“State freezes Ruto account,” reads the headline of what looks like the front page of Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper for 28 May 2020, shared on Facebook.
Text below the headline reads: “A DCI officer based at Central Bank flagged a $3 million dollar bank transfer from a Dubai bank linked to Ruto lawyer.” A photo shows Kenyan deputy president William Ruto scratching his head.
One user posted the page with the comment: “KIMEUMANA!! Ili iwe funzo kwa wengine. Security agencies now move swiftly and arrest this thug.” The Kiswahili roughly translates as: “IT’S ALL HAPPENING!! Let this be a lesson to others.”
Several fake newspaper front pages have been circulating on Facebook in Kenya recently. Is this one of them?
On 28 May the Daily Nation posted the page on Twitter, with “FAKE NEWS” stamped on it. Next to it was the genuine front page.
It tweeted: “Here is today's Daily Nation front page. Do not fall for fake headlines.”
The real front page has a photo of president Uhuru Kenyatta, with the headline: “For Uhuru, season of tough decisions.” – Grace Gichuhi
Text below the headline reads: “A DCI officer based at Central Bank flagged a $3 million dollar bank transfer from a Dubai bank linked to Ruto lawyer.” A photo shows Kenyan deputy president William Ruto scratching his head.
One user posted the page with the comment: “KIMEUMANA!! Ili iwe funzo kwa wengine. Security agencies now move swiftly and arrest this thug.” The Kiswahili roughly translates as: “IT’S ALL HAPPENING!! Let this be a lesson to others.”
Several fake newspaper front pages have been circulating on Facebook in Kenya recently. Is this one of them?
‘Do not fall for fake headlines’
On 28 May the Daily Nation posted the page on Twitter, with “FAKE NEWS” stamped on it. Next to it was the genuine front page.
It tweeted: “Here is today's Daily Nation front page. Do not fall for fake headlines.”
The real front page has a photo of president Uhuru Kenyatta, with the headline: “For Uhuru, season of tough decisions.” – Grace Gichuhi
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.
Further Reading
[email protected]: The challenges of working across Africa
Misinformation knows no borders and Africa Check often responds to similar false claims from country to country.
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