• English-language site
  • Site francophone
Africa Check
  • Donate

Get a weekly dose of facts

Skip to content
  • Home
  • Reports
    • Back
    • By country…
    • Kenya
    • Nigeria
    • South Africa
    • Senegal
    • Any country
    • By topic…
    • Health
    • Education
    • Crime
    • Economy
    • Facebook checks
    • All topics
  • Factsheets & Guides
  • How to fact-check
    • Back
    • Info Finder (Beta version)
    • Tips and advice
    • Submit a claim to check
    • The African Fact-Checking Awards
      • Back
      • What counts as a fact-checking report?
      • Our previous winners
    • Fact-checking studies
  • About us
    • Back
    • TRi Facts
      • Back
      • Training
      • Research
      • Information
    • Our team
    • How we are funded
      • Back
      • Partners
    • How we work
      • Back
      • Principles
      • How we rate claims
      • Corrections
      • Terms and Conditions
    • Vacancies
    • Contact us

Tag: hoax

Blog post: Why we fact-check mermaids, lion pictures & urban myths

Fact-checking can be serious business but we don’t shy away from its lighter side. The wild and wacky are fair game and they serve an important purpose, too.

07:18 | 15 December 2016 (GMT)

1 comment

  • hoax
incorrect

It’s a hoax! Pride of lions didn’t kill 5 poachers in Zimbabwe

Wildlife lovers rejoiced when a Facebook post recounting the gruesome death of five poachers went viral. But the story – and the images – are a hoax.

12:08 | 18 July 2016 (GMT)

Be the first to comment

  • fakes
  • hoax
incorrect

SA police: ‘Don’t help crying children’ warning a hoax

A post shared on social media warns that in South Africa crying children are being used to lure unsuspecting victims to criminals. Is this a legitimate threat?

12:05 | 18 April 2016 (GMT)

Be the first to comment

  • children
  • crime
  • hoax
unproven

Did a Christian prophet challenge lions to a fight in the Kruger National Park?

A story about a ‘holy-spirit filled’ Pretoria based ZCC prophet who was attacked by lions after challenging them to a fight has gone viral. But did it actually take place?

03:01 | 10 March 2016 (GMT)

Be the first to comment

  • fact-checking
  • hoax

Popular topics

  • Kenya
  • health
  • nigeria
  • false
  • South Africa
  • Incorrect
  • government
  • economy
  • development
  • education
  • fake
  • crime
  • statistics
  • reader suggestion
  • women
  • hoax
  • Jacob Zuma
  • children
  • data
  • employment
  • HIV/AIDS
  • election
  • water
  • electricity
  • police
  • Africa
  • ANC
  • False evidence of claim
  • media
  • environment

View more

Donate to Africa Check

We depend on voluntary donations to run this site. Please help us to keep public figures accountable by supporting the project.

Find out more

We hold public figures accountable


For democracy to function, public figures need to be held to account for what they say. The claims they make need to be checked, openly and impartially. Africa Check is an independent, non-partisan organisation which assesses claims made in the public arena using journalistic skills and evidence drawn from the latest online tools, readers, public sources and experts, sorting fact from fiction and publishing the results.

  • About us
  • Our team
  • Partners
  • Principles
  • How we are funded
  • Contact us
  • Terms

Get in touch

  • info@africacheck.org
  • Subscribe
  • Follow @africacheck
  • Find us on Facebook

Our partners

The Aga Khan University Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation E-jicom FacebookKonrad Adenauer StiftungLuminateMillenium TrustOpen Society Foundation      The Raith Foundation   Social Justice InitiativeStandard Bank  Wits Journalism

Get a weekly dose of facts, straight to your inbox.

Get updates from TRI Facts