Hours after a strong windstorm swept across parts of Kenya on 1 October 2019, claims about the event made their way online.
Kenya’s major news outlets reported just one death, of a woman electrocuted in an incident related to the storm.
Yet a Facebook user shared a photo on a popular Kenyan group page, claiming it showed a ship capsized by the strong winds off the coastal city of Mombasa, which “resulted in thousands of deaths”.
The Kiswahili caption reads: “Maelfu wahofiwa kuzama baharini uko Mombasa baada ya upepo mkali kukumba sehemu hiyo.”
This translates as: “Thousands feared to have drowned in the ocean in Mombasa after strong windstorms swept through the area.”
Does the photo show a capsized ship on the Kenyan coast? We checked.
No, it’s actually of the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia, as a reverse image search reveals.
The ship ran aground on 14 January 2012 near the Italian island of Isola del Giglio. Thirty-two people drowned.
The disaster was reported by media houses worldwide.
Photos of the Costa Concordia accident can be found on the stock photo sites Getty Images, Shutterstock and Alamy. – Dancan Bwire
Kenya’s major news outlets reported just one death, of a woman electrocuted in an incident related to the storm.
Yet a Facebook user shared a photo on a popular Kenyan group page, claiming it showed a ship capsized by the strong winds off the coastal city of Mombasa, which “resulted in thousands of deaths”.
The Kiswahili caption reads: “Maelfu wahofiwa kuzama baharini uko Mombasa baada ya upepo mkali kukumba sehemu hiyo.”
This translates as: “Thousands feared to have drowned in the ocean in Mombasa after strong windstorms swept through the area.”
Does the photo show a capsized ship on the Kenyan coast? We checked.
Italian shipwreck in 2012
No, it’s actually of the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia, as a reverse image search reveals.
The ship ran aground on 14 January 2012 near the Italian island of Isola del Giglio. Thirty-two people drowned.
The disaster was reported by media houses worldwide.
Photos of the Costa Concordia accident can be found on the stock photo sites Getty Images, Shutterstock and Alamy. – Dancan Bwire
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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