“POLYCARP IGATHE WRITES TO PRESIDENT UHURU SEEKING WITHDRAWAL FROM NAIROBI RACE; CITES UNBEARABLE PRESSURE, CONSTANT EXTORTION BY CARTELS,” reads a graphic circulating on Facebook in April 2022. It carries the logo of NTV Kenya, a Kenyan TV channel.
Igathe, a Kenyan businessman and politician, has previously served in senior positions, including at Vivo Energy Kenya and Equity Bank Kenya. He was also Nairobi county’s deputy governor before resigning in 2018.
On 22 April, Orange Democratic Movement party leader Raila Odinga announced that Igathe would be running for the Nairobi governor’s seat under the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition ticket. Kenya is set to hold general elections on 9 August.
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s ruling Jubilee Party is among the parties in the coalition.
Odinga heads the coalition and is running for president. His main rival is current deputy president William Ruto, who leads the Kenya Kwanza alliance.
The graphic has also been posted here, here, here and here. But is it authentic? We checked.
‘Fake news alert’
NTV Kenya usually posts its graphics on its social media pages, which includes a verified Facebook page.
We looked for the graphic on the Facebook page and found it – stamped “fake”.
“FAKE NEWS ALERT: The image circulating online, of an alleged Breaking News update on Polycarp Igathe, purportedly from NTV, is not from us. Stand advised,” the TV channel posted.
Republish our content for free
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