Houses demolished for the construction of the new Ethiopian Palace
On May 19, 2023, a claim appeared on Twitter sharing two images that they show houses recently demolished for the construction of the new Ethiopian palace in Addis Ababa.
The Ethiopian government is building a new palace in the Yeka district of Addis Ababa for hundreds of billions of Birr.
There were recent social media reports claiming that people have been told to evacuate the area where the palace is being built within a few days.
HaqCheck inquired about the claim and looked into the images used as supportive.
However, one of the two pictures was old and had no connection with the construction of the new palace.
It was first published on Facebook on Feb 19, 2019, with a description that houses were being razed in the Legetafo Legedadi city administration, part of the then Finfinne Special Zone of the Oromia regional state.
The second picture was first published by Addis Standard on Jan 6, 2023, with a description that the picture shows a recently demolished house.
Therefore, the claim was rated Partly False.
Elon Musk launched the production of robot wives
HaqCheck came across many posts in the Ethiopian social media landscape claiming that the American billionaire Elon Musk has begun the production of robot wives and the product would soon be available in the market.
Images that show Elon Musk hugging and dancing with a human-like robot were circulated across social media platforms.
Tesla, an American technology company founded by Elon Musk announced in October last year that it already launched the production of humanoid robots with the purpose that they can help humans in their daily activities. The robots are two models named Optimus and Catanella.
It was in this context the claim came to life. However, the pictures circulated on social media to prove the claim were false and generated using artificial intelligence tools.
Recommendations
Recently, many artificial intelligence tools and software are emerging that can generate that seem very real.
HaqCheck recommends social media users look at images with caution and suspicion in case they are AI-generated.
We advise government institutions and other organizations to be accessible for information inquiries. They should provide timely briefings and updates.
Unfettered access to information is the key to combating disinformation. Access to information should be ensured by the government and relevant bodies.
Social media content creators should be responsible and avoid circulating false information.
