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Since the emergence of COVID-19 on the continent, African governments have had to decide whether, in addition to following WHO recommendations to test widely, contact trace, and quarantine, they would adopt draconian measures such as total lockdowns, stay at home to save lives campaigns, and travel and movement restrictions as has been done in European and Asian countries.

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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is now established in Africa. To flatten the curve, some African governments have imposed stringent public health measures (lockdown) based on physical distancing to reduce transmission. However, the safety of this approach in poor communities has not been evaluated, and it is plausible that lives lost to lockdown could exceed those saved from COVID-19.

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With cases of novel coronavirus spreading worldwide, governments and institutions are getting ready for the first cases in Africa. On Jan 30, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared that the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) epidemic, centred in China, was a public health emergency of international concern.

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Many countries in Africa are stepping up their preparedness to detect and cope with COVID-19 importations. Resources, intensified surveillance, and capacity building should be urgently prioritised in countries with moderate risk that might be ill-prepared to detect imported cases and to limit onward transmission.

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On March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) upgraded the status of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak from epidemic to a global pandemic. Several rapid diagnostic tests have been developed at an astonishing pace; however, COVID-19 requires more highly specific rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests.

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Research on current and emerging diagnostic tests available for the novel Covid-19 global pandemic

We speculate that while African nations are currently experiencing much lower rates of COVID-19 relative to other continents, their significantly lower testing rates may grossly underestimate incidence rates. Failure to grasp the true picture may mean crucial windows of opportunity shut unutilized, while limited resources are not deployed to maximum effect.

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I n South Sudan, all schools and churches have been closed to promote social distancing. In South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a 3-week total lockdown of his country’s 57 million citizens. In Uganda, pop star Bobi Wine’s newly recorded song “Sensitise to Sanitise” is playing on radios throughout the country.

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Lack of proper messaging at an outbreak of a novel disease causes panic with more serious damaging impacts on livelihoods, social-fabric of communities, economic landscapes, and political stability. There have been notable high levels of panic in South Africa and the globe with regard to the outbreak of COVID-19.

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A&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://archive.vn/egInS" target="_blank">Facebook post&nbsp;</a>claiming that&nbsp;Euphorbia hirta,&nbsp;commonly known as the asthma plant,&nbsp;cures COVID-19 is FALSE.



Euphorbia hirta&nbsp;is a hairy herb that grows in open grasslands, roadsides and pathways, and it is known as the&nbsp;<a href="http://natureconservation.in/medicinal-uses-of-asthma-weed-euphorbia-hirta/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">asthma plant</a>&nbsp;because it is commonly used in India as a traditional remedy for treating asthma.



The post, with a link to a&nbsp;<a href="https://archive.vn/VLLME" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">newsproof.org article</a>, claims that a group of researchers from Nigeria’s University of Ibadan have discovered that the asthma plant can cure COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.



However, in an article posted on its website, the University of Ibadan&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ui.edu.ng/news/covid-19-ui-scientists-recommend-euphorbia-hirta-linn-relief" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">states that there is no evidence yet</a>&nbsp;that the plant can cure coronavirus disease.



Researchers at the university recommend that&nbsp;Euphorbia hirta&nbsp;can be used as a relief for some of the symptoms of COVID-19, including fever, cough and respiratory issues, but it does not treat the disease.



The University of Ibadan is also exploring the benefits of the asthma plant and similar plants for the cure of chronic flu and other respiratory diseases, including COVID-19.



The US National Center for Biotechnology Information&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3249903/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published an article</a>&nbsp;saying that the plant has been widely used in the traditional system of medicine in the treatment of respiratory diseases such as asthma, gastrointestinal disorders, pulmonary disorders and wound healing.



The World Health Organization also says that there is no specific&nbsp;<a href="http://www.emro.who.int/health-topics/corona-virus/questions-and-answers.html#:~:text=There%20is%20no%20specific%20treatment,the%20patient's%20clinical%20condition." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">treatment</a>&nbsp;for COVID-19 at the moment. The organization, however, adds that many symptoms of the disease can be treated based on the patient’s clinical condition.



PesaCheck has looked into the claim that the asthma plant, also called&nbsp;Euphorbia hirta, cures COVID-19 and finds it to be FALSE.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as&nbsp;potential misinformation&nbsp;on Facebook and other social media platforms.



<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/pesacheck-and-facebook-partner-to-fight-misinformation-in-kenya-d6a45ee70c18?gi=d2cb1ae7440">By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms</a>, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.



Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook?&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/help/572838089565953?helpref=faq_content" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Here’s how you can report</a>. And,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">here’s&nbsp;</a>more information on&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">PesaCheck’s methodology</a>&nbsp;for fact-checking questionable content.



This fact-check was written by <a href="http://pesacheck.org">PesaCheck</a> Fact-Checker&nbsp;James Okong’o&nbsp;and edited by PesaCheck Deputy Editor&nbsp;Enock Nyariki.



The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck Managing Editor&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/mougendi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Mugendi</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/394/0*ZFx6PoMvoUQ-r23L" alt=""/></figure>



PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/catherine-gicheru" target="_blank">Catherine Gicheru</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/justin-arenstein" target="_blank">Justin Arenstein</a>, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator:&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water/sanitation.&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">PesaCheck&nbsp;</a>also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">pesacheck.org</a>.



PesaCheck is an initiative of&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>, through its&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://innovateafrica.fund/" target="_blank">innovateAFRICA fund</a>, with support from&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.dw.com/en/dw-akademie/about-us/" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle Akademie</a>, in partnership with a coalition of local media and other civic watchdog organisations in 14 African countries.

FALSE: Asthma plant is not a proven cure for COVID-19

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/2750/1*hJ9fLPVijkr_sJMDiKs1OQ.png" alt=""/><figcaption>(Source:<a href="http://www.twitter.com/jean_leroux" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@jean_leroux</a>/DFRLab)</figcaption></figure>



Planet49, a Hong Kong-based digital marketing company with close associations with Asia Pacific Marketing Limited, targeted South African users with a digital marketing campaign intended to harvest their personal information. The campaign falsely presented a COVID-19 “relief promotion” by local grocery chains. In reality, it enticed WhatsApp users to not only share the promotion with several of their WhatsApp contacts, but also consent to Planet49 selling their personal information to third parties.



The grocery chains referenced in the campaign have denied any involvement with Planet49.



A DFRLab investigation analyzed the source code of these websites, which revealed the links to a Planet49 website registered in 2014. The website had fabricated a Facebook-style comments section using an API for randomly generating profiles pictures. Reverse image searches revealed that these profiles pictures were used prolifically across social media, blogging platforms, and review platforms on other websites.



There is also evidence that some of these campaigns were used in Australia as well.



Planet49 registered the www.sa-rewards.co.za domain in May 2014. Less than a year later, the&nbsp;<a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:jeuWN0wZBe0J:https://news.nari.co.za/tags/scam-alert/sa-rewards-scam.html+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=za" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">first warnings</a>&nbsp;against the website and its fake voucher lotteries began&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180106093206/http:/news.searchsa.co.za:80/tags/scam-alert/rewards-scam.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">circulating online</a>. In 2019,&nbsp;<a href="http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=218462&pageIndex=0&doclang=EN&mode=req&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=4608909" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Planet49 was reprimanded</a>&nbsp;by the European Court of Justice for transgressing GDPR requirements in its online lotteries. Meanwhile, crucial sections of South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act, meant to be the country’s parallel to GDPR, are still in limbo since some sections of the POPI Act were promulgated six years ago.



<h2 id="aa5b">The website</h2>



The campaign spread mainly via a short WhatsApp message that contained a link to a seemingly legitimate website for one of South Africa’s grocery chains.



This message was deceptively styled to mimic the official Woolworths website, and gave the impression that Woolworths was giving away R5 000 ($280) worth of groceries for free as part of a coronavirus support program.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1740/1*PzIAGza3TxgW1kG975EuNA.png" alt=""/><figcaption>A screengrab of the WhatsApp message linking to the dubious website, indicating the deceptive logo and URL. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.twitter.com/jean_leroux" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@jean_leroux</a>/DFRLab)</figcaption></figure>



Once a user clicked on this link, a two-stage process commenced.



Firstly, a landing page (woolworths.co.za-groceries.store) enticed the user into sending the same WhatsApp message containing a link to the website to several of their contacts. This landing page changed twice during the course of the DFRLab investigation, but the content remained identical. It did this by taking the user through a short survey before prompting them to send the link to at least 10 of their contacts. A counter would keep track of the number of times a user shared this with their friends or groups.



These steps could be discerned from the JavaScript functions embedded into the buttons.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1934/1*SqRnne1sMa6He-cAXMPRhA.png" alt=""/><figcaption>A screengrab from the source code of the page revealing the functions called when clicking the buttons. Clicking the “WhatsApp” button (red) pre-drafted a WhatsApp message to be forwarded to several contacts, whereas the “Continue” button (purple) would check if the post was shared enough before allowing a user to click through to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.sa-rewards.co.za./" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.sa-rewards.co.za.</a>&nbsp;A third function (blue) was unused, and seems to be from a version of the site that used SMS messages. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.twitter.com/jean_leroux" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@jean_leroux</a>/DFRLab)</figcaption></figure>



Once the threshold was met, it would allow the user to click through to a second website, www.sa-rewards.co.za. This website was registered to Planet49, and required the user to enter their personal details, and consent to Planet49 processing and selling this information to third parties for marketing purposes, before they could secure an entry into the draw.



This process ensured that users propagated the website to several of their WhatsApp contacts before they even entered the drawing by providing their personal information.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1098/1*9gxkkAwV1_jRYy-W_7mxSw.png" alt=""/><figcaption>A schematic representation of the flow of the campaign. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.twitter.com/jean_leroux" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@jean_leroux</a>/DFRLab via Draw.io)</figcaption></figure>



This coronavirus “promotion” was deceptive. The domain names were crafted in such a manner that they mimicked Woolworths’ official domain, and official logos were used to give the impression that the campaign was sanctioned by Woolworths. The mention of the coronavirus kept the campaign-which seems to have been running since 2016-fresh.



A dive into the source code of the www.sa-rewards.co.za website revealed that in addition to Woolworths, the campaign also targeted two other grocery chains, Pick&Pay and Spar. The site would be tailored to either Woolworth, Spar, or Pick&Pay shoppers depending on the link you received.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/2186/1*fvMDfpoYbyHltkqrkOh_1g.png" alt=""/><figcaption>A screengrab from the source code of the www.sa-rewards.co.za website indicating that the site changed its display text to one of three grocery chains depending on the link you used to access it. (Source:@jean_leroux/DFRLab via SA-rewards.co.za)</figcaption></figure>



Another deception was the way in which a portion of the website was designed to imitate a Facebook comments section. This featured several happy “participants” expressing their satisfaction at receiving their vouchers, despite the drawing date only being slated for June this year.



The source code, however, revealed that this was fake. The Facebook comments section was hard-coded into the website, and was made to imitate real users’ comments and likes. The source code also showed that the “user profiles” were being generated automatically using an API built specifically to generate random user accounts.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/2180/1*6LXWxUdVW7sbgS2AM7qgKA.png" alt=""/><figcaption>Screengrabs from the www.woolworths.co.za-grocery.store website (left) imitating a Facebook comments section, and the accompanying source code (right). Note that these comments were hard-coded, and the profile pictures sourced programmatically from a website that generates fake profiles. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.twitter.com/jean_leroux" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@jean_leroux</a>/DFRLab)</figcaption></figure>



Reverse image searches of these photographs revealed that scores of websites used the same profile pictures on their websites. These included customer reviews for a&nbsp;<a href="http://gametraders.de/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gaming-sales website</a>&nbsp;in Germany, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wpsync.com/reviews/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WordPress management tool</a>, and even hidden unused in the source code of the website for a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.southridgedental.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UK based dentist</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1874/1*rsKtUVqs9YbtfL--GelZRw.png" alt=""/><figcaption>A reverse image search conducted on some of the profile pictures used by the fabricated Facebook comments section revealed that the same pictures saw extensive use. Multiple Twitter, Medium, WordPress and dating site accounts were found using these profile pictures. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.twitter.com/jean_leroux" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@jean_leroux</a>/DFRLab)</figcaption></figure>



Iterations of this “free voucher” scam has targeted South African users since 2014. In a country rife with unemployment and inequality, the promise of a substantial voucher in exchange for personal information seems enticing. Now, with a nationwide lockdown in effect in South Africa in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus, the scammers’ angle of attack has shifted to keep the old scam current.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/jean_leroux" target="_blank">Jean Le Roux</a> is a Research Associate, Southern Africa, with the Digital Forensic Research Lab and is based in South Africa.



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/DFRLab" target="_blank">Follow along</a> for more in-depth analysis from our #DigitalSherlocks.



The Digital Forensic Research Lab team in southern Africa works in partnership with <a href="https://medium.com/code-for-africa">Code for Africa</a>.

Scammers use WhatsApp chain message to harvest personal data

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/2352/1*i-R-d35ApUxZ1Y-5gXtvtw.png" alt=""/><figcaption>(Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/awildknight" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@awildknight</a>/ DFRLab via&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/raoult_didier/photo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bill_Gates_2014.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wikimedia Commons</a>)</figcaption></figure>



Tech billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates reached the third spot on South Africa’s Twitter trends on March 31, with over 35,000 tweets mentioning his name. An overwhelming number of the accounts that tweeted his name claimed Africa should not accept a vaccination for COVID-19 from Bill Gates, even though no vaccination is currently available. Tracing the content of the tweets revealed a fake message claiming to be from a French doctor that hopped from Facebook to Twitter, making its way from France to the U.S. to South Africa.



Gates has been the target of multiple conspiracy theories about the spread of the new coronavirus. One of the first theories, started by QAnon supporter Jordan Sather,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://medium.com/dfrlab/a-reason-for-skepticism-with-chinas-coronavirus-comms-d2020495480c">claimed</a>&nbsp;the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gave funding to an institute that patented a coronavirus vaccination, thus somehow implying Gates started the virus so he could sell vaccinations. The theory was debunked after it was proven the funding in question had gone to avian coronavirus research, not COVID-19. Nonetheless, its online spread demonstrates how disinformation can quickly travel across languages, countries and internet platforms.



The conspiracy theory



On March 27, 2020, a Facebook post written in French warned Africans not to take a vaccination created by Bill Gates. The warning was attributed to a French doctor named Didier Raoult, who according to the post, claimed that the vaccination was created by the West to destroy Africa. Raoult, a French physician and microbiologist specializing in infectious diseases, made a name for himself after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L6ehRif-v8&utm_source=POLITICO.EU&utm_campaign=8bdd2c6bf2-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_03_30_07_10&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_10959edeb5-8bdd2c6bf2-189787841" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">claiming</a>&nbsp;that the anti-malarial drug chloroquine was a cure for COVID-19 — an idea repeatedly endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Raoult’s drug trials have been&nbsp;<a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/03/didier-raoult-hydroxychloroquine-plaquenil.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">criticized</a>&nbsp;by the scientific community, yet he has significant support around the world: a Facebook groups entitled “<a href="https://web.facebook.com/groups/DidierRaoultVsCoronavirus/members/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Didier Raoult Vs Coronavirus</a>” has nearly 400,000 members, with many saying the doctor deserves a Nobel Prize.



The content of the message allegedly written by Raoult was haphazard and riddled with spelling errors. According to this narrative, Raoult appeared to question why Bill Gates would want to start vaccinating the African population against the novel coronavirus rather than starting in countries such as Italy, Spain and France, all countries with significantly higher infection rates. “I call on Africans not to take the vaccine that will soon be sold against the Corona virus, this vaccine contains poison and the West wants to destroy Africa,” an English-translated version of it quoted Raoult as saying.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/2236/1*IS62ktXODrq3ObJ3Z6KICA.png" alt=""/><figcaption>A copy of the original French message primarily spread on Facebook, versus the English translation primarily spread on Twitter. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/awildknight" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@awildknight</a>/ DFRLab via Facebook and Twitter)</figcaption></figure>



The lie goes viral



The message garnered significant attention in French-speaking groups and pages on Facebook, with one now-deleted post garnering over 47,000 shares. Posts that were not shared directly had identical content, with the image and text simply copied, pasted, and published over and over again.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/770/1*5MOTCbbMDRm6KWyIJkaBmA.png" alt=""/><figcaption>One of the posts gained over 47,000 shares before being deleted by the Facebook page Guylain Dzenge. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://perma.cc/A5XV-EA73" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Guylain Dzenge</a>&nbsp;via Facebook).</figcaption></figure>



The urgent call to action seemingly by a controversial French doctor was subsequently picked up by fringe new websites in multiple countries, in both French and English. A website called EN24.news, which allegedly operates as a translation service at a street address that does not exist,&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.vn/TIm0g" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a>&nbsp;what appears to be a direct Google-translated copy of the French text in English on March 28. That same day a website operating out of Guinea&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.vn/Q4dPU" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a>&nbsp;the story in French, while a Ghanaian website picked up on the story on March 31 and&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.vn/PWZfs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a>&nbsp;an English version.



On March 29, a Twitter account for Cynthia McKinney, an American politician who served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, tweeted the EN24.news cover of the story.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1090/1*78u5ADTVvjvj9FWe2HAqHA.png" alt=""/><figcaption>The article published by fringe media site EN24.com was picked up by American politician Cynthia McKinney. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/cynthiamckinney/status/1244246073775923201" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@cynthiamckinney</a>/&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.vn/onlg7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>)</figcaption></figure>



After moving from France to the U.S., the story was eventually picked up by South African social media accounts. Notably, an anonymous Twitter account that goes by the name&nbsp;Izwe Lethu&nbsp;(meaning “our land” in isiZulu) retweeted McKinney’s tweet on March 31. The account had nearly 66,000 followers at the time.



Izwe Lethu retweeted McKinney at 08:49 SAST, after which “Bill Gates” started to gain serious traction in South Africa. By mid-day local time, over 36,400 tweets mentioning Bill Gates had been posted by South Africa Twitter accounts.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/816/1*B4Uxrec2VX0Exaxvgb4-kg.png" alt=""/><figcaption>At 13:30 SAST Bill Gates was the third-most tweeted subject in South Africa. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/awildknight" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@awildknight</a>&nbsp;via Twitter)</figcaption></figure>



While the majority of the tweets by South African profiles appeared linked to the fake story claiming Bill Gates wanted to vaccinate African citizens against the virus, almost none of the accounts actually linked to the false stories published by EN24.com and other international websites. Instead, influential South African accounts primarily created their own original content about the conspiracy theory.



For example, the South African account @AdvoBarryRoux, with 850,000 followers, reached the largest number of Twitter users. In another tweet, the account referenced countries that need a COVID-19 vaccination more than Africa, similar to the original Facebook message claiming to be written by Raoult.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/2376/1*BZqapgYP-I0sxGIXvKmN9A.png" alt=""/><figcaption>Two tweets from influential South African Twitter account @AdvoBarryRoux received significant engagement. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/AdvoBarryRoux/status/1244913518320799744" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@AdvoBarryRoux</a>/&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.vn/0EJ4z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>, left;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/AdvoBarryRoux/status/1244911546427420672" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@AdvoBarryRoux</a>/&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.vn/CPL5l" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>, right)</figcaption></figure>



The tweets about Bill Gates were overwhelmingly negative, with many claiming the tech billionaire had a white savior complex and should not be allowed in Africa. Although the original message claiming to be by Raoult was not posted by influential accounts, the English translation was frequently posted in the comments section of tweets with high engagement, as evidence of the tweets’ claims.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1726/1*E6UZXCKFvJIiEM0uvuSQew.png" alt=""/><figcaption>The same text and photo combination of the statement allegedly written by Didier Raoult was frequently posted as comments or evidence to support negative tweets about Bill Gates. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/awildknight" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@awildknight</a>/ DFRLab via Twitter)</figcaption></figure>



Influential South African Twitter accounts also promoted other conspiracy theories:&nbsp;Izwe Lethu&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.vn/3v63f" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">posted</a>&nbsp;a clip of conspiracy theorist David Icke claiming that Bill Gates funds electronic vaccination tracking, while another account with almost 160,000 followers used the conversation about the Gates conspiracy theory to&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.ph/AZZJY" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">promote</a>&nbsp;anti-vaxxer viewpoints.



Bill Gates is exonerated



On March 30, French-fact checking organization&nbsp;Check News&nbsp;<a href="https://www.liberation.fr/checknews/2020/03/30/non-didier-raoult-n-a-pas-appele-les-africains-a-ne-pas-prendre-le-vaccin-de-bill-gates-contre-le-co_1783559" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">debunked</a>&nbsp;the story after contacting Méditerranée Infection, the university hospital institute where Raoult works. Méditerranée Infection stated that Raoult had not written the widely circulated message about Gates. However, the message remained on Facebook until April 1, when AFP also&nbsp;<a href="https://factuel.afp.com/non-didier-raoult-na-pas-incite-les-africains-ne-pas-prendre-un-vaccin-contre-le-coronavirus?fbclid=IwAR3PvKZ9x_vkx36yF-xjJ_bjrdiS3KNgRQrn93z7S5eVYXcnbXJOI-GeJao" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">debunked</a>&nbsp;the claim. As an independent fact-checking newsroom that partners with Facebook, AFP’s debunking of the statement led to all Facebook posts containing the inaccurate message being labeled as false information.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1168/1*Y_-JQv_QaEt3Hp5GuI92Zw.png" alt=""/><figcaption>A copy of the claim that Didier Raoult told Africans not to accept Bill Gates’ vaccination. As of April 1, the claim was labeled false information on Facebook. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1925447834268690/permalink/2111242579022547/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Daouda Tamba Tamba</a>/&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.ph/CJxjN" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>)</figcaption></figure>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/awildknight" target="_blank">Tessa Knight</a>&nbsp;is a Research Assistant, Southern Africa, with the Digital Forensic Research Lab. 



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/dfrlab" target="_blank">Follow along</a>&nbsp;for more in-depth analysis from our #DigitalSherlocks.



The Digital Forensic Research Lab team in southern Africa works in partnership with <a href="https://medium.com/code-for-africa">Code for Africa</a>.

Bill Gates trends in South Africa after coronavirus anti-vaxxer conspiracy theory goes viral

Facebook shut down commercial disinformation network based in Myanmar and Vietnam

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/800/1*zqdFH88uJDMNCORHabmIYg.png" alt=""/></figure>



A&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.vn/DIC9W" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook post</a>&nbsp;claiming that pregnant mothers are more likely to contract COVID-19 is FALSE.



Responding to comments on his own post, the author says he got the information from KTN News, a television news bulletin broadcast by Nairobi-based Standard Media Group. He makes no mention of the research it is based on or the organisation that conducted it.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/584/0*MaXPEf1xXGhUXSTt" alt=""/></figure>



Pesacheck got in touch with KTN News, who confirmed that they published&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-women-trfn/pregnancy-malaria-and-coronavirus-a-perfect-storm-for-preventable-deaths-idUSKCN226335" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a story by Reuters</a>, on their print publication, The Standard. The story, however, shines a spotlight on the plight of expectant women in malaria-prone areas during the COVID-19 pandemic given that pesticide spraying to kill mosquitoes has been suspended due to lockdowns.



According to the article, a combination of these factors is what puts them at a higher risk of contracting both malaria, COVID-19 or even vulnerable to misdiagnoses as the two diseases carry similar symptoms, rather than the mere fact that they are pregnant as claimed.



Although pregnancy does cause changes in the body and immune system, making expectant mothers more susceptible to some respiratory infections, the World Health Organization (WHO) says&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-on-covid-19-pregnancy-childbirth-and-breastfeeding" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">there is currently no evidence</a>&nbsp;that they are more prone to COVID-19 than the general population.



WHO adds that research is still underway to understand the full impact of COVID-19 infection on pregnant women, but in the meantime, urges them to<a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-on-covid-19-pregnancy-childbirth-and-breastfeeding" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;take the same precautions&nbsp;</a>to avoid the virus as other people.



These include washing hands with soap or sanitising with an alcohol-based rub, maintaining social distancing, avoiding touching eyes, nose and mouth, and seeking medical attention early if one has a fever, cough or difficulty in breathing.



There is also no evidence that COVID-19 can be passed from an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-on-covid-19-pregnancy-childbirth-and-breastfeeding" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">expectant mother to her child</a>&nbsp;either during pregnancy, at the time of delivery, or through breastfeeding.



PesaCheck has looked into the claim that pregnant mothers are prone to COVID-19 and finds it to be FALSE.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as&nbsp;potential misinformation&nbsp;on Facebook and other social media platforms.



<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/pesacheck-and-facebook-partner-to-fight-misinformation-in-kenya-d6a45ee70c18?gi=d2cb1ae7440">By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms</a>, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.



Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook?&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.facebook.com/help/572838089565953?helpref=faq_content" target="_blank">Here’s how you can report</a>. And,&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">here’s</a> more information on&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">PesaCheck’s methodology</a>&nbsp;for fact-checking questionable content.



This fact-check was written by PesaCheck Fact-Checker&nbsp;Simon Muli&nbsp;and edited by PesaCheck Deputy Editor&nbsp;Rose Lukalo.



The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck Managing Editor&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/mougendi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Mugendi</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/394/0*79PUaFcoou7G9fNE" alt=""/></figure>



PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/catherine-gicheru" target="_blank">Catherine Gicheru</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/justin-arenstein" target="_blank">Justin Arenstein</a>, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator:&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water/sanitation.&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">PesaCheck</a> also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">pesacheck.org</a>.



PesaCheck is an initiative of&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>, through its&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://innovateafrica.fund/" target="_blank">innovateAFRICA fund</a>, with support from&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.dw.com/en/dw-akademie/about-us/" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle Akademie</a>, in partnership with a coalition of local media and other civic watchdog organisations in 14 African countries.

FALSE: There is no evidence that pregnant women are at greater risk of getting Covid-19

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/800/1*Bt6veCM22ND0Z4ZT8tvtKg.png" alt=""/></figure>



A&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.vn/yWVqE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">video</a>&nbsp;shared on Facebook claiming that smoking cannabis can prevent COVID-19 is FALSE.



According to the video, non-smokers are more vulnerable to COVID-19 than regular smokers of cannabis, and the abundance of the drug in Jamaica is apparently the reason why there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country.



However, while studies have shown that cannabis has medicinal properties, and a cannabis-based drug&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-drug-comprised-active-ingredient-derived-marijuana-treat-rare-severe-forms" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration</a>&nbsp;for the treatment of Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, two rare and severe forms of epilepsy, there is no evidence to suggest it can be used to prevent COVID-19.



In fact, when the video was published on March 31, 2020, Jamaica had already&nbsp;<a href="https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">confirmed 38 cases</a>&nbsp;of COVID-19, indicating that smoking cannabis does not provide immunity against the disease.



The World Health Organization identifies&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">people with pre-existing medical conditions</a>&nbsp;such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease, are the ones more vulnerable to COVID- 19, rather than those who don’t smoke cannabis as claimed.



Further, smoking cannabis&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lung.org/quit-smoking/smoking-facts/health-effects/marijuana-and-lung-health" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">can damage the lungs</a>&nbsp;according to the American Lung Association, and can cause chronic bronchitis, which results from damage to the cells that line the airways. Lung damage from smoking has been&nbsp;<a href="http://www.emro.who.int/tfi/know-the-truth/tobacco-and-waterpipe-users-are-at-increased-risk-of-covid-19-infection.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cited by the World Health Organization</a>&nbsp;as a risk factor for severe COVID-19 and could contribute to serious symptoms and death among patients that have underlying cardiovascular diseases



The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">five measures that the World Health Organization recommends</a>&nbsp;to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are washing hands regularly for 20 seconds with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub, not touching one’s eyes, nose and mouth, covering one’s nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow when coughing or sneezing, social distancing by avoiding close contact with people who are unwell and staying home and self-isolating from others if unwell.



PesaCheck has looked into a claim that smoking cannabis can prevent COVID-19 and finds it to be FALSE.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as&nbsp;potential misinformation&nbsp;on Facebook and other social media platforms.



<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/pesacheck-and-facebook-partner-to-fight-misinformation-in-kenya-d6a45ee70c18?gi=d2cb1ae7440">By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms</a>, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.



Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook?&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/help/572838089565953?helpref=faq_content" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Here’s how you can report</a>. And,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">here’s&nbsp;</a>more information on&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">PesaCheck’s methodology</a>&nbsp;for fact-checking questionable content.



This fact-check was written by Fact-Checker&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://ke.linkedin.com/in/simon-muli-12ba0867" target="_blank">Simon Muli</a> and edited by&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/enocknyariki/" target="_blank">Enock Nyariki</a>



The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck Managing Editor&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/mougendi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Mugendi</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/394/0*J94HQQmFQxN5gT7b" alt=""/></figure>



PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/catherine-gicheru" target="_blank">Catherine Gicheru</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/justin-arenstein" target="_blank">Justin Arenstein</a>, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator:&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation.&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">PesaCheck&nbsp;</a>also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">pesacheck.org</a>.



PesaCheck is an initiative of&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>, through its&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://innovateafrica.fund/" target="_blank">innovateAFRICA fund</a>, with support from&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.dw.com/en/dw-akademie/about-us/" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle Akademie</a>, in partnership with a coalition of local media and other civic watchdog organisations in 14 African countries.

FALSE: There is no evidence that smoking cannabis can prevent COVID-19

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/800/0*gBVkR1ioRXnpYeDV.png" alt=""/></figure>



A Facebook post with a&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.vn/yKbbj" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">screenshot&nbsp;</a>claiming that former US President Barack Obama has appealed to Africans to reject COVID-19 vaccines from the United States and Europe is FALSE.



The screenshot, which has also circulated on WhatsApp, contains a quote attributed to Obama stating that the COVID-19 vaccine is toxic, and that it will be introduced to the continent is a ‘Machiavellian’ plan that seeks to harm rather than help the continent.



The post accompanying the screenshot accuses Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates of being the mastermind behind the said vaccine.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/487/0*CwKjr4gdeCO0RVH0" alt=""/></figure>



However, the quote appears to be completely fabricated, and does not indicate when or where it was made. The screenshot itself contains a link to an Instagram&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.vn/SIkjk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">post</a>&nbsp;which contains an image of Obama shedding a tear.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/928/0*tnKRDkfUsLdB1ijB" alt=""/><figcaption>Instagram post linked on the WhatsApp message</figcaption></figure>



A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/search?tbs=sbi:AMhZZis_1JBQcXG5owRfx4yWyem2QktEa5oCMAzsmi-Fh2RWwD2CoxhQ0u0uqgSfU0Dlf3Z5_1MkuTAc3Xg7ldpDaS4kSyJEobopcJbc05tueEVM8nCTtkyv8FUeVMAnDBQ_1I8zprr3ChKqWANZyHHFodBQ-f6Yfai1jyBauUC2jBm8r7kAWRtZtxAFIfqAjOHXjw2TsUx1IB5C3b447jXUno6-Kfo5WRFc3st76lAIY7OshyaKEbI43V-CvUsgIjM1I9khOkHvWAP1CSPybKYFOrhEBJpJJ2GfFnC2IKPcIrJgaKM5jME8Rhl56lwkXH_1R8hAVthlT5Z_1&hl=en-KE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reverse image search&nbsp;</a>shows that the image was taken in January 2016 while he was delivering a statement on the steps his government was taking to reduce gun violence in the US. The photo is credited to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/obama-wiping-tears-makes-new-push-to-tig-idUSKBN0UI1UQ20160106" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Reuters photographer Carlos Barria.</a>



While Obama has routinely posted messages on his&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter&nbsp;</a>as well as&nbsp;<a href="https://web.facebook.com/pg/barackobama/posts/?ref=page_internal" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook&nbsp;</a>accounts about COVID-19, none of them makes the claims or contains the statement attributed to him on the issue of a vaccine.



In one of the posts,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1242114805588267008" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">he shared an article in The New York Times</a>&nbsp;that describes the steps that need to be taken to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the US. In&nbsp;<a href="https://web.facebook.com/barackobama/posts/10157527098581749" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">another post</a>, he shared an article by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/3/10/21171481/coronavirus-us-cases-quarantine-cancellation?fbclid=IwAR2-BDZzk_Ine7TphVCBFkKMaq-00Fq-8gdBSdbg8dXjoDVr3bQx2DALI3Q" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">VOX&nbsp;</a>which emphasised on the importance of social distancing in the efforts to flatten the curve of infections.



<figure><iframe src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?type=text%2Fhtml&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&schema=twitter&url=https%3A//twitter.com/barackobama/status/1242114805588267008&image=https%3A//i.embed.ly/1/image%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fpbs.twimg.com%252Fprofile_images%252F822547732376207360%252F5g0FC8XX_400x400.jpg%26key%3Da19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07" allowfullscreen="" height="281" width="500"></iframe></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/0*-qWt6C_Y_4h2xlLr" alt=""/></figure>



Further, given Obama’s profile as a public figure, any pronouncement of this nature would have been covered by mainstream media outlets, but no such story has been published on any such outlets.



Vaccine development for COVID-19 is still in the early stages, with the World Health Organization&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/blueprint/priority-diseases/key-action/novel-coronavirus-landscape-ncov.pdf?ua=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announcing in late March</a>&nbsp;that two candidates were in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/clinical-trial-phases" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">first phase of clinical evaluation</a>, which involves trials on a small number of people, followed by months of evaluation to monitor for any potential side effects. 42 other vaccine candidates were in preclinical trials.



Clinical trials are also underway to test the efficacy of already existing therapies such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/thailand/news/detail/20-03-2020-thailand-joins-the-who-solidarity-trial-global-testing-of-effective-treatments-of-covid-19-across-8-countries-an-aggressive-effort-to-save-lives-from-the-pandemic" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">remdesivir,</a>&nbsp;originally used against Ebola, and<a href="https://presse.inserm.fr/le-vaccin-bcg-pour-combattre-le-covid-19-vraiment/38920/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;BCG</a>, a vaccine against tuberculosis.



PesaCheck has looked into a claim that former President Barack Obama appealed to Africans to reject COVID -19 and finds it to be FALSE.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as&nbsp;potential misinformation&nbsp;on Facebook and other social media platforms.



<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/pesacheck-and-facebook-partner-to-fight-misinformation-in-kenya-d6a45ee70c18?gi=d2cb1ae7440">By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms</a>, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.



Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook?&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.facebook.com/help/572838089565953?helpref=faq_content" target="_blank">Here’s how you can report</a>. And,&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">here’s</a> more information on&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">PesaCheck’s methodology</a>&nbsp;for fact-checking questionable content.



This fact-check was written by Fact-Checker&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://ke.linkedin.com/in/simon-muli-12ba0867" target="_blank">Simon Muli</a> and edited by&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/enocknyariki/" target="_blank">Enock Nyariki</a>.



The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck Managing Editor&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/mougendi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Mugendi</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/394/0*b3Aelyoh9HfCDqHq" alt=""/></figure>



PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/catherine-gicheru" target="_blank">Catherine Gicheru</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/justin-arenstein" target="_blank">Justin Arenstein</a>, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator:&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation.&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">PesaCheck</a> also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">pesacheck.org</a>.



PesaCheck is an initiative of&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>, through its&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://innovateafrica.fund/" target="_blank">innovateAFRICA fund</a>, with support from&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.dw.com/en/dw-akademie/about-us/" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle Akademie</a>, in partnership with a coalition of local media and other civic watchdog organisations in 14 African countries.

FALSE: This appeal asking Africans to reject COVID-19 vaccines is fake

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/800/1*Bt6veCM22ND0Z4ZT8tvtKg.png" alt=""/></figure>



A&nbsp;<a href="https://archive.is/22Wxp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook post</a>&nbsp;claiming that COVID-19 cannot spread in warm weather is FALSE.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/543/0*r-tp83xSHkXVZmuG" alt=""/></figure>



The post, published on March 16, 2020, contains a statement attributed to a Dr Khin Maung U, and states that a ‘Director Zhenxing’ had communicated that the ‘Wuhan virus’, in this case the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, is not heat resistant.



The statement does not state either the doctor or director’s affiliations or organizations.



Director Zhenxing could be a reference to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Zhenxing_Gao3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Zhenxing Gao</a>&nbsp;of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, but this cannot be verified since his full name is not given in the statement.



The post claims that the virus that causes COVID-19 can be killed in temperatures of 26 to 27 degrees, and adds that eating more ginger, garlic, hot chillies while avoiding cold weather and ice water will prevent the disease..



However, the World Health Organization (WHO)&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">has debunked</a>&nbsp;the claim that COVID-19 cannot be transmitted in hot areas. According to the UN agency, COVID-19 can be transmitted in all areas, including hot and humid weather areas.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/768/0*LBFvzX4fOg2XoT24" alt=""/></figure>



Normal human body temperature is between&nbsp;<a href="https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/normal-body-temperature#1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">36.5°C and 37°C</a>, regardless of the external temperature or weather, meaning that the claim that the virus is killed in temperatures of 26–27 degrees is false.



The claim that eating garlic will prevent COVID-19 is also false. The WHO&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">states</a>&nbsp;that while garlic is a healthy food that has antimicrobial properties, there is no evidence that eating it can protect people from the new coronavirus.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/768/0*aYcue9ta9_J1S83c" alt=""/></figure>



The WHO’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recommended protection measures</a>&nbsp;against COVID-19 are regular cleaning of hands with alcohol-based hand rubs or soap and water, social distancing by maintaining at least one metre (three feet) distance from other people, and coughing and sneezing into one’s bent elbow rather than onto one’s hands.



In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">addition</a>&nbsp;to these measures, the WHO recommends self-isolation and promptly seeking medical advice if&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">symptoms</a>&nbsp;of COVID-19 — fever, cough and difficulty breathing — begin to develop.



PesaCheck has looked into the claim that warm weather can prevent the transmission COVID-19 and finds it to be FALSE.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as&nbsp;potential misinformation&nbsp;on Facebook and other social media platforms.



<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/pesacheck-and-facebook-partner-to-fight-misinformation-in-kenya-d6a45ee70c18?gi=d2cb1ae7440">By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms</a>, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.



Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook?&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.facebook.com/help/572838089565953?helpref=faq_content" target="_blank">Here’s how you can report</a>. And,&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">here’s</a> more information on&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">PesaCheck’s methodology</a>&nbsp;for fact-checking questionable content.



This fact-check was written by Fact-Checker&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/lindangari" target="_blank">Linda Ngari</a> and edited by PesaCheck Deputy Editor&nbsp;Enock Nyariki.



The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck Managing Editor&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/mougendi" target="_blank">Eric Mugendi</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/394/0*5DPiiMtzrUlTu3oj" alt=""/></figure>



PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/catherine-gicheru" target="_blank">Catherine Gicheru</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/justin-arenstein" target="_blank">Justin Arenstein</a>, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator:&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation.&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">PesaCheck</a> also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">pesacheck.org</a>.



PesaCheck is an initiative of&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>, through its&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://innovateafrica.fund/" target="_blank">innovateAFRICA fund</a>, with support from&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.dw.com/en/dw-akademie/about-us/" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle Akademie</a>, in partnership with a coalition of local media and other civic watchdog organisations in 14 African countries.

FALSE: This post claiming Covid-19 cannot spread in warm weather is inaccurate

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/800/1*Bt6veCM22ND0Z4ZT8tvtKg.png" alt=""/></figure>



A<a href="https://archive.today/J1ug3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;</a>post claiming that chemical compounds found in tea can cure COVID-19 is FALSE.



The chemical compounds mentioned in the post include methylxanthine, theobromine and theophylline.



Methylxanthines are drugs that are derived from xanthine, and are produced naturally by both plants and animals. Caffeine (found in coffee and tea) and theobromine (found in chocolate) are also methylxanthines.



While methylxanthines are used in the treatment of airways obstruction caused by conditions such as asthma, bronchitis, or emphysema, they are not effective against viral infections, as they only&nbsp;<a href="https://www.drugs.com/drug-class/methylxanthines.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">help maintain good airway control</a>. COVID-19 is caused by a viral infection, and so its treatment would require antiviral medication



The post making the claim that tea can cure COVID-19 cites a report by CNN, which claims that Chinese doctor Li Wenliang, who blew the whistle about the coronavirus before later dying of COVID-19, had documented case files and proposed a cure for the disease.



There is no report about Dr Li finding a cure for the disease, but his death in February&nbsp;<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/08/opinions/coronavirus-bociurkiw/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">was reported on by CNN</a>, as well as the fact that he was the first medical professional to sound the alarm on COVID-19 weeks before he contracted the illness himself and died.



On December 30, 2019,&nbsp;<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/03/asia/coronavirus-doctor-whistle-blower-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CNN International</a>&nbsp;reported that Li Wenliang had been summoned by the police over accusations of spreading rumors online about the disease, but his findings were later found to be accurate.



Dr Li had raised the alarm after patients from a seafood market in Wuhan had been diagnosed with a severe respiratory illness and quarantined in his hospital.



According to the World Health Organization, there is currently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/images/default-source/health-topics/coronavirus/myth-busters/mythbuster-4.png" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">no treatment</a>&nbsp;specifically approved to prevent or treat COVID-19.



It is not the first time that clams about foods and drinks that can cure COVID-19 have surfaced, with some stating that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-51735367" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">garlic</a>&nbsp;and regular&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200319-covid-19-will-drinking-water-keep-you-safe-from-coronavirus" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">drinking water</a>&nbsp;can help fight the disease. However, these claims are false.



PesaCheck has looked into the claim that chemical compounds found in tea can cure COVID-19 and finds it to be FALSE.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as&nbsp;potential misinformation&nbsp;on Facebook and other social media platforms.



<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/pesacheck-and-facebook-partner-to-fight-misinformation-in-kenya-d6a45ee70c18?gi=d2cb1ae7440">By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms</a>, third-party fact-checking organizations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.



Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook?&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.facebook.com/help/572838089565953?helpref=faq_content" target="_blank">Here’s how you can report</a>. And,&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">here’s</a> more information on&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">PesaCheck’s methodology</a>&nbsp;for fact-checking questionable content.



This fact-check was written by PesaCheck Fact-Checker&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/juma_najma" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Najma Juma</a>, and edited by PesaCheck Deputy Editor&nbsp;Ann Ngengere.



The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck Managing Editor&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/mougendi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Mugendi</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/394/0*SHgFsz1m1cLuIGuj" alt=""/></figure>



PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/catherine-gicheru" target="_blank">Catherine Gicheru</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/justin-arenstein" target="_blank">Justin Arenstein</a>&nbsp;and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator:&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water/sanitation.&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">PesaCheck</a> also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">pesacheck.org</a>.



PesaCheck is an initiative of&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>, through its&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://innovateafrica.fund/" target="_blank">innovateAFRICA fund</a>, with support from&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.dw.com/en/dw-akademie/about-us/" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle Akademie</a>, in partnership with a coalition of local media and other civic watchdog organisations in 14 African countries.

FALSE: This post claiming that compounds found in tea can cure Covid-19 is a hoax

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/800/1*zqdFH88uJDMNCORHabmIYg.png" alt=""/></figure>



A&nbsp;<a href="https://archive.vn/FR1a6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook post</a>&nbsp;claiming that people can test for COVID-19 by holding their breath for more than 10 seconds is FALSE.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/494/0*Alu00V2cY9bSPNRZ" alt=""/></figure>



Another&nbsp;<a href="https://archive.vn/QSBlS" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook post</a>&nbsp;making the same claim falsely attributes it to Stanford University, which&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Stanford/status/1238327187155156992" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">disowned the assertions on Twitter</a>.



<figure><iframe src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?type=text%2Fhtml&key=d04bfffea46d4aeda930ec88cc64b87c&schema=twitter&url=https%3A//twitter.com/stanford/status/1238327187155156992&image=https%3A//i.embed.ly/1/image%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fpbs.twimg.com%252Fprofile_images%252F875395483128049664%252F8z_jvdLB_400x400.jpg%26key%3D4fce0568f2ce49e8b54624ef71a8a5bd" allowfullscreen="" height="281" width="500"></iframe></figure>



Medical experts assert that the ‘test’ is not a reliable indication for whether one has COVID-19 or not, and is likely to cause panic.



While the World Health Organization states that people with fever, cough and difficulty breathing should seek medical attention, this is not a definitive symptom of COVID-19, and should be considered in the context of other symptoms, such as fever, tiredness, and dry cough.



Speaking to PesaCheck, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said there is no evidence that the test works.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“The only way that a person can ascertain that they have the coronavirus disease is through getting tested by qualified medical personnel” — Tarik Jasarevic.</blockquote>



The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/prevention.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recommends</a>&nbsp;regular hand washing, covering one’s mouth when sneezing or coughing and staying home to minimize the risk of getting infected with the disease.



To avoid spreading the coronaviruses, Kenya’s Ministry of Health recommends that anyone who suspects they have COVID-19 should not take themselves to hospital but call the government emergency&nbsp;<a href="http://www.health.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/COVID-19-Plan-Prevention-and-Control-in-Communities.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hotlines</a>&nbsp;for assistance.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/574/0*u0qJLoXzzbiVI69t" alt=""/></figure>



There has been a number of false claims on treatment and preventive measures against COVID-19, including the claim that gargling warm water with salt is a cure for the disease, which&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/false-gargling-warm-water-with-salt-is-not-a-protective-measure-against-covid-19-cb6ed1e23654">PesaCheck found to be false</a>.



PesaCheck has looked into the claim that holding one’s breath for more than 10 seconds is a self-check test for COVID-19 and finds it to be FALSE.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as&nbsp;potential misinformation&nbsp;on Facebook and other social media platforms.



<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/pesacheck-and-facebook-partner-to-fight-misinformation-in-kenya-d6a45ee70c18?gi=d2cb1ae7440">By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms</a>, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.



Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook?&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.facebook.com/help/572838089565953?helpref=faq_content" target="_blank">Here’s how you can report</a>. And,&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">here’s</a> more information on&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">PesaCheck’s methodology</a>&nbsp;for fact-checking questionable content.



This fact-check was written by PesaCheck Fact-Checker&nbsp;James Okong’o&nbsp;and edited by PesaCheck Deputy Editor&nbsp;Ann Ngengere.



The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck Managing Editor&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/mougendi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Mugendi</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/394/0*rQuUwwP8sYAN0sxl" alt=""/></figure>



PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/catherine-gicheru" target="_blank">Catherine Gicheru</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/justin-arenstein" target="_blank">Justin Arenstein</a>, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator:&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation.&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">PesaCheck</a> also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">pesacheck.org</a>.



PesaCheck is an initiative of&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>, through its&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://innovateafrica.fund/" target="_blank">innovateAFRICA fund</a>, with support from&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.dw.com/en/dw-akademie/about-us/" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle Akademie</a>, in partnership with a coalition of local media and other civic watchdog organisations in 14 African countries.

FALSE: Holding your breath is not a proven self-check test for Covid-19

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/800/1*zqdFH88uJDMNCORHabmIYg.png" alt=""/></figure>



A&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.vn/NscxZ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook post</a>&nbsp;claiming that Italian doctors have confirmed that COVID-19 is a bacterial disease and not caused by a virus as claimed by a number of authorities is FALSE.



The post, which appears to have originated from&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.vn/s3oWA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">an article published by Journal Online</a>, claims that Italian doctors performed an autopsy on bodies of people who died from COVID-19 and, found the cause of death to be a bacterial infection.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/503/0*NJDgn2HT9pvIfJ1t" alt=""/></figure>



While it is true that the autopsy did take place at the Hospital Policlinico in Milan, the findings, which were published on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.19.20054262v1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MedRxiv</a>, have been grossly misrepresented by both the article and the post in question.



The autopsy revealed the presence of a blood clot, suggesting acute lung damage in patients. However, the doctors involved in the study only suggested&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.19.20054262v1.full.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the use of anticoagulant</a>&nbsp;medications as potentially beneficial in patients with severe COVID-19, and even cautioned that the efficacy of these drugs has not been proved.



Additionally, the findings of the autopsy make no mention of COVID-19 being a bacterial disease, and there is no recommendation for the use of antibiotics for its treatment as claimed by the article.



Antibiotics are administered to patients with bacterial infections, but scientific evidence shows that COVID-19 is caused the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus,, and has key characteristics of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(20)30251-8.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a protective coat of protein</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/infectious-diseases/expert-answers/infectious-disease/faq-20058098" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">requires a living host, such as a human being, to multiply and spread.</a>



Mr Tarik Jašarević, the World Health Organization spokesperson, confirmed to PesaCheck in an email that COVID-19 is caused by a viral infection, which makes&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1221800661039419398" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">antibiotics ineffective against it.</a>



Protective measures suggested by the World Health Organization include social distancing and washing hands with soap and water. In the absence of soap and running water, the organization recommends using alcohol-based hand-rub.



PesaCheck has looked into the claim that Italian doctors confirmed that COVID-19 is a bacterial disease and not a virus, and finds it to be FALSE.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as&nbsp;potential misinformation&nbsp;on Facebook and other social media platforms.



<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/pesacheck-and-facebook-partner-to-fight-misinformation-in-kenya-d6a45ee70c18?gi=d2cb1ae7440">By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms</a>, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.



Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook?&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.facebook.com/help/572838089565953?helpref=faq_content" target="_blank">Here’s how you can report</a>. And,&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">here’s</a> more information on&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">PesaCheck’s methodology</a>&nbsp;for fact-checking questionable content.



This fact-check was written by PesaCheck Fact-Checker&nbsp;Simon Muli&nbsp;and edited by PesaCheck Deputy Editor&nbsp;Enock Nyariki.



The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck Managing Editor&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/mougendi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Mugendi</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/394/0*CTtNcVkhTvR0O8gL" alt=""/></figure>



PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/catherine-gicheru" target="_blank">Catherine Gicheru</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/justin-arenstein" target="_blank">Justin Arenstein</a>, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator:&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water/sanitation.&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">PesaCheck</a> also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">pesacheck.org</a>.



PesaCheck is an initiative of&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>, through its&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://innovateafrica.fund/" target="_blank">innovateAFRICA fund</a>, with support from&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.dw.com/en/dw-akademie/about-us/" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle Akademie</a>, in partnership with a coalition of local African media and other civic watchdog organisations.

FALSE: This post claiming Covid-19 is caused by bacterial infection is a hoax

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/800/1*zqdFH88uJDMNCORHabmIYg.png" alt=""/></figure>



A&nbsp;<a href="https://archive.vn/3X0HR" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook post</a>&nbsp;claiming that 5G wireless technology created the COVID-19 pandemic is FALSE.



The post also says that China was the first country to launch 5G mobile communication technology in Wuhan in July 2019, which is not true.



According to media reports,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.voanews.com/silicon-valley-technology/south-korea-launch-worlds-first-national-5g-networks" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">South Korea</a>&nbsp;was the&nbsp;<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/south-korea-launches-5g-wireless-network-claims-beat/story?id=62167526" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">first country in the world</a>&nbsp;to launch and adopt in large scale the 5G technology in April 2019.



<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50258287" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">China rolled out the 5G</a>&nbsp;in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/showing-that-the-us-wont-hold-it-back-china-launches-commercial-5g-service/2019/10/31/4f2e64da-fb16-11e9-9e02-1d45cb3dfa8f_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">October 2019</a>.



According to the BBC, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50258287" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">US and UK had all launched the 5G</a>&nbsp;earlier though not on large scale.



5G is the fifth-generation of mobile internet connectivity. It promises much faster data download and upload speeds, wider coverage, and more stable connections.



The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/who-china-joint-mission-on-covid-19-final-report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">first case</a>&nbsp;of COVID-19 was reported on December 31, 2019, in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The coronavirus has ever since&nbsp;<a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">spread widely</a>&nbsp;across the globe, infecting more than 4.9 million people and killing over 324,000 as of May 20.



The virus, formally known as SARS-CoV-2, has affected almost every country on the planet, including tens of nations that are yet to roll out the 5G infrastructure.



The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/5g-mobile-networks-and-health" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">World Health Organization says</a>&nbsp;that no research links exposure to wireless technology to negative health effects. The UN agency, on its myth busters platform, also says that 5G mobile network technology&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">does not spread COVID-19</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/801/0*bBI8JuZwAJKwbcPK" alt=""/></figure>



WHOs spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told PesaCheck that the claim that 5G mobile communication technology is linked to the coronavirus pandemic is scientifically unfounded.



“There is no research that proves that there’s a connection between 5G technology and the new coronavirus infection,” said Tarik.



<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/summary.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">COVID-19</a>&nbsp;is a respiratory disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. People infected with the virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness. The infection spreads mainly through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes.



PesaCheck has looked into the claim that 5G is behind the COVID-19 pandemic and finds it to be FALSE.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as&nbsp;potential misinformation&nbsp;on Facebook and other social media platforms.



<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/pesacheck-and-facebook-partner-to-fight-misinformation-in-kenya-d6a45ee70c18?gi=d2cb1ae7440">By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms</a>, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.



Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook?&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.facebook.com/help/572838089565953?helpref=faq_content" target="_blank">Here’s how you can report</a>. And,&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">here’s</a> more information on&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">PesaCheck’s methodology</a>&nbsp;for fact-checking questionable content.



This fact-check was written by PesaCheck Fact-Checker&nbsp;James Okong’o&nbsp;and edited by PesaCheck News Editor&nbsp;Enock Nyariki.



The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck Managing Editor&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/mougendi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Mugendi</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/394/0*5rle_xVExQYAlVCg" alt=""/></figure>



PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/catherine-gicheru" target="_blank">Catherine Gicheru</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/justin-arenstein" target="_blank">Justin Arenstein</a>, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator:&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water/sanitation.&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">PesaCheck</a> also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">pesacheck.org</a>.



PesaCheck is an initiative of&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>, through its&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://innovateafrica.fund/" target="_blank">innovateAFRICA fund</a>, with support from&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.dw.com/en/dw-akademie/about-us/" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle Akademie</a>, in partnership with a coalition of local media and other civic watchdog organisations in 14 African countries.

HOAX: 5G technology is not linked to the Covid-19 pandemic

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/800/1*zqdFH88uJDMNCORHabmIYg.png" alt=""/></figure>



A&nbsp;<a href="https://archive.today/K4Taa" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook post</a>&nbsp;claiming that a mixture of lemon, ginger, and hot water can cure COVID-19 is FALSE.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/0*C2o-j6FB66yELfBh" alt=""/></figure>



The post contains an image of a&nbsp;<a href="https://nationnext.in/coronavirus-citizens-across-india-practice-social-distancing-to-buy-necessities/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">socially distanced marketplace in south India</a>, and asks individuals to boil the water and add in the lemon and ginger, and to consume the mixture in the morning and at night.



This claim was published at a time when there is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">no definitive cure</a>&nbsp;as yet for COVID-19, and home-made remedies for colds and flu are being touted as potential treatments for the disease.



However, there is no scientific or medical evidence that the mixture can cure or prevent COVID-19, and these home remedies may only help to alleviate the symptoms.



According to Khadidiatou Bâ Fall, an infectious disease specialist in Dakar, Senegal, the honey-ginger mixture is good for the human body, with vitamins, micronutrients and antioxidants, which have positive effects on the human body.&nbsp;<a href="https://observers.france24.com/en/20200417-fake-covid-19-remedies-circulate-african-social-media" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Speaking to France 24</a>, Ms Fall stated that some of these nutrients can boost the immune system, but the mixture itself does not help cure COVID-19.



The WHO&nbsp;<a href="https://www.afro.who.int/news/who-supports-scientifically-proven-traditional-medicine" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cautioned</a>&nbsp;the public against the use of untested plants and substances to cure COVID-19, stating that the only recommended measures are prevention of transmission through hand hygiene and physical distancing.



“The use of products to treat COVID-19, which have not been robustly investigated can put people in danger, giving a false sense of security and distracting them from hand washing and physical distancing which are cardinal in COVID-19 prevention, and may also increase self-medication and the risk to patient safety,” a statement issued by the WHO Africa Regional Office in Brazzaville on May 4 reads.



PesaCheck has looked into the claim that a lemon and ginger mixture in hot water is a cure for COVID-19 and finds it to be FALSE.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as&nbsp;potential misinformation&nbsp;on Facebook and other social media platforms.



<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/pesacheck-and-facebook-partner-to-fight-misinformation-in-kenya-d6a45ee70c18?gi=d2cb1ae7440">By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms</a>, third-party fact-checking organizations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.



Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook?&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.facebook.com/help/572838089565953?helpref=faq_content" target="_blank">Here’s how you can report</a>. And,&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">here’s</a> more information on&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">PesaCheck’s methodology</a>&nbsp;for fact-checking questionable content.



This fact-check was written by PesaCheck Fact-Checker&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/juma_najma" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Najma Juma</a>, and edited by PesaCheck Deputy Editor Rose Lukalo.



The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck Managing Editor&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/mougendi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Mugendi</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/394/0*IZ-Dbf0Ip901TF10" alt=""/></figure>



PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/catherine-gicheru" target="_blank">Catherine Gicheru</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/justin-arenstein" target="_blank">Justin Arenstein</a>&nbsp;and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator:&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water/sanitation.&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">PesaCheck</a> also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">pesacheck.org</a>.



PesaCheck is an initiative of&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>, through its&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://innovateafrica.fund/" target="_blank">innovateAFRICA fund</a>, with support from&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.dw.com/en/dw-akademie/about-us/" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle Akademie</a>, in partnership with a coalition of local media and other civic watchdog organisations in 14 African countries.

FALSE: Lemon and ginger mixture is not a cure for Covid-19

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/800/1*-X2q9wd7vZSjxpZkzQB3YA.png" alt=""/></figure>



An&nbsp;<a href="https://chimpreports.com/breaking-uganda-bans-truck-drivers-without-negative-coronavirus-certificate/?fbclid=IwAR1rDQJGpUjWIm9v3p70okrE4cHnXuDQc-u479BnKehsJFvoeLdrWW-De8w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">article</a>&nbsp;claiming that Uganda has banned truck drivers from entering the country if they do not have a negative coronavirus certificate is TRUE.



The article adds that although Ugandan healthcare centers have so far been treating any person found to be infected with COVID-19 once diagnosed, the new instructions require such patients to be ordered to return to their home countries.



On May 16, Health minister Jane Ruth Aceng&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/JaneRuth_Aceng/status/1261699148920864771" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;that only truck drivers with negative COVID-19 test results would be allowed into the country. The presidential order went into effect immediately.



The minister also said the government would work with the National Logistics Platform of Truck Drivers & Truck Owners to mobilize, counsel and test all truck drivers employed in Uganda.



<figure><iframe src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?type=text%2Fhtml&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&schema=twitter&url=https%3A//twitter.com/janeruth_aceng/status/1261699148920864771&image=https%3A//i.embed.ly/1/image%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fpbs.twimg.com%252Fprofile_images%252F1192770292143316992%252F70aZ7nOU_400x400.jpg%26key%3Da19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07" allowfullscreen="" height="261" width="680"></iframe></figure>



<figure><iframe src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?type=text%2Fhtml&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&schema=twitter&url=https%3A//twitter.com/janeruth_aceng/status/1261699290919055367&image=https%3A//i.embed.ly/1/image%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fpbs.twimg.com%252Fprofile_images%252F1192770292143316992%252F70aZ7nOU_400x400.jpg%26key%3Da19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07" allowfullscreen="" height="281" width="500"></iframe></figure>



125 foreign truck drivers have&nbsp;<a href="https://covid19.gou.go.ug/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tested positive</a>&nbsp;for COVID-19 in Uganda, and of these, 34 have since returned to their respective countries.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/518/0*qXUyhtUcV-joHYR1" alt=""/></figure>



Following the high number of transnational truck drivers testing for COVID-19 within the East African Community, heads of state from the region held a virtual meeting and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/true-eac-states-have-resolved-to-test-long-distance-truck-drivers-for-covid-19-at-their-countries-b1086c62814e">confirmed the need for testing</a>&nbsp;in the drivers’ countries of origin rather than at border points.



PesaCheck has looked into an article claiming that Uganda has banned truck drivers without a negative coronavirus certificate from the country and finds it to be TRUE.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as&nbsp;potential misinformation&nbsp;on Facebook and other social media platforms.



<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/pesacheck-and-facebook-partner-to-fight-misinformation-in-kenya-d6a45ee70c18?gi=d2cb1ae7440">By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms</a>, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.



Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook?&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.facebook.com/help/572838089565953?helpref=faq_content" target="_blank">Here’s how you can report</a>. And,&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">here’s</a> more information on&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">PesaCheck’s methodology</a>&nbsp;for fact-checking questionable content.



This fact-check was written by PesaCheck Fact-Checker&nbsp;Pius Enywaru&nbsp;and edited by PesaCheck News Editor&nbsp;Enock Nyariki.



The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck Managing Editor&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/mougendi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Mugendi</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/394/0*XezXH8dcZAaCNOiw" alt=""/></figure>



PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/catherine-gicheru" target="_blank">Catherine Gicheru</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/justin-arenstein" target="_blank">Justin Arenstein</a>, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator:&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water/sanitation.&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">PesaCheck</a> also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">pesacheck.org</a>.



PesaCheck is an initiative of&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>, through its&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://innovateafrica.fund/" target="_blank">innovateAFRICA fund</a>, with support from&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.dw.com/en/dw-akademie/about-us/" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle Akademie</a>, in partnership with a coalition of local African media and other civic watchdog organisations.

TRUE: Uganda bans truck drivers without negative Covid-19 certificates

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/800/1*zqdFH88uJDMNCORHabmIYg.png" alt=""/></figure>



A&nbsp;<a href="https://archive.is/lUJWD" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook post</a>&nbsp;claiming that 10 African heads of state have approved COVID-Organics, Madagascar’s herbal remedy for COVID-19, is FALSE.



The post, shared by Gideon Bansel on May 6, claims that 10 African leaders discussed COVID-Organics in detail, and approved the herbal remedy during a virtual meeting held on May 2 and facilitated by Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/974/0*olG7r_jhWDkdiv5m" alt=""/></figure>



However, a&nbsp;<a href="https://au.int/en/pressreleases/20200504/covid19-african-union-discussions-madagascar-over-herbal-remedy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">press statement</a>&nbsp;from the African Union (AU) indicates that the heads of states are still holding discussions to assess the safety and efficacy of&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/SE_Rajoelina/status/1252004502879842304" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">COVID-Organics</a>, launched recently by President Rajoelina.



According to the statement, AU Commissioner for Social Affairs, Ms Amira El-Fadil met Madagascar’s emissary on April 30. It was agreed that the country would&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/AfricaCDC/status/1257664597298941952" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">furnish the AU</a>&nbsp;with details about COVID-Organics, which will be reviewed and assessed by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The results of the assessment will inform any further actions that the Union may take.



<figure><iframe src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?type=text%2Fhtml&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&schema=twitter&url=https%3A//twitter.com/africacdc/status/1257664588235051013&image=https%3A//i.embed.ly/1/image%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fpbs.twimg.com%252Fprofile_images%252F732141942360965120%252Fb71U6Xcn_400x400.jpg%26key%3Da19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07" allowfullscreen="" height="281" width="500"></iframe></figure>



On April 29, President Rajoelina presented COVID-Organics to other African leaders during a&nbsp;<a href="https://au.int/en/pressreleases/20200429/communique-teleconference-meeting-bureau-assembly-african-union-au-heads" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">teleconference</a>&nbsp;meeting. The meeting was attended by 12 African leaders, and convened by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in his capacity as the AU chairperson. This convention involved AU heads of state and chairpersons of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), and was set to discuss&nbsp;<a href="https://www.president.go.ke/2020/04/30/african-countries-urged-to-collaborate-more-in-fight-against-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">actions and initiatives</a>&nbsp;undertaken to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in the continent.



The other ten African leaders who were present at the meeting were; President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta of Mali, Chad’s President Idriss Deby Itno, President Ali Bongo of Gabon, President Issoufou Mahamadou of Niger, Sudan Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Mohammed Taher Sayila, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Libya.



These are the same leaders who were mentioned as having approved the use of COVID-Organics, but this is not the case.



PesaCheck has looked into the claim that African heads of state have approved Madagascar’s herbal remedy against COVID-19 and finds it to be FALSE.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as&nbsp;potential misinformation&nbsp;on Facebook and other social media platforms.



<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/pesacheck-and-facebook-partner-to-fight-misinformation-in-kenya-d6a45ee70c18?gi=d2cb1ae7440">By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms</a>, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.



Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook?&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.facebook.com/help/572838089565953?helpref=faq_content" target="_blank">Here’s how you can report</a>. And,&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">here’s</a> more information on&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://pesacheck.org/our-methodology-f3d77521a1ee">PesaCheck’s methodology</a>&nbsp;for fact-checking questionable content.



This fact-check was written by Fact-Checker&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/lindangari" target="_blank">Linda Ngari</a> and edited by PesaCheck Deputy Editor&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://medium.com/@nyarikienock" target="_blank">Enock Nyariki</a>.



The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck Managing Editor&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/mougendi" target="_blank">Eric Mugendi</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/394/0*p5MHs2jBO5HDU5X5" alt=""/></figure>



PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/catherine-gicheru" target="_blank">Catherine Gicheru</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/justin-arenstein" target="_blank">Justin Arenstein</a>, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator:&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water/sanitation.&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">PesaCheck</a> also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://pesacheck.org/" target="_blank">pesacheck.org</a>.



PesaCheck is an initiative of&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://codeforafrica.org/" target="_blank">Code for Africa</a>, through its&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://innovateafrica.fund/" target="_blank">innovateAFRICA fund</a>, with support from&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.dw.com/en/dw-akademie/about-us/" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle Akademie</a>, in partnership with a coalition of local media and other civic watchdog organisations in 14 African countries.

FALSE: African leaders have not approved Madagascar’s Covid-19 herbal remedy

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/2680/1*je2yRbObrRaC6LXbBO6-Pw.png" alt=""/><figcaption>(Source:<a href="http://www.twitter.com/jean_leroux" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@jean_leroux</a>/DFRLab)</figcaption></figure>



The African Transformation Movement (ATM), a fringe political party based in South Africa, amplified several coronavirus-related conspiracy theories when the party’s leaders formally presented questions to President Cyril Ramaphosa on April 5, 2020.



The questions, published on the ATM’s official letterhead and widely shared on social media by party leaders, afforded these conspiracies legitimacy and reach in excess of the original rumors. In addition, the reach (and arguably the validity) of these conspiracies was expanded even further after several media houses reported uncritically on the one-sided interaction.



When politicians or online publications engage with such rumors uncritically, they are propagated beyond the confines of the much-smaller social media ecosystem in which they originated. Earlier this month, a conspiracy claiming&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://medium.com/dfrlab/bill-gates-trends-in-south-africa-after-coronavirus-anti-vaxxer-conspiracy-theory-goes-viral-4b4ca22ff6d6">Bill Gates intended to test a coronavirus vaccine</a>&nbsp;in Africa was amplified by&nbsp;News24, South Africa’s largest online publication.&nbsp;News24&nbsp;was later forced to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/apology-to-the-bill-and-melinda-gates-foundation-for-africa-vaccine-story-20200405" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">retract the piece and apologize</a>&nbsp;to Bill and Melinda Gates for the publication.



<h2 id="80e5">The African Transformation Movement</h2>



The ATM, a conservative Christian party founded in 2018, won two seats in South Africa’s 400-member parliament after securing 0.44 percent of the national vote during the 2019 elections. Its political presence also includes two provincial legislature seats in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal. Despite the party’s small political footprint, the ATM’s head of policy and strategy is former government spin doctor and media business owner Mzwanele Manyi.



On April 5, 2020, the party published a letter addressed to President Ramaphosa urging him to convene a special meeting with party leaders to discuss several conspiracy theories. These included claims that a friendly tennis match organized between Bill Gates, comedian Trevor Noah, and tennis pros Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer served as a “smokescreen event” to discuss the testing of COVID-19 vaccines in South Africa.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1766/1*erNXnE6HEEP1LjeoG3XVbQ.png" alt=""/><figcaption>A screengrab of the letter containing the conspiracies as published by ATM. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ATMovement_SA/status/1246846005921923073" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@ATMovement_SA</a>/<a href="http://archive.vn/rFskv" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>)</figcaption></figure>



The conspiracy was far-fetched: the exhibition match between Federer and Nadal took place on February 7, 2020, and was the sixth in a series of exhibition matches intended to raise funds for rural education programs in South Africa. Bill Gates and Trevor Noah were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sport24.co.za/Tennis/Wimbledon/noah-gates-join-federer-nadal-for-cape-town-charity-match-20190704" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced as guest participants</a>&nbsp;on July 4, 2019, many months before the first case of coronavirus occurred.



Despite this, the conspiracy claimed the event was orchestrated so President Ramaphosa and Bill Gates could discuss piloting a (non-existent) COVID-19 vaccine in South Africa. The letter also rehashed false claims that Gates provided facemasks to villages and townships infected with the new coronavirus in “a mission to depopulate the [African] continent.”



In an ironic twist, the ATM called on President Ramaphosa to dispel these conspiracies with “credible counter information,” despite not providing any evidence to support these claims in the first place.



<h2 id="7ff4">Appropriated tennis match</h2>



Prior to the ATM’s posts, discussion about the tennis match conspiracy was limited. Mentions in newspapers and blogs were confined to sports news in non-South African media that were referring to the exhibition match as a background to their reporting.



On Twitter, the situation was slightly different. The DFRLab’s investigation identified 134 mentions relating to this conspiracy between April 1, 2020 and April 12, 2020. These mentions coincided with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vXmTrB7rj8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">an interview</a>&nbsp;between Trevor Noah and Bill Gates, published on April 4.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1950/1*1itHDH01IgU68iR0KdifsA.png" alt=""/><figcaption>A screengrab from a Meltwater Explore query looking at social media references of the Bill Gates tennis match conspiracy theory. Mentions of the topic, mostly on Twitter, peaked at 100 mentions on April 5, 2020. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.twitter.com/jean_leroux" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@jean_leroux</a>/DFRLab via Explore)</figcaption></figure>



The bulk of the mentions during this period occurred on April 5, and made the initial connection between the exhibition tennis match and Noah’s interview with Gates. Several Twitter users “connected the dots” between Noah, Gates, and the earlier exhibition match in February this year.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1656/1*9CMMcyZEWZOOyAL3qEiTUg.png" alt=""/><figcaption>Screengrabs from the most popular tweets in the list of mentions of the topic on the day. Both of these tweets relied on a connection between the charity tennis match held in February and the distribution of a non-existent vaccine. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/FidelGastro187/status/1246742530408013825" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@FidelGastro187</a>/<a href="http://archive.is/TvZsl" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>, left;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ConfessionWhite/status/1246675498358509568" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@ConfessionWhite</a>/<a href="http://archive.is/tSE2Z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>, right)</figcaption></figure>



Overall, the organic discussion around this topic was limited and tapered off after April 5.



<h2 id="5dc0">Amplifying the Messages</h2>



The ATM published its letter directed to President Ramaphosa on its&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ATMovement_SA/status/1246846005921923073" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/AfricanTransformationMovement/posts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook</a>&nbsp;channels on April 5 at 7:03 PM and 07:05 PM local time respectively. The letter was created using the ATM’s official stationery and featured a prominent logo of the South African Parliament.



The letter bore the hallmarks of a publicity stunt: although a formal process for submitting questions to the presidency exists in Parliament, the ATM opted to forego this process and instead published the letter on social media. Mzwanele Manyi and party leader Vuyo Zungula retweeted and amplified the letter over the course of the next day.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/2158/1*LAKjivz7nWZzG2w0R0Wg_Q.png" alt=""/><figcaption>Screengrabs of the official ATM Twitter (left) and Facebook (centre) channels publishing the letters containing the conspiracies. Head of policy and strategy Mzwanele Manyi further amplified the letter the next day (right). “Stratcom” is disparaging term used by some in South Africa to discredit critical media, a reference to an apartheid government propaganda program. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ATMovement_SA/status/1246846005921923073" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@AtMovement_SA</a>/<a href="http://archive.vn/rFskv" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>, left;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/AfricanTransformationMovement/posts/2305491653076627" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">African Transformation Movement</a>/<a href="http://archive.vn/5tEQi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>, center;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/MzwaneleManyi/status/1247089998643503104" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@MzwaneleManyi</a>/<a href="http://archive.vn/uYvr1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>, right)</figcaption></figure>



Although direct mentions of the tennis match conspiracy were on the decline at this stage, the publication of the letter and subsequent amplification resulted in a large number of mentions referring to it. These mentions peaked at 952 mentions on April 6 and dropped off quickly afterwards.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/2086/1*c5RGWlB3hVTEBJjJYdZulw.png" alt=""/><figcaption>A screengrab from a Meltwater Explore query looking at social media references of the questions directed to Ramaphosa by the ATM conspiracy theory. Mentions of the topic, mostly on Twitter, peaked at 952 mentions on April 6th 2020. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.twitter.com/jean_leroux" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@jean_leroux</a>/DFRLab via Explore)</figcaption></figure>



<h2 id="376e">Approaching the media</h2>



In addition to ATM party leaders, several South African media platforms published pieces related to the ATM’s letter to Ramaphosa.



The SABC, South Africa’s state broadcaster,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/atm-calls-for-special-meeting-with-president-ramaphosa-and-political-parties/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">was the first</a>&nbsp;to run a story on the ATM’s request. The article was uncritical of the content of the ATM letter, and embedded a link to the ATM’s tweet in the article. Further pieces published by&nbsp;<a href="https://citizen.co.za/news/covid-19/2265707/atm-calls-on-ramaphosa-to-reveal-what-he-discussed-with-gates/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Citizen</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://briefly.co.za/59743-atm-ramaphosa-clean-covid-19-chat-bill-gates.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Briefly.co.za</a>&nbsp;also fell short of critically assessing the claims made by the ATM, and repeated the claims, or embedded links to the ATM’s letter. Only&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/offbeat/atm-bill-gates-trevor-noah-tennis-match-vaccine-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TheSouthAfrican.com</a>&nbsp;made an effort to review the conspiracy claims next to their coverage of the letter.



Social media engagements for these articles — likes, shares, retweets, and similar ways of interacting with a post — indicate that they received significantly higher interaction across social platforms. These figures, however, underestimate the article’s reach, as they do not take into account readers that arrive at the article directly or via private messaging platforms such as WhatsApp.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/2188/1*ebndCHIJG6YfywSiiay29g.png" alt=""/><figcaption>A Buzzsumo analysis indicating the engagement figures for the various articles referencing the ATM letter containing the conspiracy theories. The engagement values on these articles were significantly higher than the original tweets by the ATM. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.twitter.com/jean_leroux" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@jean_leroux</a>/DFRLab via BuzzSumo)</figcaption></figure>



What is clear is that the publication of these pieces resulted in a significantly wider audience being reached: an audience which was not necessarily part of the Twitter ecosystem in which the tennis-match conspiracy was hatched.



The amplification and related legitimization of untested conspiracies by political parties and news platforms run the risk of exposing a much larger audience to these falsehoods than what the original conspiracy could have reached.



In this case, by publishing the letter, and insisting on counter information to be provided, the ATM granted the conspiracy legitimacy it would have otherwise lacked. And by reporting uncritically on the publication, news platforms inadvertently exposed a much wider audience to the falsehoods it contained.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/jean_leroux" target="_blank">Jean Le Roux</a> is a Research Associate, Southern Africa, with the Digital Forensic Research Lab and is based in South Africa.



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/DFRLab" target="_blank">Follow along</a> for more in-depth analysis from our #DigitalSherlocks.



The Digital Forensic Research Lab team in southern Africa works in partnership with <a href="https://medium.com/code-for-africa">Code for Africa</a>.

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/2506/1*5uLsvd7LSXAizoHR9XX_3g.png" alt=""/><figcaption>Source(@<a href="http://www.twitter.com/jean_leroux" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">jean_leroux</a>/DFRLab)</figcaption></figure>



Several South African Twitter accounts published disinformation related to the recent countrywide deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). As social media reacted to the news of the military’s planned involvement in a nationwide lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, related disinformation seems to have kept in lockstep.



In two separate instances, Twitter accounts published videos originating from the U.S. and Brazil, claiming they portrayed current events transpiring in towns across South Africa. In other cases, photographs from a SANDF military demonstration held in February this year and a Boko Haram assault against Nigerian soldiers were taken out of context and used to drive engagements on such tweets.



Despite emergency regulations passed in March 2020 that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2020-03-20-covid-19-you-have-been-warned-spread-fake-news-and-you-could-go-to-jail/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">criminalized</a>&nbsp;the intentional publication of false or misleading information about the virus, these users appear unfazed.



While the motives behind these accounts are unclear, they do not appear to be coordinated.



Lockdown



The SANDF was deployed to support the South African Police Service (SAPS) during a nationwide coronavirus-related lockdown announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on March 23.



At the time, South Africa had little more than 400 positive coronavirus cases and no fatalities. South Africa’s number of positive cases has since increased to over 1,300, alongside the country’s first three fatalities.



Shortly after the announcement, social media mentions of the SANDF spiked as the debate about the military’s deployment played out on Twitter. This continued throughout most of the week as citizens began spotting military vehicles and soldiers around the country.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/2126/1*s47l8scA2IF_UfRecspcGA.png" alt=""/><figcaption>An analysis performed using Brandwatch, indicating the increased mentions of the term “South African National Defence Force” or “SANDF” on Twitter over the past few days. Increased mentions began on the day of President Ramaphosa’s address, and spiked on the first day of the lockdown. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.twitter.com/jean_leroux" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@jean_leroux</a>/DFRLab via Brandwatch)</figcaption></figure>



But some users made use of the social media furor around the army’s deployment to distribute old and decontextualized images and videos between the legitimate accounts of the SANDF’s presence.



This activity comes at the same time as reports of overreach by the SANDF and SAPS in enforcing the lockdown are surfacing, making it difficult to distinguish between actual and fabricated incidents.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/2344/1*fSs712CGpm45OdAsXBjkUg.png" alt=""/><figcaption>Screengrabs from tweets on March 23- 24, as users began noticing SANDF deployments around different parts of South Africa. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Mitchell_1006/status/1242432075556405248" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>/<a href="http://archive.is/UdDtd" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>. left;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/TayDev_13/status/1242500711436476416" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>/<a href="http://archive.vn/yOt2P" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>, centre;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/simplythandeka/status/1242095692316905473" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>/<a href="http://archive.is/sRe21" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>, right)</figcaption></figure>



Boko Haram



A&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.is/Wqinm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweet</a>&nbsp;by user @RoodyFashinoSA claimed that South Africa had already lost more than 80 soldiers within the first nine hours of the lockdown. It also implied that South Africa’s president was involved in a coverup about this. In support of these assertions, the account attached several images of bloodied soldiers and a burnt-out truck, relying on the reader’s impression that these were SANDF soldiers.



But the images seems to have been copied verbatim from&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/etz_braidejnr/status/1243303902948311047" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">an earlier tweet</a>&nbsp;by a Nigerian user several hours earlier, in which it was reported 80 Nigerian soldiers died in a Boko Haram ambush.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/2472/1*hn9TyK7EKqfNld15UQJ_Fg.png" alt=""/><figcaption>A screengrab of the tweet by @RoodyFashinoSA (centre) indicating the images were sourced from an ambush against Nigerian soldiers earlier that week. Page source code for the image of the deceased soldier (left) indicate that the images were being circulated via WhatsApp on at least March 25, a full day before South Africa’s lockdown. Faces of dead soldiers covered due to their graphic nature. (Source: Newsbreak.ng/archive, left; Twitter/archive; centre; Twitter/archive, right)</figcaption></figure>



The beach rumor



A&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Qing_Draya/status/1242741082573676545" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweet</a>&nbsp;by user @Qing_Draya claimed the SANDF violently apprehended civilians at a beach in Durban, in Kwa-Zulu Natal.



The same video, however,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/alcaponee19/status/1241133036919500801" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">was published</a>&nbsp;by another Twitter user on March 21, several days before the South African lockdown was even announced. It attributed the violence to Brazilian authorities.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1632/1*0pKZEGouUwLHyBLzM9neUQ.png" alt=""/><figcaption>Screengrabs from the video posted by @QingZonke (<a href="http://archive.is/3DC2V" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archived</a>) and attributed to Durban. Stills from the video could be located to this beach in Itapema, in Brazil. Notice the horizon (red), numbered booth (teal) and sidewalks (orange). (Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.twitter.com/jean_leroux" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@jean_leroux</a>&nbsp;/ DFRLab via&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@-27.1073515,-48.6123405,3a,75y,358.68h,85.84t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sB4hblR--9B7XENvL33mYjQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Maps</a>)</figcaption></figure>



Tank Tracking



A&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.is/TSIQq" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweet</a>&nbsp;by user @bigkid850312 contained the #SANDF hashtag alongside a video of several armored vehicles being transported on a railroad track. The tweet insinuated that the image was taken in Pietermaritzburg, a town in Kwa-Zulu Natal.



The video is clearly not of South African origin. The road markings and traffic lights present in the video are different to those in South Africa, and the author’s vehicle is left-handed, despite the fact that South Africa uses right-hand drive vehicles. In addition, the vehicles being transported were Bradley fighting vehicles, which are not used by the SANDF.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/2044/1*UZEQVYXtnHXEnOcwsnSn_w.png" alt=""/><figcaption>Screengrabs from some of the tweets containing the video, incorrectly attributing the image to Fort Lauderdale (left), Pietermaritzburg (center) and Enfield, London (right). (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/LiberalCEO/status/1240785150398435328" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>&nbsp;/&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.is/F4CO3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archived</a>, left;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BigKid850312/status/1242467515126726656" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>&nbsp;/&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.is/TSIQq" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archived</a>, center;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/cove_billy/status/1242189422835138560" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>&nbsp;/&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.is/qK05b" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archived</a>, right)</figcaption></figure>



The same video has been circulating among international Twitter communities, with some claiming the image is from&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.is/JPEl1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">California</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.is/i9EVY" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New Jersey</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.is/x7mc9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.is/4Almh" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tampa</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.is/F4CO3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fort Lauderdale, Florida</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.is/qK05b" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">London</a>. Several of these users claimed to have known the author of the video personally.



But the DFRLab geolocated the video to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@30.4300453,-81.6456257,3a,75y,59.51h,85.56t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s4AcD4i93ebWxkfF2xl7pwg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">this intersection</a>&nbsp;in Jacksonville, Florida after identifying an auto parts store in the background of the video. A search for similar stores near railway level crossings identified the intersection of Busch and Main streets.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/2142/1*s0trAoIkJfJut8TVS8Shhg.png" alt=""/></figure>



A screengrab from a Google Maps search of the intersection in Jacksonville, Florida where the video was taken. Screengrabs from the video are overlaid with the relevant markers highlighted. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.twitter.com/jean_leroux" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@jean_leroux</a>&nbsp;and @MaxRizzuto/DFRLab via Google Maps)



Desaturated



A&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.is/vNulE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweet</a>&nbsp;by user @Greg6Boer included an image of a convoy of military vehicles. The front of the convoy featured two Bateleur FV2 127mm multiple rocket launchers mounted on SAMIL 100 Kwêvoel base vehicles, followed closely by two SAMIL 100 gun tractors towing G5 155mm howitzers.



The tweet insinuated that the vehicles were intended to be used against civilians as part of the lockdown.



But the image bears no relation to the national lockdown, and was published more than a month earlier as part of the SANDF’s Armed Forces Day demonstration on February 21, 2020. The image was also partially desaturated to remove the tell-tale red portable restrooms on the side of the road.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/2094/1*Ihw1AZfzg2kdmr3GZ3gDRA.png" alt=""/></figure>



Screengrabs from tweets by @Greg6Boer (center) alongside the original image posted by the @ANCLimpopo twitter account (left). Sections of the original image (right) taken during a national arms demonstration was desaturated, likely to reduce visibility of the portable latrines. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ANCLimpopo/status/1230942467203174400" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>/<a href="http://archive.is/Rum0u" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archived</a>, left;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Greg6Boer/status/1243054745067180033" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>/<a href="http://archive.is/vNulE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archived</a>, centre;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ANCLimpopo/status/1230942467203174400/photo/2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>/<a href="https://archive.vn/esvBV" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archived</a>, right.)



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<a href="https://twitter.com/jean_leroux" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jean le Roux</a>&nbsp;is a Research Associate, Sub-Saharan Africa, with the Digital Forensic Research Lab.



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/maxrizzuto" target="_blank">Max Rizzuto&nbsp;</a>is a Research Assistant at the DFRLab based in Washington, D.C.



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/DFRLab" target="_blank">Follow along</a> for more in-depth analysis from our #DigitalSherlocks.



The Digital Forensic Research Lab team in southern Africa works in partnership with <a href="https://medium.com/code-for-africa">Code for Africa</a>.

Disinfo targeting South African Defence Force surges amid Covid-19 lockdown

The South African information space: a legacy of disinfo from apartheid to 2020

A recent Twitter Audit analysis of the followers of Helen Zille, the federal chairperson of South Africa’s official opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), revealed that nearly half of her 1.4 million followers are “fake.” Zille accused her political opponents of running these accounts to manufacture outrage against her and “destroy her online.”



<figure><iframe src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?type=text%2Fhtml&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&schema=twitter&url=https%3A//twitter.com/helenzille/status/1212429628578652161&image=https%3A//i.embed.ly/1/image%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fpbs.twimg.com%252Fprofile_images%252F1164261266996760580%252FtSdRPl3X_400x400.jpg%26key%3Da19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07" allowfullscreen="" height="261" width="680"></iframe><figcaption>DA Federal Chairperson Helen Zille accused her political opponents of orchestrating “bots” against her. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/helenzille/status/1212429628578652161" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@helenzille</a>/<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200114070448/https:/twitter.com/helenzille/status/1212429628578652161" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>)</figcaption></figure>



Although Twitter Audit is a popular and well-known botspotting service, research conducted in 2014 found that it has inherent limitations that render its analysis incomplete, especially for accounts with large numbers of followers. Its methodology, besides being opaque and undocumented,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/reports-claiming-top-indian-leaders-have-fake-followers-deeply-flawed-twitter-118031401378_1.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">was labeled</a>&nbsp;“flawed” by Twitter itself. Twitter Audit should be used with its limitations in mind, and using it as the basis for claims of a coordinated social media campaign by political opponents presents a risk of over-prescription. While awareness of automation on social media platforms has drastically increased over the last few years, it has also created a tendency for users to label disagreeable content as the stuff of “bots.”



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1288/1*HMUm2xQgVdsBiC7195ynfQ.png" alt=""/><figcaption>A screengrab of Zille’s earlier Twitter Audit report. Note the number of fake followers (purple) and the date of the audit (red). (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/FireFlyLuciferi/status/1212425729427824643" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@fireflyluciferi</a>/<a href="https://web.archive.org/save/https:/twitter.com/FireFlyLuciferi/status/1212425729427824643" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>)</figcaption></figure>



In retort to Zille’s tweets, the radical left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) stated that the fake accounts following Zille were created by the Democratic Alliance to shore up support for Zille online. Godrich Gardee, the EFF’s former secretary general, also accused the DA of using the very same tactics against him, claiming he was “stalk[ed] and harass[ed]” by DA bots.



<figure><iframe src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?type=text%2Fhtml&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&schema=twitter&url=https%3A//twitter.com/gardeegodrich/status/1212593518750969856&image=https%3A//i.embed.ly/1/image%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fpbs.twimg.com%252Fmedia%252FENP_XtYX0AA0him.jpg%253Alarge%26key%3Da19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07" allowfullscreen="" height="281" width="500"></iframe><figcaption>The EFF’s Godrich Gardee’s claims that the DA created fake accounts to “stalk and harras” [sic] him. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GardeeGodrich/status/1212593518750969856" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@Gardeeodrich</a>&nbsp;/&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/save/https:/twitter.com/GardeeGodrich/status/1212593518750969856" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>&nbsp;)</figcaption></figure>



Both politicians used the analysis by Twitter Audit to accuse their opponents of driving inauthentic behavior against them but failed to provide additional evidence or take into account the shortfalls of the tool used to provide the analysis.



<h2 id="8f47">Sockpuppets and spin doctors</h2>



Zille and Gardee’s comments were made within a South African information environment that has a history of targeted online harassment of journalists, editors, and politicians, especially using social media.



Social media manipulation in South Africa was thrust into a stark spotlight in November 2016 when independent researchers in South Africa discovered scores of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fin24.com/Tech/Opinion/sockpuppet-twitter-accounts-used-in-handsoffguptas-information-war-20161111" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sockpuppet</a>&nbsp;accounts attempting to triage the reputation of the Gupta brothers, three well-connected businessmen with close ties to former President Jacob Zuma. (In December 2017, the DFRLab&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://medium.com/dfrlab/electionwatch-american-bots-in-south-africa-1487a537bf59">reported on seemingly U.S. bots</a>&nbsp;that were posting in an effort to sway the African National Congress — of which Zuma was a member — elections.)



Sockpuppets are social media accounts that pose as something or someone else, often with the intent to deceive an audience and sway public perception. Many of these ostensibly South African accounts could be traced back to the Gupta’s home country of India, yet masqueraded as South African citizens. They&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-06-22-scorpio-in-the-non-surprise-of-the-year-wmcleaks-com-smear-campaign-tracked-to-a-gupta-associate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">created</a>&nbsp;and amplified&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bellingcat.com/news/africa/2017/08/04/guptaleaks-google-analytics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">disinformation</a>&nbsp;websites and coordinated personal attacks against anyone critical of the Gupta family. They were later colloquialized as the “Guptabots” and ultimately leveraged racial tensions to divert attention away from their less-than-stellar public image.



It later transpired that the Guptas also commissioned British public relations firm Bell Pottinger to manage the family’s public image during this time as well through their main holding company, Oakbay Investments. The Oakbay account eventually led to Bell Pottinger’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/04/business/bell-pottinger-guptas-zuma-south-africa.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">downfall</a>, when it emerged that the firm was using racially divisive tactics to sanitize the Gupta family’s public image.



Former Bell Pottinger&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/06/25/the-reputation-laundering-firm-that-ruined-its-own-reputation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">employees admitted</a>&nbsp;they created similar websites and social media accounts to leverage racial and class tensions for the Gupta’s benefit.



During this time, journalists, editors, and politicians were frequently targeted by scores of these accounts, and exposés on their personal lives were published on anonymous websites.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1276/1*w3-Hcw382dxlwOQcJNoikQ.png" alt=""/><figcaption>A screengrab from the now-obsolete WMCLeaks website, used by the Guptabots to smear critics of the Gupta family. (Source: WMCLeaks/<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170703230345/http:/www.wmcleaks.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>)</figcaption></figure>



Although the experience sensitized many South African social media users to the threat of social media manipulation and its associated risks, it also instilled a tendency among social media users to label any opposing view as a “bot.”



<h2 id="3c7e">Audit&nbsp;alteram partem</h2>



The reactions of both politicians are hardly surprising within this context, but both shot wide of the mark because they did not scrutinize the methodology underlying the analysis.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1245/1*xVtG2FdQ6xuR4HJcXInCxA.png" alt=""/><figcaption>The Twitter Audit interface. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitteraudit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter Audit</a>)</figcaption></figure>



<a href="https://www.twitteraudit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter Audit</a>&nbsp;is one of several online tools that claim to identify the fakes among an account’s followers. It presents a simple user interface that only requires a visitor to enter the username of the account to be analyzed.



But how does it work? According to Twitter Audit’s website, each audit samples up to 5,000 Twitter followers for that user and calculates a score for each. This score is based on number of tweets, the date of the last tweet, and the account’s ratio of followers to friends.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1434/1*k1dnm4EXDElV1LiL8NgAVQ.png" alt=""/><figcaption>The Twitter Audit results page for the author. Note the aged date of the audit (red) and the inaccurate number of followers (purple). (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/jean_leroux/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@jean_leroux</a>/DFRLab via Twitter Audit)</figcaption></figure>



Twitter Audit adds a disclaimer to its results though, citing that its “scoring method is not perfect but it is a good way to tell if someone with lots of followers is likely to have increased their follower count by inorganic, fraudulent, or dishonest means.”



The flaws in Twitter Audit’s methodologies were highlighted in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263765979_A_Criticism_to_Society_As_Seen_by_Twitter_Analytics" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">conference paper</a>&nbsp;published in June 2014. The five authors criticized Twitter Audit in addition to three similar platforms and highlighted the inadequacies of these tools in programmatically identifying fake followers. They conclude that the results of these tools are at the very least questionable and that the platforms’ results likely lack any reliability.



Their research also found that Twitter Audit samples the last 5,000 accounts that followed the target of an audit and not a randomized sample of 5,000 followers. This injects a chronological bias into the sample that may influence the results when applied across the much larger following. For example, there is a higher likelihood of finding new accounts in a given account’s most recent 5,000 followers than in a randomized sample of 5,000 of the account’s followers.



While the study found that this sampling bias is not a concern for accounts with less than 10,000 followers, accounts with more than 10,000 followers quickly reached a point where the bias invalidated the integrity of the results.



Twitter Audit limits each account to only one audit. In order to refresh the analysis, or sample a larger following, a user must upgrade to one of Twitter Audit’s paid plans. This means that the sampling could have been performed on an outdated sample that is no longer representative of the account’s followers.



The scoring system used by Twitter Audit makes use of three metrics to score a follower: the number of tweets made by the account, the number of followers and following the account has, and the date time of its most recent tweet.



Twitter Audit then applies an opaque algorithm to these three metrics to arrive at a score out of five. Among the four tools the study tested, Twitter Audit was the only one that did not classify inactive accounts separately, and the study surmised that this leads to a higher proportion of legitimate, but inactive, accounts being included as fakes. They also noted that larger accounts displayed increasingly disparate results between the different tools.



Unless Twitter Audit’s releases the details of its algorithms, it is impossible to establish exactly how an account would qualify as a “fake” or not, and edge cases remain susceptible to false positives. Zille’s followers commented on this fact when she undertook to block all suspicious accounts on her profile, many of which claimed they need to tweet anonymously for fear of online reprisals.



In Zille’s case, the sample size of 5,000 accounts would amount to an insignificant 0.35 percent of her total followers (more than 1.4 million, as of January 14). Even Gardee only sampled less than 5 percent of his total followers.



The analysis on which Zille based her accusation was performed nearly six years ago and would hardly be representative of her social media accounts today. In order to refresh the analysis of her account, Zille had to purchase one of Twitter Audit’s paid plans. When she did, the newer, paid-for analysis indicated her fake followers reduced to only 49,500, a 93 percent reduction from the initial figure of 650,000.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1232/1*NOtIs4juh2avzXLwLB9I4A.png" alt=""/><figcaption>The new, updated analysis after Zille purchased Twitter Audit’s Pro option, as indicating by the “PRO” label under her photo. Note the updated audit date (red) and the updated fake followers (purple). (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.twitteraudit.com/helenzille" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter Audit</a>/<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200115070620/https:/www.twitteraudit.com/helenzille" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>)</figcaption></figure>



There is also another glaring problem with Zille’s claims: Twitter Audit and similar programs cannot divine intent. As much as an account may appear to be suspicious in its behavior, gauging the intent behind the behavior is more art than science. Nothing in the analysis performed by Twitter Audit indicated that the accounts could be attributed to a political opponent, and the accounts labeled as “fake” could have just as easily been supportive of Zille as antagonistic. A fake account, identified based on the metrics assessed by Twitter Audit, could just as easily be orchestrated by either politician, or neither.



To engage in targeted harassment and trolling on Twitter also does not require the harassing account to follow their intended target. As Twitter is an open platform, anyone can access an account’s timeline or comment on their tweets, and coordinated attacks could just as easily be launched without first following their target.



Considering Twitter Audit’s sampling issues for accounts with large follower numbers and the opaque methodologies it employs, social media users, including politicians, would do well to use such tools with significant circumspect. Indeed, the only true way to identify the authenticity of an account or whether it is automated is with access to the operator. Instead, open-source researchers use a combination tools and frameworks such as the DFRLab’s&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://medium.com/dfrlab/botspot-twelve-ways-to-spot-a-bot-aedc7d9c110c">12 ways to spot a bot</a>&nbsp;to build to a high confidence assessment of inauthentic behavior on Twitter; the more tools or frameworks used, the stronger the assessment.



Suffice it to say, if Helen Zille’s goal was to purge her Twitter followers of people who disliked or harassed her on the platform, her approach was not conducive actually to achieving the goal. As Zille has shown, relying on a single platform to assess behavior can lead to false positives and botched conclusions, especially when that platform is not designed for the goal at hand.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



This story has been updated to correct that the sample size for Zille’s Twitter Audit was 0.35 percent and not 0.003 percent.



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/jean_leroux" target="_blank">Jean Le Roux</a> is a Research Associate, Southern Africa, with the Digital Forensic Research Lab and is based in South Africa.



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/DFRLab" target="_blank">Follow along</a> for more in-depth analysis from our #DigitalSherlocks.



The Digital Forensic Research Lab team in southern Africa works in partnership with <a href="https://medium.com/code-for-africa">Code for Africa</a>.

Third-party botspotting tool had South African politicians tilting at windmills

A Twitter account impersonating South Africa National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Director Shamila Batohi injected uncertainty and turmoil into the country’s online debate a month before the wrap-up of a commission investigating systemic government corruption. The fake account was suspended after it posted a tweet promising high-profile arrests.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1723/1*OhBkemh12zFDsnP30J8wfg.png" alt=""/><figcaption>Examples of inflammatory tweets from the @ShamilaBatohi account before it was suspended. (Source: @awildknight/DFRLab via&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ShamilaBatohi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@ShamilaBatohi</a>/<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200109064010/https:/twitter.com/ShamilaBatohi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>).</figcaption></figure>



Accounts designed to mimic real-life&nbsp;<a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/new-york-post-reporter-s-identity-hijacked-to-spread-pro-iran-propaganda/ar-BBYL0I9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">journalists</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.factcheck.org/2020/01/fake-tlaib-tweet-resurfaces-amid-iran-news/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">politicians</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/us/article/Instagram-pulls-account-impersonating-US-14957150.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">political offices</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/07/technology/facebook-instagram-twitter-celebrity-impostors.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">celebrities</a>, and the like are frequently used to target unsuspecting audiences with hyper-political content or outright scams. In South Africa, as elsewhere, social media actors proclaiming to be somebody they are not post highly inflammatory content as a means of rallying political support and provoking opposition supporters, often with the goal of dividing voters and influencing elections. These actors are ideologically or financially compelled to amplify overtly partisan content, particularly in the months leading up to national elections.



NPA Director Batohi was appointed in 2018 and assumed office in February 2019. Her remit was to tackle widespread corruption within government and other organs of state, after&nbsp;<a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2019-04-18-00-npas-new-directorate-consolidating-state-capture-cases" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">previous NPA heads were seen to have failed to address allegations of&nbsp;state capture</a>&nbsp;— the widespread problem of private-sector interests gaining sufficient power over government that they can influence it to their own advantage. In particular, Batohi has been called on to prosecute those implicated in the ongoing Zondo Commission into Allegations of State Capture inquiry, with the Congress of South African Trade Unions calling for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/hawks-npa-urged-to-prosecute-those-implicated-at-zondo-commission-40241990" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2020 to be the year those who benefit from state capture are locked up</a>. Nearly a year into her tenure, no cases have made it to court, and the NPA boss knows that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-12-19-the-fixers-3-shamila-batohi-slowly-slowly-catchy-capture/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">South Africans are anxious to see results</a>.



As&nbsp;<a href="https://www.news24.com/Analysis/analysis-a-disfigured-leadership-team-is-shamila-batohis-biggest-obstacle-to-success-20190828" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pressure against the NPA boss mounted</a>, the Twitter account @ShamilaBatohi appeared online, using the platform to promise swift action against the corrupt. Despite not being verified, the account lacked any obvious signs of inauthenticity: there was no clear evidence of automation; its handle did not contain any subtle spelling differences (for example replacing the “m” with “n” to create @ShanilaBatohi); and it tweeted out information made public by the NPA, conveying a sense of official government outreach. Indeed, it was so convincing that a multitude of prominent South African journalists, the ombudsman of the National Press Council, and local politicians followed @ShamilaBatohi.



But the NPA denied that the account was affiliated with the national head of the prosecuting authority, alleging that the account had already been reported to Twitter for impersonation multiple times.



<h2 id="c1ff">@ShamilaBatohi was @NandiWabantu, and @NandiWabantu was @ShamilaBatohi</h2>



In December 2019, fact-checking organization AfricaCheck&nbsp;<a href="https://africacheck.org/2019/12/19/help-us-find-twitter-impersonators/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>&nbsp;that the @ShamilaBatohi account was not officially sanctioned. Following the recent tweeted promise of high profile arrests, local independent news outlet&nbsp;News24&nbsp;<a href="https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/fake-npa-distances-shamila-batohi-from-bogus-twitter-account-20200109" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">highlighted</a>&nbsp;the account as being fake.



A DFRLab investigation into the account found that @ShamilaBatohi used to go by a different account name, @NandiWanbantu, and that sometime after September 16, 2019, the owner of the account attempted a purge of the account’s previous activity in anticipation of its change of persona.



Scrolling through the account’s timeline before it was suspended, it became clear that several tweets had been deleted. Despite the account owner’s attempt to remove traces of its previous tweets, however, Twitter account managers do not have the ability to delete the responses to their tweets. As a result, the responses to the account’s deleted tweets were still available at the time of analysis.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/736/1*7WP-kZ8zoXanGjbI38OR6Q.png" alt=""/><figcaption>A deleted tweet from user @ShamilaBatohi when the account was still @NandiWabantu, with a reply that is still active. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/ShamilaBatohi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@ShamilaBatohi</a>/<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200114104845/https:/twitter.com/ramovhalivhuwan/status/1160197165265952768" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>)</figcaption></figure>



The account’s favorited tweets were also not removed during the purge of September 2019.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/692/1*qKsJLesDeeSLdw0nU1FC4w.png" alt=""/><figcaption>A screenshot of the first favorited tweets from the @ShamilaBatohi account from when it was still @NandiWabantu. (Source: @ShamilaBatohi)</figcaption></figure>



One tweet favorited by @ShamilaBatohi in particular presented evidence of the account before it changed names.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1039/1*tE_keQIvLLtpBl8HNVLghQ.png" alt=""/><figcaption>Tweet from @CakesNandi favorited by @ShamilaBatohi/@NandiWabantu. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/CakesNandi/status/1169221499955404801" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@CakesNandi</a>/<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190916233746/https:/twitter.com/CakesNandi/status/1169221499955404801" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>)</figcaption></figure>



The tweet, originally posted by user @CakesNandi on September 4, 2019, preserved the display names of the seven users that favorited the tweet. (At the time of writing, @CakesNandi appeared also to be suspended from Twitter.) Among these seven users was the previous incarnation of the @ShamilaBatohi account, @NandiWabantu.



Looking at the metadata for the tweet revealed @ShamilaBatohi’s account previously used the @NandiWabantu handle. When looking at the archived likes of the tweet, a user going by the display name “Nandi Cakes” showed up; hovering over the Nandi Cakes profile picture, however, revealed the Shamila Batohi account information. A closer look at the metadata revealed that the account, at the time of liking @CakesNandi’s tweet, went by @NandiWabantu.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1371/1*P9YvQqFUaVHC-BxExfm2Zg.png" alt=""/><figcaption>The metadata from the archived tweet showed that @ShamilaBatohi once operated as @NandiWabantu and liked a tweet by user @CakesNandi. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/jean_leroux" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@jean_leroux</a>/DFRLab via&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/CakesNandi/status/1169221499955404801" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@CakesNandi</a>/<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190916233746/https:/twitter.com/CakesNandi/status/1169221499955404801" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>)</figcaption></figure>



Additionally, the user ID currently assigned to @ShamilaBatohi, as confirmed by a Twitonomy analysis of her account, was the same as that for @NandiWabantu.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1426/1*DxQCoZJxgiZn8wRW0RDhsA.png" alt=""/><figcaption>A Twitonomy search confirmed that @ShamilaBatohi’s user-id is 1159507294058627073. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/awildknight" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@jean_leroux</a>/DFRLab via Twitonomy)</figcaption></figure>



Searching Google for @NandiWabantu revealed that two cached versions of the account’s tweets were still available, both including the accounts unique user ID in the page elements. The Google search also yielded the casual racism published by the account that would later pose as South Africa’s national director of public prosecutions.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1396/1*_uCBsOOGQvPopzutwtI_Vw.png" alt=""/><figcaption>Google search reveals the account’s racist screeds directed at black people. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Blsbym5COZ4J:https://twitter.com/NandiWabantu/status/1165919653820010496+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=za" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google</a>)</figcaption></figure>



Finally, perhaps the easiest proof that the @ShamilaBatohi and @NandiWabantu accounts were the same could be found when searching Twitter for the username&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%40nandiwabantu&src=typed_query" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@NandiWabantu</a>, which yields many results for @ShamilaBatohi.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/629/1*wkfrzNnt9wqMRgEJAmDWYQ.png" alt=""/><figcaption>Even though the username changed, tweets directed to @ShamilaBatohi are displayed when searching Twitter for “@NandiWabantu.” (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%40nandiwabantu&src=typed_query" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>)</figcaption></figure>



Since Twitter bases its searches off of user IDs as opposed to handles or display names, a search for “@NandiWabantu” would return any other handles currently or previously affiliated with the same user ID number, as was the case here.



<h2 id="33c8">“Nandi Cakes” and @CakesNandi</h2>



Furthermore, there seemed to be a connection between @NandiWabantu and @CakesNandi, both of which are now suspended. In its previous life as @NandiWabantu, the account at some point went by the handle “Nandi Cakes.”



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1816/1*huqI0fEy9VCyft2XZR-gIw.png" alt=""/><figcaption>Inspecting the website elements revealed that @NandiWabantu (purple box) used the display name “Nandi Cakes” (green box), and Twitter’s internal user ID assigned to the account was 1159507294058627073 (yellow). (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/awildknight" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@awildknight</a>/DFRLab via&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/NandiWabantu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@NandiWabantu</a>/<a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Blsbym5COZ4J:https://twitter.com/NandiWabantu/status/1165919653820010496+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=za\" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>)</figcaption></figure>



@CakesNandi, prior to its own suspension, also used “Nandi Cakes” as its display name.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1710/1*u8b62ym6wDO4vCbYlC_ZKA.png" alt=""/><figcaption>Both the @CakesNandi and @NandiWabantu accounts used “Nandi Cakes” as a display name at some point in their active life. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/CakesNandi/status/1169221499955404801" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@CakesNandi</a>/<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190916233746/https:/twitter.com/CakesNandi/status/1169221499955404801" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>, left;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/NandiWabantu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@NandiWabantu</a>/<a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Blsbym5COZ4J:https://twitter.com/NandiWabantu/status/1165919653820010496+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=za\" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>, right)</figcaption></figure>



The two accounts interacted with one another up until their suspension. Of all the tweets liked by the @ShamilaBatohi account, posts by @CakesNandi featured most prominently.



While there appeared to be a connection between the two accounts, the DFRLab was unable to prove that @CakesNandi and @ShamilaBatohi were operated by the same user. It is also unknown whether the accounts were related to the litany of similar looking profiles when searching for “Nandi Cakes” on Twitter.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1750/1*_AEO1_BldjVnKU7Ch37gEw.png" alt=""/><figcaption>A Twitter search for “Nandi Cakes” yielded a litany of similar looking accounts, many of which used the same image of late actor Heath Ledger as the Joker for their profile photos. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=nandi%20cakes&src=typed_query&f=user" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>)</figcaption></figure>



<h2 id="5723">Conclusion</h2>



Ultimately, Twitter’s&nbsp;<a href="https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/twitter-rules" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">impersonation rules</a>&nbsp;are clear: a user “may not impersonate individuals, groups, or organizations in a manner that is intended to or does mislead, confuse, or deceive others.” The @ShamilaBatohi account appeared to have been in violation of these rules by impersonating a high-ranking prosecutor, making fictitious claims that lead other social media users to believe significant arrests will be made, and pretending to offer legal advice. The account remains suspended.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<a href="https://twitter.com/awildknight" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tessa Knight</a>&nbsp;is a Research Assistant, Southern Africa, with the Digital Forensic Research Lab (@DFRLab) and is based in South Africa.



<a href="https://twitter.com/jean_leroux" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jean le Roux</a>&nbsp;is a Research Associate, Southern Africa, with @DFRLab and is based in South Africa.



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://twitter.com/dfrlab" target="_blank">Follow along</a>&nbsp;for more in-depth analysis from our #DigitalSherlocks.



The Digital Forensic Research Lab team in southern Africa works in partnership with <a href="https://medium.com/code-for-africa">Code for Africa</a>.

Twitter account impersonating South African prosecutor suspended

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1638/1*DnaU5ulIiFiystUashBWcg.png" alt=""/><figcaption>(Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/awildknight" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@awildknight</a>/DFRLab via&nbsp;<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80038275@N00/24756405266" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">flickr</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sharps_Container.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wikimedia Commons</a>)</figcaption></figure>



U.S. Senator Tom Cotton has continuously amplified the narrative that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which has claimed the lives of around 2,870 people as of February 28, 2020, may have originated in a biosafety lab in Wuhan: a theory that has been “<a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30418-9/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">strongly condemned</a>” by scientists closely studying the virus outbreak.



The World Health Organization (WHO) describes the spread of damaging online information as an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51497800" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">infodemic</a>, a false information virus that spreads faster than a real virus does. Disinformation, misinformation, and incomplete information can spread via influencers and media amplification far more quickly than a virus can spread from one person to another. With over 208,000 Twitter followers and over 159,000 Facebook followers, as well as being a frequent guest on cable television where he made this claim, Cotton has the ability to spread his ideas to hundreds of thousands of people, who in turn spread the ideas further.



The theory that the virus started in the Wuhan lab has been picked up primarily by fringe sites and social media pages dedicated to conspiracy theories and further amplified by people with large public profiles online, such as Cotton. Cotton, who has fought to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/480/cosponsors?q=%7b%22search%22:%5b%22REC+Act%22%5d,%22party%22:%22Republican%22%7d&searchResultViewType=expanded&KWICView=false" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">curb</a>&nbsp;China’s relationship with the United States since being elected to the Senate in 2015, has been&nbsp;<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/18/politics/tom-cotton-coronavirus/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">criticized</a>&nbsp;for playing fast and loose with facts about the novel coronavirus. Even&nbsp;<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/sen-tom-cotton-coronavirus-origins" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fox News</a>&nbsp;referred to Cotton’s unverified claims as “startling.” As an influential and outspoken public figure, his statements on the origin of the novel coronavirus hold weight, and his verified status on Twitter lends him a degree of authority that the average user might not have. The DFRLab tracked the origin of the conspiracy theory to see where the theory originated, where it spread, and which groups or individuals amplified the narrative.



<h2 id="dcb1">The Wuhan lab and unsupported claims around it</h2>



In January 2018, China opened the country’s&nbsp;<a href="http://english.whiov.cas.cn/ne/201801/t20180117_189133.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">first level-four biosafety laboratory</a>&nbsp;(BSL4-Lab). Located in Wuhan, the lab has the authority to experiment with easily transmitted deadly pathogens such as Ebola and coronaviruses. In order to operate at the highest level of biocontainment, the lab filters its air and purifies waste before it exits the testing space. Researchers are also required to change their clothing and shower before and after using the facility.



As a result of its proximity to the epicenter of the origin of the novel coronavirus, rumors have spread online that the virus may have been released or escaped from the lab itself. These rumors have been amplified by Cotton, who has repeatedly mentioned the BSL4-Lab in relation to the novel coronavirus in interviews and in official Senate convenings, suggesting that the virus may have originated in the lab. His tweet amplifying the conspiracy was retweeted more than 2,000 times and liked 3,800 times.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/596/1*OMmgpCE7BzNFYEegzqW9Lw.png" alt=""/><figcaption>Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton noted that China’s only biosafety lab is located in Wuhan while speaking in a Senate committee meeting. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/SenTomCotton/status/1222971592403226628" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@SenTomCotton</a>/<a href="http://archive.ph/sJdtm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>)</figcaption></figure>



<h2 id="1b99">A timeline of the lab and the novel coronavirus outbreak</h2>



According to a DFRLab query using Brandwatch, the first time the biosafety laboratory was mentioned in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak in English on Twitter was January 4, with two tweets that garnered little attention. Both tweets highlighted the lab’s location in Wuhan, implying there may be a correlation between the lab and the outbreak.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1399/1*uTWVCOnJNTnhlTDJCPeYBA.png" alt=""/><figcaption>The first two tweets about the Wuhan biosafety lab in English. @angelina_licca included screenshots of state news agency Xinhua News’ announcement of the lab’s creation. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/angelina_licca/status/1213428627565473792" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@angelina_licca</a>/<a href="http://archive.ph/RwPh7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>, left;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GloryT0HongKong/status/1213302379342258177" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@GloryT0HongKong</a>/<a href="http://archive.ph/ovYaF" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>, right)</figcaption></figure>



The following day, another Twitter user used the hashtag #ChinesePneumonia in a post about the Wuhan biosafety lab. Comments on the tweet referred to China as “terrorist” and “Nazi.” Although the post was only retweeted 82 times, it potentially reached over 23,500 Twitter users.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1473/1*wejvTOf9abkV_1eAMLgs-g.png" alt=""/><figcaption>One of the first tweets drawing a correlation between the biosafety lab in Wuhan and the novel coronavirus to garner significant attention on social media. The tweet was retweeted 82 times and, as of February 25, had reached 22,963 users. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/alphacentauriii/status/1213796582211997696" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@alphacentauriii</a>/<a href="http://archive.ph/V1gMD" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>, left;&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/awildknight" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@awildknight</a>/DFRLab via Brandwatch, right)</figcaption></figure>



After the first set of tweets in the beginning of January, little mention of the lab cropped up on social media until January 21, when a video allegedly of the lab itself was posted to Twitter. The clip, which was originally uploaded to TikTok and copied to Twitter, was viewed over 90,000 times and retweeted over 400 times. Comments from Chinese Twitter users — made from outside China or via workarounds, given it bans direct access to the platform domestically — criticized the ruling party, suggesting the lab was used to create bioweapons and test them on the Chinese population.



In the following days, mentions of the lab on social media, blogs, and websites spiked considerably. Many of these posts linked to an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/news/inside-the-chinese-lab-poised-to-study-world-s-most-dangerous-pathogens-1.21487" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">article</a>&nbsp;about the creation of the lab published in 2017 by&nbsp;Nature,&nbsp;one of the world’s top scientific journals. The piece claimed that some scientists were worried about pathogens escaping the new laboratory, and also questioned the addition of the high-level lab when geopolitical tensions were high. It also stated, however, that the creation of multiple BSL-4 labs in Europe and the United States had also met with resistance from the scientific community.



Although the article raised valid concerns from the scientific community, the information was so distorted by COVID-19 conspiracy theorists that the journal’s editor added a note in January stating&nbsp;Nature&nbsp;did not know of any evidence linking the lab to the coronavirus outbreak.



On January 22, a screenshot of the article — edited to emphasize location and lacking any context beyond the location — was posted to a subreddit dedicated to conspiracy theories. The post was upvoted over 5,000 times, with users commenting that the novel coronavirus had been created by the Chinese government and tested on its citizens.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1073/1*V9KQFsJxljhOxlkqa8plAg.png" alt=""/><figcaption>A Reddit post on a subreddit dedicated to discussing conspiracy theories emphasized that China’s only BSL-4 Lab was located in Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/eslg29/maximum_security_biolab_opened_a_few_years_ago/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">u/hogancheveippoff</a>/<a href="http://archive.ph/mSVoE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>)</figcaption></figure>



Then, on January 23, British tabloid&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.ph/29M6q" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Daily Mail</a>&nbsp;ran an article titled “China built a lab to study SARS and Ebola in Wuhan — and U.S. biosafety experts warned in 2017 that a virus could ‘escape’ the facility that’s become key in fighting the outbreak.” The piece took much of the content from the&nbsp;Nature&nbsp;article and drew a correlation between the location of the lab and the current outbreak without providing any actual evidence.



According to a CrowdTangle readout, the&nbsp;Daily Mail&nbsp;article was shared to Facebook pages and groups that promote&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/palaknotes/videos/vb.1761653100723736/162948495125607/?type=2&theater" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">non-traditional medical cures</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheRefusers/posts/2803430669694388" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">anti-vaccination rhetoric</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/104449460910694/posts/175221993833440" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pro-Hong Kong democracy pages</a>. Many of the comments on the article shared to these pages stated that the virus was a bioweapon, that it originated in the lab, and that China created it with the intention of infecting hundreds of thousands of people.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1490/1*EZiOKrOegdjvQXunFoPgag.png" alt=""/><figcaption>CrowdTangle readout of Facebook pages and groups that linked to article from&nbsp;The Daily Mail, among which were pages and groups promoting dubious health supplements (red boxes), anti-vaccination rhetoric (blue boxes), and Hong Kong democracy (green box). (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/awildknight" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@awildknight</a>/DFRLab via CrowdTangle)</figcaption></figure>



Following the&nbsp;Daily Mail&nbsp;article, the claim that the COVID-19 was released from the Wuhan biosafety lab was picked up by multiple fringe sites, including&nbsp;ZeroHedge,which&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.ph/tS9Ta" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">compared</a>&nbsp;the lab to the “Umbrella Corporation,” a fictional corporation from the Resident Evil films that created biological weapons under the guise of creating vaccines, and&nbsp;The Washington Times,&nbsp;which published&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.ph/LNS90" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">two</a>&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.ph/Tnjpb" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">articles</a>&nbsp;linking the lab to an alleged covert Chinese biowarfare program.



On January 30, Cotton posted a clip of himself mentioning the laboratory to his&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.ph/pZHJ5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="http://archive.ph/sJdtm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>&nbsp;pages. This was the first time he had specifically mentioned the lab, days after the&nbsp;Daily Mail&nbsp;and&nbsp;The&nbsp;Washington Times&nbsp;posted their stories; there was no indication, however, that he picked the conspiracy up from those sources.



<h2 id="15eb">The spread of an infodemic</h2>



Following a&nbsp;Washington Post&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/02/16/tom-cotton-coronavirus-conspiracy/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">article</a>&nbsp;calling out Cotton for perpetuating debunked claims, the Arkansas senator doubled down on Twitter and laid out his list of theories, which he insisted were “hypotheses.” One theory suggested the virus emerged organically, while the other three involved the biosafety lab.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://miro.medium.com/max/1387/1*-ageEI9zmp5-Tqq0qkzAHg.png" alt=""/><figcaption>Senator Cotton explains his hypotheses about the origin of the novel coronavirus on Twitter. (Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/SenTomCotton/status/1229202134048133126" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@SenTomCotton</a>/<a href="http://archive.ph/o621H" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archive</a>)</figcaption></figure>



Cotton’s statements on COVID-19 come at a time when the WHO has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/director-general-s-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-2019-novel-coronavirus---8-february-2020" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">declared</a>&nbsp;misinformation and disinformation about the novel coronavirus particularly dangerous. The amplification of incorrect information, particularly by influential figures such as Cotton, diverts the attention of key decisionmakers, sows panic and fear, and makes the jobs of healthcare workers on the front lines significantly more difficult.



When conspiracies and public health intersect, the result is a particularly potent infodemic: one that hampers the crisis response to a global disease outbreak and puts lives at stake.



Update, May 7, 2020: In the seven weeks since this story was first published, the debate around the origins of the virus that causes COVID-19 continues among scientists, public health officials and policymakers. Last week, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/us/politics/trump-administration-intelligence-coronavirus-china.html?referringSource=articleShare" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York Times</a>&nbsp;reported on pressures from the White House to the US intelligence community to find evidence that virus came from a Chinese lab, as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence reaffirmed in a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/olivia_gazis/status/1255866203966451712?s=21" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>&nbsp;that the intelligence community “concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not man made or genetically modified,” and that it will continue to investigate whether the virus was formed naturally or was accidentally released from a lab. Meanwhile, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/chinese-lab-conducted-extensive-research-on-deadly-bat-viruses-but-there-is-no-evidence-of-accidental-release/2020/04/30/3e5d12a0-8b0d-11ea-9dfd-990f9dcc71fc_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Washington Post</a>&nbsp;reported on bat virus research conducted at the lab in Wuhan, while public health official Dr. Anthony Fauci told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/05/anthony-fauci-no-scientific-evidence-the-coronavirus-was-made-in-a-chinese-lab-cvd/?fbclid=IwAR3KehNgjenQmv8RSXNL52xMGqu3yca_qkyTWMd-nRJ7CVkw2t1NfDGxsiM" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Geographic</a>&nbsp;that there is no scientific evidence to suggest the coronavirus was made in a Chinese lab. As research into its origins continues, we’ve edited this piece to refer to claims that the virus came from a lab as “unverified” rather than “debunked,” given the definitive finality of the latter term. We will continue to monitor this story as research into its origins progresses.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<a href="https://twitter.com/awildknight" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tessa Knight</a>&nbsp;is a Research Assistant, Southern Africa, with the Digital Forensic Research Lab.



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://twitter.com/dfrlab" target="_blank">Follow along</a> for more in-depth analysis from our #DigitalSherlocks.



The Digital Forensic Research Lab team in southern Africa works in partnership with <a href="https://medium.com/code-for-africa">Code for Africa</a>.

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Unverified narratives about virus origins spreads across the U.S.

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