Back to Africa Check

‘Ruto has closed taps’? No, Kenya’s Star newspaper photoshopped

“Is Ruto broke?” asks the headline of what seems to be the front page of the 23 November 2020 issue of the Star newspaper, in an image posted several times on Facebook in Kenya.

Text above the headline reads: “Cash crunch: Panic hits DP’s camp over diminishing financing.” A subhead adds: “DP Ruto has abruptly closed taps for most of his 2022 campaign projects.”

The front page photo is of William Ruto, Kenya’s deputy president. Ruto has announced his ambition to run for the presidency in the country’s 2022 elections.

But did the Star report that Ruto’s campaign was running out of funds? We checked.
 

‘Uhuru lays bare crime surge’


The real front page of the 23 November edition of the Star, posted on the newspaper’s verified Facebook page, looks very different.

The headline reads: “Uhuru lays bare crime surge in security report.” Uhuru Kenyatta is Kenya’s president. The text above and below the headline has nothing to do with Ruto, and the front page photo is of two Muslim clerics.

The page has been altered.


The paper has posted the fake front page on Twitter, next to the real one. 

Republish our content for free

Please complete this form to receive the HTML sharing code.

For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false

A fact-checker has rated your Facebook or Instagram post as “false”, “altered”, “partly false” or “missing context”. This could have serious consequences. What do you do?

Click on our guide for the steps you should follow.

Publishers guide

Africa Check teams up with Facebook

Africa Check is a partner in Meta's third-party fact-checking programme to help stop the spread of false information on social media.

The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram. This means fewer people will see it.

You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how.

Add new comment

Restricted HTML

  • Allowed HTML tags: <a href hreflang> <em> <strong> <cite> <blockquote cite> <code> <ul type> <ol start type> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <h2 id> <h3 id> <h4 id> <h5 id> <h6 id>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
limit: 600 characters

Want to keep reading our fact-checks?

We will never charge you for verified, reliable information. Help us keep it that way by supporting our work.

Become a newsletter subscriber

Support independent fact-checking in Africa.