“KTN News reports that 14 students from the University of Nairobi (UON) of sciences famously known as Kenya Science have been infected with the coronavirus and quarantined at Kenyatta National Hospital,” claims an article dated 16 March 2020 and shared on Facebook.
Is this true?
A look through the Twitter and Facebook timelines of KTN News shows that all the updates on coronavirus in Kenya reported by the TV channel have been attributed to the government officials. No report on 14 University of Nairobi students being quarantined for the coronavirus can be found.
On 18 March, health minister Mutahi Kagwe announced that Kenya had seven confirmed cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
Kagwe said: “We have received confirmation of another three cases of coronavirus following tests that were carried out by the National Influenza Centre as well as Kemri [Kenya Medical Research Institute] laboratories in the country. Therefore, we now have in the country seven confirmed cases.”
Paul Nabiswa, a senior editor at KTN News, told Africa Check the article was false. “That’s a false story that someone posted online. We don’t have such information, and we never ran such a story.”
A University of Nairobi staff member told us on the institution’s official phone line: “The university is closed and we have not heard of such reports.” – Grace Gichuhi
Is this true?
Seven confirmed cases announced
A look through the Twitter and Facebook timelines of KTN News shows that all the updates on coronavirus in Kenya reported by the TV channel have been attributed to the government officials. No report on 14 University of Nairobi students being quarantined for the coronavirus can be found.
On 18 March, health minister Mutahi Kagwe announced that Kenya had seven confirmed cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
Kagwe said: “We have received confirmation of another three cases of coronavirus following tests that were carried out by the National Influenza Centre as well as Kemri [Kenya Medical Research Institute] laboratories in the country. Therefore, we now have in the country seven confirmed cases.”
Paul Nabiswa, a senior editor at KTN News, told Africa Check the article was false. “That’s a false story that someone posted online. We don’t have such information, and we never ran such a story.”
A University of Nairobi staff member told us on the institution’s official phone line: “The university is closed and we have not heard of such reports.” – Grace Gichuhi
For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false
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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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