Back to Africa Check

Seven coronavirus victims shot dead in Rwanda? No, BBC post manipulated

Seven “victims” of the coronavirus have been “shot dead by unknown gunmen” in Rwanda, claims what seems to be a screenshot of post by BBC News, reposted on Facebook.

The screenshot shows a photo of Rwandan president Paul Kagame. One version includes the text: “The acts of kindness sparked by coronavirus.”

Did BBC News report that seven people infected with the new coronavirus were killed in Rwanda?



Doctored version of real BBC post


A strip of colour beneath the Kagame’s photo suggests that the screenshot may be a manipulated version of a real BBC Facebook post, with the photo overlaid on the original.

A Google search for the phrase “the acts of kindness sparked by coronavirus Facebook.com” returns a BBC News Facebook post dated 17 March 2020.

The post shows two smiling women – not Kagame – and links to a BBC News report on emergency appeals and volunteer work to help limit the impact of the UK’s coronavirus outbreak.

The post’s headline reads: “The acts of kindness sparked by coronavirus”.

Always verify coronavirus news


A reverse image search of the Kagame photo reveals that it was taken on 31 March 2011. It can be found on the Getty Images stock photo site, and on AFP Forum.

BBC News Africa has branded the post fake and urged people to always verify news, especially about the coronavirus.

“This article is fake and was not made by the BBC. We urge people to verify news stories at bbc.com/Africa to ensure they have accurate and reliable information about the coronavirus,” it posted on Facebook and Twitter. – Dancan Bwire




 

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.