A graphic posted on Facebook on 6 March 2022 claimed that Kenyan deputy president William Ruto cut short a 10-day trip to the United States and the United Kingdom.
Text in the graphic reads: “Sources indicate that DP Ruto is expected back in the country today after being advised by his campaign team that meeting low level officials in the UK would make the 'tourist' tag being placed on him by the public stick. This is after several institutions he was to visit silently withdrew their invitations.”
The graphic, also shared here, includes the logo of NTV, a mainstream Kenyan TV station. The graphic was also posted here, here and here.
But did Ruto abruptly cut short his trip and did NTV report about it? We checked.
Reports show Ruto in UK on 6 March
The graphic claimed Ruto was “expected back in the country today”. But on 6 March Hussein Mohammed, the communications director of Ruto’s presidential campaign, said his boss was headed to London, the UK capital, from the US.
On 6 March, according to the Nation newspaper, Ruto met Kenyans living in the UK. The next day he met the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is considered the head of the Anglican church.
Ruto also spoke at Chatham House, a thinktank in London, about his presidential ambitions on 7 March. On 8 March he met with senior British government officials .
Ruto was not in Kenya on 6 March.
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 guideAfrica 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