The week was relatively calm compared to the previous weeks. Major controversies and disinformation trends had not been observed during the week.
This summary discusses the false claims debunked by HaqCheck and a controversy that came out at the end of the week.
Government forces destroyed properties that belong to Zemene Kase’s mother
A Facebook page shared an image claiming that government forces burned and destroyed properties belonging to the mother of Zemene Kasse, a Fano militia leader in the Amhara regional state.
The post explains that the forces demolished the properties by government forces looking to arrest the Fano leader.
Different social media posts were also observed reporting the properties of Zemene Kasse’s families were destroyed by federal and regional forces.
However, HaqCheck found the image alongside other three pictures posted on Jan 23 previously on a Twitter account with more than 13 thousand followers captioned in Affan Oromo, “These pictures show the damage the armed forces, who came here crossing the Nile, did to Oromo farmers in #Amuruu District of Horroo Guduruu Region.”
Therefore, HaqCheck confirmed that the image doesn’t prove the claim and rated the post False.
Yemane Gebremeskel is Eritrea’s Foreign Minister
A video claiming that Yemane Gebremeskel is the Foreign Minister of Eritrea was published on YouTube on June 9, 2022. The video explains that while Ethiopia’s relations with the United States have recently improved, Eritrea’s on the contrary worsened. It is stated in the video that ‘Eritrea’s Foreign Minister Yemane Gebremeskel’ and the US embassy in Asmara have been quarreling over political, international, and religious issues signaling the deterioration of the relationship between the two countries.
It is true that senior Eritrean official Yemane Gebremeskel and the US Embassy in Asmara have been observed to debate on social media on various issues.
However, Yemane Gebremeskel is Eritrea’s Information Minister, not Foreign Minister. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Eritrea is named Osman Salih.
Yemane was appointed Information Minister in 2015 after the former Minister Ali Abdu defected. Previously, he was Chief of Staff of the Office of the Eritrean President.
Thus, HaqCheck confirmed that Yemane Gebremeskel is not Eritrea’s Foreign Minister, debunked the claim, and rated it False.
TPLF abandoning its ownership claim to Wolkait-Humera territories
At the end of the week, a news article came out claiming that negotiations will be held between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian government in June 2022 in Arusha, Tanzania. The French newspaper Le Monde stated that it obtained the information from Western and African diplomats close to the case.
Same reportings emerged citing the French newspaper that TPLF gradually abandoned its claim to ‘Western Tigray’ territories.
Getachew Reda, a spokesman of TPLF denied the report that TPLF is abandoning the claim to the contested territories in a tweet he made.
Recommendations
As we always do, we recommend social media users be cautious and cross-check information. They should avoid sharing unconfirmed information instantly.
Social media content creators are urged to be responsible and refrain from fabricating and circulating false claims.
Government and other authorities should avail sufficient information regarding timely issues. The government should also ensure full access to information for the media, public, and other entities.
Media organizations and news outlets should offer their audience accurate and sufficing information about controversial issues.
