 20, 2021.
Therefore the post was rated FALSE.
Famine and death in Tigray
During the month of March, false images about the famine and death in Tigray were also observed. A tweet made on March 13, 2022, shared an image along with a link to an article that talks about a famine in Tigray. The article quoted a university scholar and stated the number of deaths of thousands in the artificial famine in Tigray.
However, the image was old and taken from a report by Reuters on Sep 9, 2016, about the famine in Yemen.
Thus, HaqCheck rated the image FALSE.
A direct Phone call between PM Abiy and Debretsion
A controversial claim abruptly surfaced on social media platforms in the middle of last month. The claim was first made by Tom Gardner, East Africa correspondent for The Economist. He tweeted that there was a direct phone call between PM Abiy Ahmed and Debretsion Gebremichael, Chairman of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
Getachew Reda, a member of the Executive Committee of TPLF rejected that there was no phone conversation between PM Abiy and Debretsion since the beginning of the armed conflict.
Asked by Deutsche Welle (DW), Legesse Tulu, Minister of Government Communication Services denied the claim that PM Abiy and Debretsion talked to each other over the telephone.
In reaction to the journalist’s assertion, the Ethiopian Mass Media Authority issued a warning letter to Tom Gardner accusing him of circulating false information declining the information that there was a direct phone call between leaders of the belligerent parties.
Girma Wake being appointed as CEO of Ethiopian Airlines
A false report by a renowned English press came up after the former CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Tewolde GebreMariam resigned on Mar 23, 2022.
The report stated that Girma Wake was appointed CEO and Board Chairman of Ethiopian Airlines.
However, on Mar 24, 2022, it was announced that Mesfin Tasew, a former Chief Operating Officer of the airline was appointed as the new CEO of Ethiopian Airlines.
Therefore, HaqCheck rated the claim PARTLY FALSE.
Plane shot down by Eritrean army
Another claim that was fact-checked by HaqCheck was about a plane shot down by the Eritrean army trying to fly through Eritrean airspace from Sudan to Tigray. A picture captioned “Antonov plane that carried weapons from Sudan across Eritrea to Tigray was shot down by an Eritrean anti-aircraft” was shared on Mar 16, 2022.
The image was, however, found in a video on a YouTube channel called AERO press BG on Apr 30, 2013, showing an airplane crash. The video of the incident also appeared on CNN aired on May 2, 2013.
Therefore, HaqCheck rendered the post False.
Scam: Noah Real Estate giving awards
A message was circulating on Telegram claiming that Noah Real Estate was giving awards to Telegram users who would send the message to others. The message on the Telegram channel reads that the real estate was awarding a two-bedroom apartment to those who will share the message to a significant number of users.
HaqCheck talked to the company to prove whether the Telegram channel belongs to it. Noah Real Estate confirmed that the information was false and that it doesn’t have any Telegram channel.
Controversies over the progress of the HR6600 and S3199 draft bills
There were controversies and false claims regarding the draft bills that were proposed against the parties in the Tigray armed conflict with potential sanctions.
HaqCheck observed social media posts claiming that the draft/s were already ratified as law and will be implemented. Some rushed to announce that the proposed bills were vetoed by Russia and China.
The draft bills would be approved and enacted at the national level in the US since they are initiated by bodies of the American government. Russia and China can’t veto them.
The two drafted bills should pass through five stages to become law. The stages are; introduction to Foreign Relations Committees, approval by Senate, approval by House, approval by the President, and becoming law.
The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (SCFR) passed the draft on Mar 29, 2022, to the Senate to be voted on. To be law, this draft bill should be approved by the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the US President. The draft bills need a double majority vote, from the Senate and House, to be passed on to the President for final approval.
The draft bill HR6600 was voted on by the House Committee on Foreign Relations (HCFR) and passed to the US House of Representatives on Feb 8, 2022. Similarly, this proposed bill has to be approved by the Representatives, Senators, and the President to be enacted as law.
Thus, HaqCheck learned that these two drafted bills are not yet a law. They are in process and have to pass through three stages; the Senate, the House, and the President to be considered as law and for implementation.
Fresh deployment of Eritrean army on Tigray borders
An image was shared on Facebook along with a post on Mar 26, 2022, captioned, “Following PM Abiy Ahmed’s decision [the humanitarian truce] the Eritrean army deployed 13 modern military divisions to the [Tigray] border.”
The claim came after the federal government and TPLF agreed upon a humanitarian truce.
HaqCheck however searched out the image used to support the claim and confirmed that it was first published on Aug 2, 2019. It showed a military parade of the Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF) during the Silver Jubilee celebration of the launching of the National Service Program. The day was also marked by the graduation of the 32nd round national service program.
Therefore, HaqCheck rendered the post FALSE.
Recommendation
We recommend the government avail open access of information to the public and media. It should also provide timely and accurate information. Lack of information is the major factor behind massive disinformation dissemination on social media platforms.
HaqCheck urges social media users to cross-check information, images, videos, or claims before they share them with their fellows. They should be skeptical of information whose sources are unknown and should question the authenticity of social media content before they share it with others. They should also be cautious of potential scams and refrain from filling out forms instantly.
We urge social media content creators and outlets to be responsible and abstain from intentionally or unintentionally circulating false information.
HaqCheck always advocates accurate reporting. Media outlets and journalists should conduct thorough research and report the matter fully and correctly to prevent disinformation.
A Facebook page with more than 2,100,000 followers posted a claim with a picture on April 4 captioned, “As they are done with taking all the land with the illegal land grabbing, playfields of the youth at Lemi Kura sub-city are being distributed to the specially privileged ones in the name of farmers. Those who used to play on this field at Ayat found it plowed when they came back in the morning.”
By the time this article was published, The post had 1.2 thousand reactions and was shared by 114 users.
However, Haqcheck confirmed that the image used to support the claim is old and rendered it FALSE.
Screenshot of the claim
There is a recent finding of extensive illegal land grabbing in Addis Ababa which is mostly observed in Kaliti, Lemi Kura, Bole, and Nefas Silk sub-cities.
According to a study report of the case by a major opposition party, the land grabbing had been justified with claims of the perpetrators that the lands used to belong to families and they were displaced from their previous areas without any compensation. The statement also noted that the illegal act was often conducted by sub-city and woreda officers orchestrated by illegal brokers.
HaqCheck analyzed the image used to prove the claim and found out that it was taken from an old online article from May 29, 2019, entitled “Addis Ababa’s football fields are being transformed into a farm by those who say are lords of the time.
Hence, HaqCheck has come to realize that the image used to support the claim on Facebook is outdated and has nothing to do with the current situation in the area.
Therefore HaqCheck rated the image used to support the claim FALSE.
Social media posts and misleading reports are circulating on the media landscape regarding the recent developments of the two draft bills called HR6600 and S3199 proposed to coerce the Ethiopian government to comply with the conditions the United States laid down to end the conflict in Tigray.
HaqCheck observed some false and misleading social media claims and reports on the issue. Some of the posts claimed that the S3199 bill is already approved as law. While others said the HR6600 draft was suspended due to objections from Russia and China.
To mention some instances of these claims and controversies:
S3199 is approved. This law is focused on the arms embargo. And next HR6600 will inevitably be approved.” Link
“The HR6600 that was initiated to kill Ethiopia is dropped because of objections from Russia and China who are always at our rescue in critical times.” Link
“The HR6600 is suspended due to objections from Russia and China.” Link
To begin with, the HR6600 draft bill called Ethiopia Stabilization, Peace, and Democracy Act was introduced on Feb 4, 2022. The proposed bill that was initiated by Bob Menendez, a member of the American Senate, and co-sponsored by US Congressmen Michael McCaul and Gregory Meeks intends to impose sanctions on belligerents to end the armed conflict in Ethiopia’.
The sanctions include blocking of properties, visa restrictions, and prohibition of assistance from the US and international financial institutions.
The other draft bill, S3199 is called Ethiopia Peace and Democracy Promotion Act of 2021 and was introduced on Nov 4, 2021. If ratified as a law, it will impose sanctions on those who would help and provide the parties involved in the armed conflict in northern Ethiopia with weapons or military resources. It proposed that the US government would work to oppose any loan or extension of financial or technical assistance from international institutions to Ethiopia and Eritrea. The bill was proposed by Tom Malinowski, a member of the US House of Representatives.
The proposed bills were topics of discussion and controversies on the Ethiopian social media landscape.
There were campaigns in the US and elsewhere opposing the draft bills and supporting its ratification as well.
The Ethiopian government had been calling for protests in opposition to the proposed bills. Demeke Mekonnen, Foreign Minister and Deputy PM called on the Ethiopian diaspora on Mar 22, 2022, to protest against the drafted HR6600 and S3199 bills.
Spokesperson of the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dina Mufti said on Mar 24, 2022, that the Ethiopian diaspora should intensify the protests against the ratification process of the two drafts.
Recently, rallies were held in America, Washington DC protesting against HR6600 and S3199.
In this context, false claims and misleading statements emerged and are being disseminated across the Ethiopian social media landscape.
The first major claim was that the bills were dropped due to the objection from Russia and China. However, the draft bills would be approved and implemented at the national level in the US, since they are initiated by bodies of the American government. Besides, the bills would be enacted unilaterally by the US. They are not sanctions to be decided upon by multilateral institutions such as the UN agencies or multilateral agreements. And Russia and China can not veto them as they only have this power at the UN Security Council.
The second controversial claim regarding the draft bills is that S3199 was recently approved as a law.
The two drafted bills should pass through five stages to become law. The stages are; introduction to Foreign Relations Committees, approval by Senate, approval by House, approval by the President, and becoming law.
If a bill is proposed by a Senate member, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (SCFR) votes on and passes it to the full Senate. But if a bill is proposed by a member of the House of Representatives, the House Committee on Foreign Relations (HCFR) votes on and passes it to the full House of Representatives.
The draft bill of S3199 was proposed by a Senator. The SCFR then passed the draft on Mar 29, 2022, to the Senate to be voted on. To be law, this draft bill should be approved by the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the US President. The draft bills need a double majority vote, from Senate and House, to be passed on to the President for signature.
On the other hand, the draft bill HR6600 was proposed by a member of the House of Representatives. It was voted on by the HCFR and passed to the US House of Representatives on Feb 8, 2022. Similarly, this proposed bill has to be approved by the Representatives, Senators, and the President to be enacted as law.
Thus, these two drafted bills are not yet law. They are in process and have to pass through three stages; the Senate, the House, and the President to be considered as law and for implementation.
A Facebook page with more than 100 thousand followers has shared a post on Mar 26, 2022, captioned, “ Following PM Abiy Ahmed’s decision [the humanitarian truce] the Eritrean army deployed 13 modern military divisions to [Tigray] border.”
By the time this article was published the post had more than a1400reactions and was shared more than 140 times.
But, HaqCheck inspected the image used to support the claim and rendered it False.
Responding to questions raised from the parliament about the rumored negotiation between the federal government and TPLF On Feb 2,t PM Abiy Ahmed said, “I heard a lot about it. But there has been no negotiation yet.”
However, didn’t rule out the possibility of talks with TPLF. “We didn’t negotiate so far does not mean though that we will not do so. Negotiation is a method of identifying problem-solving options.”
The Ethiopian government declared an immediate humanitarian truce in Tigray Region on March 24. The action is intended to allow the provision of humanitarian assistance to the region. As part of the truce, federal authorities have called on the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) to “desist from all acts of further aggression” and withdraw from areas they occupied in neighboring regions.
Later after the federal government’s decision, the TPLF agreed to the cessation of hostilities..
Amid the truce decision, there are different claims about Ethiopian troops seen advancing to Tigray borders.
The Facebook post appeared in the light of this situation.
HaqCheck tried to inspect the image used to back the report and proved that the image was published back on Aug 2, 2019, in an article titled, “Sawa: Silver Jubilee of National Service Celebrated.”
The event was the official celebration of the Silver Jubilee of the establishment of Eritrea’s Sawa Military Training Center and the launching of the National Service Program as well as the graduation of members of the 32nd round national service program.
Despite the fact that there are claims of deployment of Eritrean forces on Tigray borders, the image used by the Facebook page to support the claim is old and is manipulated to prove the information that it doesn’t actually represent. Thus, HaqCheck rendered it False.
Last week, one of the controversial claims was about an alleged phone call between PM Abiy Ahmed and Debretsion Gebremichael, Chairman of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
There were recent improvements in the relations between the federal government and the TPLF. There were claims that the belligerents were holding discussions in another country regarding a potential agreement to end the conflict.
Amid this, a controversial claim came out. Tom Gardner, Ethiopia correspondent for The Economist claimed that there were direct phone calls between PM Abiy and Debretsion.
Instantly, counterclaims emerged from both sides denying the claim that the two leaders directly spoke with each other on the phone.
Getachew Reda, a member of the Executive Committee of TPLF stated that there was no phone conversation between PM Abiy and Debretsion since the beginning of the armed conflict.
Asked by Deutsche Welle (DW), Legesse Tulu, Minister of Government Communication Services Minister denied the claim that Prime Minister Abiy and Debretsion talked to each other over the telephone.
The Ethiopian Mass Media Authority issued a warning letter to Tom Gardner accusing him of circulating false information and denied the claimed direct phone call between the belligerent leaders.
Girma Wake appointed as CEO of Ethiopian Airlines
There was a news report last week that Girma Wake was appointed as CEO of Ethiopian Airlines following the resignation of the former CEO Tewolde GebreMariam.
The former CEO resigned and his resignation was accepted by the Board of Management of Ethiopian Airlines. The Board of the Airlines on Mar 23, 2022, stated that it would shortly announce the new Group CEO and successor of Tewolde GebreMariam, and Girma Wake, former CEO was appointed as Board Chairman, replacing Abadula Gemeda.
In reference to this statement, a tweet post reported that Girma Wake replaced Tewolde Gebremariam as CEO of the airline.
HaqCHeck looked into the claim and counter-checked the statement issued by Ethiopian Airlines regarding the acceptance of the resignation of the former CEO and the appointment of Girma Wake as Board Chairman.
Thereafter on Mar 24, 2022, it was announced that Mesfin Tasew, a former Chief Operating Officer was appointed as the new CEO of the airline.
Hence, HaqCheck looked into the claim and confirmed that the claim is PARTLY FALSE.
Plane shot down by Eritrean army
Another claim that was fact-checked by HaqCheck was that a plane trying to fly through Eritrean airspace from Sudan into Tigray was shot down by the Eritrean army. A Twitter account with more than 110 thousand followers shared a picture on Mar 16, 2022, captioned “Antonov plane that carried weapons from Sudan across Eritrea to Tigray was shot down by an Eritrean anti-aircraft.”
The tweet shared an image that shows heavy fire and smoke. HaqCheck assessed the image and spotted it on a YouTube channel called AERO press BG which has more than 2000 subscribers captioned, “National Air Cargo’s Boeing 747-400 freighter crash in Afghanistan” on Apr 30, 2013. The video of the incident also appeared on CNN aired on May 2, 2013. It was reported in the news that, “a civilian cargo plane crash killed seven Americans. The moment after taking off from Bagram airbase in Afghanistan six of the Americans on board were from Michigan and one from Kentucky. An American contractor nearby filmed the incident.”
The Twitter post cropped out an image from the video of the cargo crash accident and employed it to accompany its claim.
Therefore, HaqCheck inspected the image used to support the claim and proved it wrong, to finally render it False.
Scam: Noah Real Estate giving awards
A message was circulating on Telegram claiming that Noah Real Estate was giving awards to Telegram users who would send the message to others. The message on the Telegram channel reads that the real estate was awarding a two-bedroom apartment to those who share the message.
HaqCheck talked to the company to prove whether the Telegram channel belongs to it. Noah Real Estate confirmed that the information was false and it doesn’t have any Telegram channel.
Recommendations
HaqCheck recommends social media users be careful of potential scams. Particularly on Telegram, scam messages were observed being circulated.
These messages sometimes demand readers to fill out various forms and have links that lead to other sites. Thus, users should refrain from sharing it with others, clicking the given links, and should avoid filling out forms.
We recommend social media users that they should be cautious toward claims on these platforms. They should try to confirm the information they come across. They should look for original content and official statements regarding the issues in question.
Information disorders always intensify and pose damage in a situation when there is little information. And rumors and false information take advantage of the information gap. To avoid this the government should allow open access to information to the public and media sector.
Multinational tech companies that host social media platforms should work with local fact-checking organizations to prevent or reduce disinformation dissemination via their platforms.
A Twitter account with more than 110 thousand followers shared a picture on Mar 16, 2022, captioned “Antonov plane that carries a weapon from Sudan across Eritrea to Tigray was shot down by an Eritrean anti-aircraft”
By the time this article was published the post had more than 660 reactions and was retweeted more than 190 times.
Nevertheless, HaqCheck inspected the image and rendered it False.
Following the war between the Federal government and TPLF, many Tigrayan refugees fled to Sudan.
On Nov 14, 2020, there are claims that at least three rockets were fired at Eritrea’s capital from Tigray. Later on, Mar 23, 2021, PM Abiy Ahmed admits that the Eritrean soldiers entered Tigray.
On Dec 3, 2021, Sudan’s Sovereign Council head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said Khartoum does not support the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in Ethiopia.
It is with the supposed connection Sudan would have with Ethiopia during the time of war that this post is crafted.
HaqCheck assessed the image and spotted it on a YouTube channel called AERO press BG which has more than two thousand subscribers, captioned, “National Air Cargo’s Boeing 747-400 freighter crash in Afghanistan.” on Apr 30, 2013. The video got more than 3 million views.
Boeing 747-400 is a wide-body airline produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes which is an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747. The First 747-400 was rolled out on Jan 26, 1988, and made its maiden flight on Apr 29, 1988. According to Wikipedia, the plane is still on service mainly for different cargo uses.
The video of the incident also appeared on CNN aired on May 2, 2013. It was reported in the news that, “a civilian cargo plane crash killed seven Americans. The moment after taking off from Bagram airbase in Afghanistan six of the Americans on board were from Michigan and one from Kentucky. An American contractor nearby filmed the incident.”
The Twitter post cropped out an image from the video of the cargo crash accident and employed it to accompany its claim.
HaqCheck inspected the image used to support the claim and proved it wrong, to finally render it False.
