Fake news: Five serious events wey shake Africa inside one year

Fake news sign

Wia dis foto come from, Nick Youngson

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Fake news don collect blame for tribal katakata, confusion among voters plus even moni wey dey change value upanda.

As BBC dey launch ogbonge research on top fake news for Africa, we chook eye for five fake tori dem wey cause big impact for Africa for di last 12 months.

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1. "Gay pipo rubber stamp" Nigeria Presidential candidate

Wetin be di tori?

Wen dem confam Atiku Abubakar as presidential candidate for 2019 Nigeria election, one fake Twitter account wit di opposition leader name on top post message to tank di "Association of Nigeria Gay Men (ANGAM)" for im support.

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For di post, Atiku say di first tin wey im go do if im become president na to remove anti-gay law wey former president, Goodluck Jonathan, pass for 2014.

Wetin we call dis Video, See how you fit take know say wetin you dey read na fake news

Homosexual pesin wey dem catch go chill 14 years for prison for Nigeria, and for gay pipo to marry or show love for public na offence.

Which impact e get?

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Article on Nigeria's The Nation site

Wia dis foto come from, The Nation

Wetin we call dis foto, Screengrab of di fake news story from one Nigeria blog
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Afta dem bin first share di tori for Twitter on 14 October, two blogs carri di tori. Afta 12 days, two ogbonge Nigeria newspaper, Di Nation and Vanguard, publish di tori.

Dem report say one LGBT group wey dem dey call "Diverse" also dey support Atiku for president sake of im get open mind.

Fake tori about presidential candidate wey dey support gay right fit spoil tins for dem. Powerful Muslim and Christian leaders for Nigeria wey dey support anti-gay law fit tell dia followers make dem no vote di candidate.

How we take know di tori na fake?

Di Twitter account wey di tori from come no be Atiku Abubakar official account. Dis na im h real account, dem mark am good wit blue colour.

Notin dey to show say di LGBT group wey dem quote for di first tweet, or di blog plus newspaper tori dey exist. No official evidence or record dey about di organisation at all, dat sef for dey illegal for Nigeria law anyway.

Plus dia so-called tok tok pesin (Spinky Victor Lee) no bin dey exist online before di first tweet bin show for october, according to tori pipo Agence France Press (AFP) wey bin chook eye for di mata.

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2. Ogbonge Kenya tori pesin share fake praise

Wetin be di tori?

CNN business tori presenter Richard Quest bin enta Nairobi for October to feem im TV show.

On 25 October, ogbonge tori pesin Julie Gichuru go her Twitter account to discuss how Richard Quest take dey enjoy Kenya.

Dis na wetin she post say Quest tok.

"Notin reach di service industry for Kenya... Here giraffe dey around me as I dey chop breakfast! For kontri wey World Bank say na Preferred Investment Destination for Africa, wetin again I fit ask for? "KENYA NA MAGIC!"

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A false quote shared by former news anchor

Wia dis foto come from, Twitter

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Which impact e get?

Julie get pass one million followers for her Twitter plus 600,000 for Instagram, so before you know wetin dey happun, thousands of pipo don see wetin she post and believe say na true.

Many pipo laff her sake of say she fall mugu for fake tori even though she popular and don tey for di work.

How we take know say na fake?

Di CNN tori pesin bin see Julie tweet na im e sharply say im no tok anytin like dat. Im reply her original post.

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Na so Julie enta Twitter to correct her tok for her followers, she do about-turn for di tok, come delete di first tweet.

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3. Dem push Somalia pipo enta 'grave wey no deep' for Ethiopia

Wetin be di tori?

For July, Ethiopia Satellite Television wey base for US (ESAT) show video wey dem say show Oromo pipo from Ethiopia as dem dey push Somali pipo enta grave wey no deep.

Dem claim say na for Oromo region for Ethiopia where pipo don dey fight kill demsef since dis year dem record di video.

Which impact e get?

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Cameroon video

Wia dis foto come from, YouTube

Wetin we call dis foto, Di feem dey show deadbodi as dem dey roll am enta grave wey no deep
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Di BBC Afaan oromo language service report say di broadcast and di way e take spread for social media for Ethiopia cause dangerous attacks on ethnic Oromo pipo wey dey live for Djibouti and Somalia.

Oromo refugees for neighbouring Djibouti tell BBC say dem beat dem, raid dia shops because of di video.

How we know say na fake news

Na di same video pipo share for June ontop social media as e concern di fight wey dey happun for 3,000km (1,800 miles) west of Ethiopia between Anglophone separatists and Cameroon goment.

Di version of di video wey ESAT TV show wey no dey confam na video wey pesin work on, di pesin place audio wey be like Oromo youth dem wey dey chant ontop di video original sound.

As soon as ESAT realise say di video na fake, dem remove am from all dia platforms come issue official apology ontop dia You Tube channel.

E clear say ESAT TV no tamper wit di video, dem no know-know broadcast di fake video.

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4. South African President Jacob Zuma don "resign"

Wetin be di tori?

On 12 February, one reporter for South Africa tori company SABC report say president Jacob Zuma don resign.

Tshepo Ikaneng even claim say "authoritative sources" break di tori for one high level meeting of members from di ruling African National Congress (ANC), wey bin dey discuss im future.

Anoda South Africa tori pesin go upload di announcement for Twitter.

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Zuma bin dey under serious pressure sake of many scandals and im party don tell am tire to step down.

Di kontri bin dey wait for news say im don resign.

Which impact e get?

Rand, South Africa moni, wey bin gain 1% on top expectation say Zuma go resign on 12 February, drop afta di tok tok pesin say notin like dat dey happen.

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We bin sabi say na fake?

Zuma tok tok pesin deny di report, say na "fake news".

But three days afta, Zuma resign - dis time for real.

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5. Tanzania leader 'dey support polygamy to end prostitution'

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Tanzania President John Magufuli

Wia dis foto come from, Zambian Observer

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Wetin be di tori?

One tori wey claim say Tanzania President John Magufuli tell men to marry more dan one wife to end prostitution go viral.

E say di president address "conference of about 14,000 men" where e tell dem say "out of nearly 70 million Tanzania pipo, 40 million na women and only 30 million be men."

Dis scarcity of men na im dey cause more adultery and prostitution for women, na wetin di tori claim say di president tok.

Which impact e get?

Na for Zambia Observer website dem publish di first tori for English February 2018, but e no too shake ground.

But wen dem publish am for Swahili language wey be Tanzania local language for one website wey dem call nipasheonline.com, na im di tori catch fire.

From dia dem post am for one popular website JamiiForums, na dia e turn hot topic plus spread enta oda news website for Kenya, Zambia, South Africa and Ghana.

How we take know say na fake?

Tanzania tok tok pesin condemn di tori on top Twitter wit Swahili, e say di presido no tok anytin like dat so make pipo ignore am.

BBC Swahili chook eye for di mata to expose why we take sabi say di story na lie.

For di fake article Magufuli say di population na 70 million and women take 10 million pass men.

But latest UN estimates report say Tanzania population remain small to reach 60 million and number between men and women no too plenti.

Di website wey dem post di fake tori wan resemble di popular Tanzania newspaper Nipashe.

But notin connect am to di real website of dat newspaper wey dia web na https://www.ippmedia.com/sw/nipashe.

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Fake news branding

Dis tori na part of series wey BBC dey do about disinformationa and fake news - global problem wey dey challenge di way we dey take share information and understand di world around us.

To see more tori and learn more about di series visit www.bbc.co.uk/fakenews.

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