Government forces destroyed a church in Amhara region
A Twitter account with more than 130 thousand followers shared a post with an image on May 31, captioned, “The fascist group [rule] of Abiy Ahmed has crossed the red line”, indicating that government forces destroyed a church recently. The attached image depicts a damaged chapel building.
However, HaqCheck inspected the image and confirmed the image doesn’t prove the claim.
The image was first shared on Facebook on Nov 30, 2022, with a description that Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) forces were digging trenches around a church in Kobo, Amhara region.
Hundreds of Christians were killed in a monastery
A Twitter post shared an image with a claim that the Ethiopian government massacred hundreds of people in the Debre Elias monastery, East Gojjam, Amhara region.
News reports indicate an armed conflict in a monastery named Debre Elias in the Eastern Gojjam zone of the Amhara region and monks and some other people were killed in the clash.
However, the image has no connection with the claim. The picture is old.
The original image was published on a news site in December 2014 and shows the dead bodies of 36 people killed by Al-Shabab in Kenya.
Recommendations
We urge social media users to be skeptical about instant social media claims. They should try to verify if the information is authentic before they share it with others. They are advised to look for original sources of information.
HaqCheck urges governmental offices and other institutions to offer the public and the media updates and clarifications on a timely basis. Additionally, the right of citizens to access information should be respected to its fullest.
Social media content creators should be responsible and avoid being collaborators in disinformation dissemination.
