Africa Check | Sorting fact from fiction

Discussing the state of healthcare amid a crippling doctors’ strike, a TV panel made several claims. We checked them out.

A patient with mental disorders is seen in this 3 November 2020 picture.

CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT / AFP

Kenya

mental health

depression

Two claims by popular morning radio show host about depression in Kenya, checked

The scale of mental illness in the country was “horrific”, according to Classic 105’s Maina Kageni. But do his numbers add up?

Misinformation

health misinformation

Covid-19

PRESS RELEASE: New international study shows fact-checks significantly reduce belief in misinformation

The comparative study is among the first to examine fact-checking effectiveness from a cross-country perspective.

Passengers trek to the airport terminal in Ikeja, Lagos in October 2020

Are 20,000 Nigerian doctors practising in the US, compared to 50,000 in the country?

healthcare

budget

doctors

Did journalists’ TV ‘hangout’ get facts about healthcare in Nigeria right?

Kenya

mental health

depression

Two claims by popular morning radio show host about depression in Kenya, checked

Misinformation

health misinformation

Covid-19

PRESS RELEASE: New international study shows fact-checks significantly reduce belief in misinformation

nigeria

healthcare

doctors

Are 20,000 Nigerian doctors practising in the US, compared to 50,000 in the country?

Featured

CONSERVATION CHECK: Yes, more elephants being born tuskless because of poaching

African elephants' contact with poachers is causing dramatic changes to their physiology.

EXPLAINER: What you need to know about Nigeria’s resident doctors and why they strike so frequently

What are Nigerian doctors' grievances? And why do they leave the country in such high numbers?

Misinformation

health misinformation

Covid-19

PRESS RELEASE: New international study shows fact-checks significantly reduce belief in misinformation

The comparative study is among the first to examine fact-checking effectiveness from a cross-country perspective.

fact-check

facts

fact ambassador

Africa Check launches Fact Ambassador programme

We’ve launched a new programme to spread accurate information to a wider audience across our continent – welcome to our Fact Ambassadors!

lockdown

Covid-19

protest

ANALYSIS: Snappy anti-lockdown poster misrepresents Covid-19 and vaccination death rates

“If one death out of 10k Covid cases shut down the country shouldn’t one death out of 10k vaccines shut down the program?” This slogan from ...

Cyril Ramaphosa

money

conspiracy

Buckle up! We fell down the White Spiritual Boy Trust rabbit hole

Charges were laid at a Johannesburg police station in April, accusing South African president Cyril Ramaphosa of serious crimes from rackete...

Getting fact-checkers' methods into the curriculum: the six Cs of misinformation literacy

A new study argues for an expanded definition of media literacy.

False news

laws

harm

Governments in Africa have doubled ‘false news’ laws, to little effect. Another way is possible

Since 2016, the 11 countries we studied nearly doubled their laws and regulations on misinformation. There is little to show for it.

How the Africa Facts network is growing fact-checking on the continent

Twenty African fact-checking organisations are working together to share their experiences and collaborate to fight the spread of false info...

Fact-checked: 9 claims about South African schools from Ernst Roets

A member of management for the Afrikaner-rights group AfriForum rubbished the state of South African education. We sorted the wheat from the...

Did journalists’ TV ‘hangout’ get facts about healthcare in Nigeria right?

Discussing the state of healthcare amid a crippling doctors’ strike, a TV panel made several claims. We checked them out.

MICHELE SPATARI / AFP

World Health Organisation

alcohol

ban

women

World Health Organization not proposing an alcohol ban for ‘women of childbearing age’

A draft action plan from the international health agency had many raising their eyebrows in surprise. It’s likely a case of muddled messagin...

MICHELE SPATARI / AFP

No, your life insurance is not ‘null and void’ if you get a Covid-19 vaccine

Experts say recent claims that getting the Covid vaccine will render your life insurance policy invalid are false and scaremongering.

South African Police Service

Murder, VIPs and theft: Fact-checking five claims by Gun Owners South Africa

A proposal to amend South Africa’s gun laws could remove self-defence as a valid reason to own a firearm. Gun Owners South Africa made a num...

PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP

Is Nigeria’s central bank governor on the money about health insurance and out-of-pocket payments?

Godwin Emefiele made claims about the low access to healthcare in Africa’s most populous country. Do his claims check out?

FACTSHEET: Excess deaths in South Africa explained

The number of excess deaths may be a more accurate and concerning measure of the Covid pandemic than the daily death toll. But how are exces...

Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp

FACTSHEET: How deaths are recorded in South Africa

Covid has trained a spotlight on causes of death and how deaths are recorded across the world. We disentangle what paperwork has to be filed...

FACTSHEET: Understanding Nigeria’s teenage pregnancy burden

As in many parts of the world, adolescent pregnancy is a major concern in Nigeria. We take a look at the causes and the many consequences of...

Nigerians wait for petrol products during a past shortage in the country.

refineries

petroleum

FACTSHEET: What you need to know about Nigeria’s ailing refineries and their perennial repairs

Nigeria’s beleaguered oil refineries have again dominated the headlines after hundreds of billions of naira were allocated to repair one. Bu...

china

debt

Economy

FACTSHEET: Unravelling Nigeria’s debt to China

There are concerns about Nigeria’s rising debt and especially that owed to China. In this factsheet, we look at the numbers.

FACTSHEET: What you need to know about vaccine approval in Nigeria

As the world counts down the weeks to a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine, we look at the steps that would have to be followed before the...

FACTSHEET: South African service delivery in 1994 – what we do and don’t know

South African politicians often make claims about how access to water, electricity and sanitation has improved – or worsened – since 1994. T...

FACTSHEET: Child malnutrition in South Africa

Malnutrition in children can lead to wasting, stunting, underweight and obesity, putting the child at risk of illness – and difficulties lat...

FACTSHEET: How to talk about migration in South Africa

The words used to describe migration can be confusing, but definitions are important when we discuss the movements of people. We look at the...

#WeekendWrap | Quiz | 10 September 2021

Have you been paying attention? Test your knowledge about tuskless elephants, depression in Kenya and South Africa’s police.

Covid-19 misinformation on WhatsApp

Test your knowledge about the latest Covid-19 misinformation circulating on WhatsApp and elsewhere online in this week’s edition of our quiz...

abortions

#WeekendWrap | Quiz | 27 August 2021

In this week's quiz, we test your knowledge about Kenya, where we look at the country’s women’s rights, obesity, judiciary system and its mu...

Info Finder

Elections & political parties

How many democratic elections have been held in South Africa?
See answer Hide answer

Since its first democratic election on 27 April 1994, South Africa has had another five national elections: in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019.

More: South Africa’s 2019 election in numbers

Source

Electoral Commission of South Africa

Economy

What is South Africa’s GDP per capita?
See answer Hide answer

The country's GDP per capita (nominal gross domestic product divided by the mid-year population) was US$4,740 in 2020. The economy slumped by 7% compared with 2019. This is the biggest annual fall in economic activity the country has seen since at least 1946.

Related: Still misleading…

Source

International Monetary Fund: World Economic Outlook (South Africa)

#YouAsked

Welfare & population

Ghana’s projected population for 2020 stood at 30.96 million.

Source

Ghana Statistical Service

28 July 2020

Elections & political parties

What was the voter turnout during South Africa’s last national election?
See answer Hide answer

During the 2019 national election, South Africa recorded a voter turnout of 66%, a decrease from 73.5% in 2014.

More: South Africa’s 2019 election in numbers

Source

Electoral Commission of South Africa

#YouAsked

Covid-19

Does heat kill the new coronavirus?
See answer Hide answer

The World Health Organization has warned that neither taking a hot bath nor exposing yourself to sunshine or temperatures higher than 25°C will prevent Covid-19. Using a hand dryer also doesn’t kill the virus.

More: Hot baths, hot hand dryers and other heat will NOT kill coronavirus

Source

World Health Organization

#YouAsked

Covid-19

Is the new coronavirus airborne?
See answer Hide answer

The new coronavirus spreads through droplets, which are produced when someone sneezes, coughs or talks. If you are close to someone when this happens, you could breathe in the virus.

According to the World Health Organization, “studies to date suggest that the virus that causes Covid-19 is…

Source

World Health Organization

Featured Spot Checks

Are 20,000 Nigerian doctors practising in the US, compared to 50,000 in the country?

No WHO-recommended ratio of doctors to patients, as former Nigerian senator claimed

No, Nairobi does not generate over 50% of Kenya’s GDP – president Kenyatta repeats wrong stat

Reddington hospital didn’t send WhatsApp message warning of third Covid wave in Nigeria

Headlines saying 96% of Nigerians have received Covid-19 jabs are misleading

View All

No, quokkas don’t throw babies at predators, but won’t win ‘Best Mom’ award

Beware false cancer cures from ‘Dr Gupta’ on Facebook

No, elephants don’t think people are ‘cute’ – in the wild they see us as a threat

HOAX-ALERT: Eating eggs & bananas together won’t kill you

No, cassava doesn’t cure cancer – and could make it worse

View All

Reddington hospital didn’t send WhatsApp message warning of third Covid wave in Nigeria

Headlines saying 96% of Nigerians have received Covid-19 jabs are misleading

Johannesburg's mayor shares debunked and flawed statistics about rape in South Africa

Old, recycled rape statistic continues to be shared in South Africa – and it’s still incorrect

No, bracelet will not relieve diabetes symptoms – stick to prescribed medicine

View All

Podcasts

Did WHO-recommended ratio of doctors to patients, as former Nigerian senator claimed?

Does Nigeria rank number one in open defecation worldwide? (Radio One 103.5 FM Lagos)

Claims about education in Nigeria checked (Radio One 103.5 FM Lagos)

View All

We need your help to fight misinformation

Donate

Promise Tracker

They campaigned and promised to change your life for the better. You voted for them. But have they kept their word? We have picked out 10 key promises made by governments in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya and are tracking progress on them.

ANC Tracker
APC Tracker
Jubilee Party Tracker

ANC Tracker

The African National Congress (ANC) has been in power since 1994. In 2019, it faced South African voters for the sixth time. But what is the status of promises it has made to voters in the last 10 years?

APC Tracker

Nigeria’s All Progressives Congress was re-elected in 2019. As it made its case to voters, how did it perform on some of the main promises it made ahead of its 2015 win? EDITOR'S NOTE: These pledges are collated from the party’s manifesto and its covenant with Nigerians. The latter document was subject to much debate after the party sought to disavow it. The APC did walk back promises for its first 100 days in office. Other publications have collated more promises. Also, the president’s first term in office ended officially on 29 May 2019 when he had spent four years in office.

Jubilee Party Tracker

Kenya’s Jubilee Party has been in office since 2013, and last year won re-election. But has it delivered on the promises it made ahead of those two elections? We tracked key ones.

Try Our Promise Tracker

Africa Check sorts fact from fiction

Did journalists’ TV ‘hangout’ get facts about healthcare in Nigeria right?

Two claims by popular morning radio show host about depression in Kenya, checked

PRESS RELEASE: New international study shows fact-checks significantly reduce belief in misinformation

Are 20,000 Nigerian doctors practising in the US, compared to 50,000 in the country?

Featured

Info Finder

Popular topics

How many democratic elections have been held in South Africa? See answer Hide answer

What is South Africa’s GDP per capita? See answer Hide answer

Ghana’s projected population for 2020 stood at 30.96 million.

What was the voter turnout during South Africa’s last national election? See answer Hide answer

Does heat kill the new coronavirus? See answer Hide answer

Is the new coronavirus airborne? See answer Hide answer

Featured Spot Checks

Podcasts

Did WHO-recommended ratio of doctors to patients, as former Nigerian senator claimed?

Does Nigeria rank number one in open defecation worldwide? (Radio One 103.5 FM Lagos)

Claims about education in Nigeria checked (Radio One 103.5 FM Lagos)

We need your help to fight misinformation

Promise Tracker

ANC Tracker

APC Tracker

Jubilee Party Tracker

Can't find what you are looking for?

How many democratic elections have been held in South Africa?
See answer Hide answer

What is South Africa’s GDP per capita?
See answer Hide answer

What was the voter turnout during South Africa’s last national election?
See answer Hide answer

Does heat kill the new coronavirus?
See answer Hide answer

Is the new coronavirus airborne?
See answer Hide answer