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Jamie Hitchen et Idayat Hassan – June 2022

Le phénomène de propagation des informations mensongères à travers les écosystèmes d’informations en Afrique de l’Ouest s’amplifie. Bien que rendu possible par l’accès croissant aux réseaux sociaux et à Internet dans la région, le flux d’informations fallacieuses n’est pas simplement limité aux espaces en ligne, mais circule entre les environnements hors ligne et numériques, et ce, régulièrement et facilement. Ainsi, dès qu’une rumeur est lancée par un influenceur en ligne sur Facebook et qu’elle devient une tendance, cette rumeur peut faire l’objet de débats et de discussions dans des émissions de télévision ou de radio, ce qui élargit son audience. Ces débats, à leur tour, font ensuite l’objet de discussions et de débats dans des lieux de rassemblement tels que les marchés, les bases des atayahs, les lieux de rassemblement des motos-taxis ou les grins1 qui leur permettent de circuler à travers des réseaux bien établis de rumeurs par le bouche- à-oreille. Pour compléter le cycle, ces rumeurs hors ligne peuvent ensuite être transposées en ligne et peuvent être davantage biaisées dans le but de désinformer ou simplement de renforcer une information mensongère déjà en circulation.

La manière dont les informations circulent entre les réseaux en ligne et hors ligne permettent de mieux comprendre comment les informations fallacieuses se propagent et influencent les actions en Afrique de l’Ouest. Il en va de même pour la confiance. L’information que l’on considère comme provenant d’une source digne de confiance – que ce soit la source d’origine de l’information ou la personne qui l’a partagée en dernier – est essentielle pour déterminer ce qui est vrai ou faux, et si cette information se conforme à des idées reçues et à des préjugés existants. Ces deux critères deviennent de plus en plus évidents pour tous ceux qui participent à la Les études par pays ont identifié sept acteurs clés impliqués dans la diffusion d’informations mensongères et leurs effets dans les domaines de la politique, de la santé et de la cohésion sociale. Ces acteurs sont des militants politiques, des influenceurs en ligne, l’État, des entreprises médiatiques, des sociétés de conseil spécialisées, la diaspora et des États étrangers. Si le rapport entre la propriété des médias et la politique en Afrique de l’Ouest a toujours favorisé la circulation d’informations fallacieuses, le nombre croissant d’utilisateurs des réseaux sociaux dans la région donne une place privilégiée aux influenceurs en ligne et à la diaspora qui dispose d’une audience numérique importante et souvent réceptive. Pendant les élections, la lutte pour exercer une influence sur ce public en ligne est amplifiée, les acteurs politiques recrutant de plus en plus de « cyber- guerriers » nationaux ou de spécialistes de la communication régionale et internationale pour obtenir un avantage électoral.

Les réponses au phénomène grandissant de la prolifération des informations fallacieuses dans l’écosystème de l’information rencontrent des difficultés du fait que non seulement l’État n’est pas un acteur impartial, mais qu’il participe également à la diffusion et à la création d’informations mensongères ou dans la restriction égoïste des flux d’information en ligne. Néanmoins, il existe également des exemples d’interventions gouvernementales plus bénéfiques sur le plan social dans l’écosystème de l’information. Pendant la pandémie de la Covid-19, on a observé des exemples de pays qui faisaient des efforts pour rendre plus transparentes les informations sur les initiatives de santé publique.

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Verdict: False

CLAIM: CDD spotted a trending story online, that Elon Musk, the entrepreneur who achieved global fame as the chief executive officer (CEO) of electric autos maker Tesla Inc. (TSLA) and CEO of the private space company is set to unveil his new hotel in Mars. The story on social media and blogs claimed that the world’s richest man is set to open soon his latest investment, a hotel, in Mars. According to the message with the accompanied image claimed a night rate at the hotel will be $5 million.

Fact Check: In verifying the claim, we verified the image using the fact checking tool, Tineye; a reverse image search engine that allows one to search by image. The result revealed that the image was first uploaded online by venturebeat.com as a proposed model of lab biomes Interstellar, which is expected to be built on Mojave Desert, Mars. The website has a trailer video of Interstellar Labs future, where the image appeared.

However, Elon Musk Trust is the owner of SpaceX, a Space Exploration Technologies Corp, which became famous after it first big headline, when it became the first private company to launch a payload into orbit and return it to Earth intact—something only government agencies like NASA or Russia’s Roscosmos had done before.  In 2020 Musk claimed that SpaceX will put a million people on Mars by 2050, there has been no recent claim of this on Elon’s official twitter page or on trustworthy news site.  Since its first crewed flight in 2020, SpaceX has continued to launch astronauts to the International Space Station and return them home to Earth as part of a partnership with NASA.

Fact checkers searched through Elon Musk’s social media and information platforms, including his verified Twitter account, with 102.7 million followers and cannot find any post relating to an hotel in Mars. 

In conclusion, we can confirm that the posts and reports claiming that Elon Musk will soon open a hotel in Mars, which is expected to cost $5 million a night is false. With this check, CDD continues to provide the global community with facts to make informed choices; therefore, advises citizens against peddling false information.

CLAIM: Peter Obi claimed that Nigeria has about 100 players in NBA.

VERDICT: False

CONTEXT: Responding to a question posed during an interview on Politics Today, a Programme on Channels Television, the Labour Party presidential candidate replying to  a question on why he is focused on supporting the youth, said

“…proud, celebrating their talent. And this is what we have everywhere. If you go into the American NBA, out of 150 players, almost 100 are Nigerians. These youths are so talented that they are where you need to focus to reach their talent and productive energy to turn around the country…” 

VERIFICATION: Our partners at Daily Trust have clarified where the misconception behind this claim might have come from. Teams in the U.S invite unregistered or young players, referred to as rookies, to their training camps so that the coaching staff can evaluate their performance and select their active roster. However, actual registered NBA players are restricted to 15 players on each of the 30 teams which adds up to 450 players, of which Nigeria only has 10.

Relying on available data, we can confirm that Nigeria does not have about 100 players in the NBA as claimed by Peter Obi. In fact, no country or continent has produced up to that number since the inception of the league. Therefore, the claim by Obi is false in its entirety.

WHY WE FACT-CHECKED THIS:  Several presidential candidates have been peddling fake news in a bid to support their campaign. This claim was fact-checked to provide facts to Nigerian citizens.

CLAIM: All executive members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State have defected to the APC.

VERDICT: False

CONTEXT: A twitter account, purportedly belonging to the All Progressives Congress (APC) Kwara State chapter, tweeted that all executive members of the state opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had defected to their party.

VERIFICATION: Our partners at Daily Trust could not find the names of said PDP decampees on the aforementioned Twitter handle. Furthermore, findings showed that although some former executive members of the Peoples Democratic Party defected to the All Progressives Congress. in June 2022, none of them was a current member of the party’s state. The decampees cited the achievements of Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as the rationale behind their defection.

Most of the decampees during that period were members of the Kwara State PDP Transformation Movement a group formed with the aim of fighting for the right of PDP members who are thought to be maltreated by the party which included former executives of the opposition party and former political office holders.

CONTEXT: In a one-hour exclusive interview on Arise TV, the former Vice President of Nigeria and presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar made several claims that are fact-check worthy.

CLAIM 1: Atiku claimed that the power generation capacity in 1999 was 4,000MW.

VERDICT: FALSE

CONTEXT: The rights activist and presidential candidate of African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore claimed that the former President Olusegun Obasanjo-led administration failed to solve the nation’s electricity problems to which the former Vice President of Nigeria responded “When we came in 1999, the total generation (capacity) was about 4,000 Megawatts. We initiated the building of nine additional power stations and by the time those nine were finished, the capacity has gone up from 4,000 Megawatts to about 13,000 Megawatts.

VERIFICATION: Responding to a letter from the House of Representatives Committee on Power and Steel, probing the expenditure in the power sector between 1999 and 2007, then President Olusegun Obasanjo wrote in a letter dated 12 May, 2008, that his administration inherited an installed capacity of 6,000 Megawatts even though only 1500MW was being generated.

CLAIM 2: 90% of Nigerians from the northern part of the country are not on social media.

VERDICT: Insufficient Evidence

CONTEXT: Atiku, while expressing his thoughts on Peter Obi’s chances in next year’s presidential election, said 90% of Nigerians from the northern part of the country are not on social media.

“…They were saying through social media, that they have more than one million votes in Osun State but how many people voted for Labour Party? And there again mark you, you are talking about social media, in the North 90 per cent of our people are not tuned to social media,” .

VERIFICATION: To verify the claim, our partners at Daily Trust explored the Statista database which asserts that 110 million of an estimated 200 million Nigerians have access to the internet, with 53.15 million on social media as of 2022.

Following a check of the culmination of followers that Atiku and Peter Obi has on the three main social media platforms, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, it was evident that Atiku has way more followers on social media than Peter Obi.

Several twitter and Facebook profiles are dedicated to Hausa, the most common language in the northern part of Nigeria such as BBC News Hausa, Premium Times Hausa. Although one can safely say that there is a higher number of social media users in the South compared to the  North following a report by National Bureau of Statistics which puts the number of active internet subscription in the North at 68.5m and the South at 77m. This indirectly translates to active social media users as its one of the key uses of data subscription unlike Atiku’s claim that has no known data supporting his assertion that 90 per cent of Northerners are not on social media. Hence the basis of Atiku’s claim is unfounded.

WHY WE FACT-CHECKED THIS: CDD fact-checked these claims to help the electorate hold politicians accountable during the electoral season

VERDICT: False

CONTEXT: A former aviation minister and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Femi Fani Kayode popularly known as FFK, recently took to his Twitter handle to say that the federal high court, appeal court and the supreme court are all headed by Christians. The tweet has since gathered thousands of engagements.

CLAIM 1: Southwest had 4 immediate past governors who are Muslims 

VERIFICATION: In verifying the Minister’s claim, our partners at Daily Trust sought to find out the immediate past governors in the Southwest before the ones currently governing the state.

Findings show that In Oyo State, late senator Abiola Ajimobi, a Muslim was the immediate past governor before Mr. Seyi Makinde came on board.

In Lagos State, Mr Akinwumi Ambode, a Christian was the immediate past governor before Babajide Sanwolu, also a Christian took over.

In Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun, a current senator was the immediate past governor of the state. He is a Muslim and has governed the state for eight years before Mr Dapo Abiodun, a Christian took over.

In Osun State, the tenure of Mr Gboyega Oyetola (a Muslim) will be coming to an end in November this year following his inability to get a return ticket as he was defeated in the July 2022 governorship elections by Senator Ademola Adeleke, who is a Christian.

In Ekiti, former Governor Ayodele Fayose, a Christian, was the immediate past governor of the state who completed his two terms in office before the incumbent, Dr Kayode Fayemi, also a Christian took over the mantle of leadership.

 In Ondo State, the immediate past governor of the state, Olusegun Mimiko, a Christian was succeeded by Rotimi Akeredolu, the incumbent governor who is a Christian.

Following previous records, the claim that South West had four Muslim governors before the incumbents is not true as the former governors who are Muslims are three namely; Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State and Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State.

CLAIM 2: All heads of the judiciary are Christians

VERIFICATION: Checks by Daily Trust has shown that Justice John T. Tsoho who was appointed as the Chief Judge of the federal high court is a Christian.

He was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.

Similarly, Hon. Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, a Christian is Nigeria’s current president of the Appeal court. She was appointed in June 2020 by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Similarly, President Muhammadu Buhari in June this year swore in Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, although the president has recently sent his name to the National Assembly to be confirmed as the substantive CJN.

Justice Ariwoola, who is a Muslim by virtue of the being the CJN, heads the Supreme court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

While the Federal High court and Appeal courts are headed by Christians, the Supreme court is headed by a Muslim who doubles as the current Chief Justice of Nigeria, as such the claim by Fani Kayode is FALSE.

Verdict: FALSE

Claim: On August 9, 2022, Sahara Reporters published a breaking news: Nigerian Electoral Body, INEC Succumbs To Pressure From Ruling APC, Backdates Documents To Recognise Senate President Lawan, Akpabio As Senatorial Candidates. This is the second time; the news outlet will make this claim. On July 8, 2022, it published Nigerian Electoral Body, INEC Succumbs To Pressure From Ruling APC To Recognise Senate President, Lawan As Yobe Senatorial Candidate, Moves To Destroy Electoral Commissioner’s Report. These claims have generated debates on social media, particularly on WhatsApp. In the new claim, the media organization said, it has credible evidence that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has backdated Certified True Copies (CTC) of reports of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries to accommodate Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, Godswill Akpabio and others as candidates in the 2023 general elections.

To validate its claim, the online news reporter, published the INEC document for the nomination of candidates by political parties. The document dated June 17, 2022, also has INEC’s CTC stamp dated July 15, 2022.

Fact Check: CDD’s fact check of July 10, 2022 had earlier countered Sahara Reporters’ claim of July 8, 2022. In the new claim, fact checkers applied Tineye, a fact check tool to verify the authenticity of INEC’s form EC9C; the form for nomination of candidates by political parties. The form EC9C is what political parties use to submit to INEC, the names of its nominated candidates, which must be signed by the party’s recognized national chairman and secretary. This is not an INEC’s report.

As the date shows, June 17, 2022, was the last date for the submission of nominations by political parties, as stated in the INEC’s Time table and Guideline for the 2023 general elections. According the Commission’s Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, during the meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), the INEC’s portal closed at 6:00pm on June 17, 2022. The All Progressives Congress (APC), the party whose form EC9C is being interrogated, submitted the names of both Akpabio and Lawan on that date (June 17, 2022).

INEC has since published the personal particulars of nominated candidates of political parties, the details of both Lawan and Akpabio were not included as our earlier fact check show. CDD can independently confirm that the matter is now in court, which required INEC to certify a true copy of the form EC9C dated July 15, 2022, following the litigation processes.

Further check can confirm that INEC was yet to publish the final list of candidates; which according to Timetable is September 20, 2022, for Presidential and National Assembly elections. This is in line with Section 32 (1) of the Electoral Act 2022.

Conclusion: CDD can confirm that the breaking story by Sahara Report, which is also trending online is false. As we head to the 2023 general elections, electorates and indeed Nigerians must be curious of political information; particularly on the online space. Electoral disinformation will dominate the country’s ecosystem. The aim of peddlers of misleading contents and information among others is to delegitimize the election management body and ultimately the electoral system. Each one has the responsibility to share verified information. 

CLAIM: Tinubu’s daughter is opposed to her father’s desperation to be president.

VERDICT: FALSE

CONTEXT: A viral Twitter post, attributed to belong to the daughter of the All Progressive Congress presidential nominee, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, shows her cautioning him to drop his presidential ambition on the grounds that he is not fit for the position. In the video, the woman called Tinubu her father at different points while making her point.

VERIFICATION: Checks conducted by our partners at Daily Trust revealed that the caption is misleading as the video was originally posted on Instagram by an activist and Instagram influencer, Adetoun Onajobi on her official page, (justadetoun) in July.

Further checks gathered that she referred to Tinubu as her “father” in the video figuratively, because she considers him a father out of respect and the relationship he has with her husband. This is supported by her interview on the Channels TV show, Rubbin’ Minds, that “Tinubu is like a father to me but I will never endorse him.”

We can confirm that the video is misleading and was not made by any of Tinubu’s biological children.

WHY WE FACT-CHECKED THIS: The claim was done to avert any attempt to discredit any candidate based on fake news and misinformation.

CLAIM: Adeleke’s son, Adebayo ‘B-Red’ Adeleke, was recorded sharing money to people on the street.

VERDICT: FALSE

CONTEXT: A 15-second video showing the son of Senator Ademola Adeleke, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Osun State, sharing money for people on the street has been posted on Twitter.

The video was captioned “Ademola Adeleke’s son Bred sharing money to voters.”

In the video, Bred was seen giving out N500 notes randomly to people who seem excited to see him.

There were two security men between him and the crowd who were trying to prevent them from getting closer to his car.

The tweet by one Qudus Akanbi Eleyi had amassed over 2,000 views, over 100 likes, and retweets, and more than 40 comments as of the time of filing this report.

VERIFICATION:

Our partners at Daily Trust ascertained that the claim was made by a Twitter user, Qudus Akanbi Eleyi, and the tweet had amassed over 2,000 views, over 100 likes, and retweets, and more than 40 comments as of the time of filing this report. During investigation, we found out that the video was recorded in Lagos State days before the Osun gubernatorial election that took place on 16 July. The singer was only sharing money with fans who were happy to see him upon his arrival in Lagos State. Several comments under tweet confirmed our findings. One of such comments read “why this hate? This is when this guy landed in Lagos airport, why are you all posting this video?”. Another read “This was the day he landed from abroad two days ago. He met people on the road, and they begged him for money which he gave them. This is not today.”

We can confirm that the video in circulation suggesting that Adebayo ‘B-Red’ Adeleke was sharing money to voters on behalf of his father is false.

WHY WE FACT CHECKED THIS: The election information space is saturated with several claims that are targeted at the candidates that could either incite violence or sway votes. This fake news had the potential of the later and as such was debunked by CDD.

CLAIM: Delegates sent to UK over Ekweremadu’s case arrested.

Verdict: False

Context: On Thursday, a high-powered Nigerian delegation was at the Westminster Court in London for the trial of Ike Ekweremadu, former Deputy Senate President. A Twitter user claimed that members of the delegation were arrested. The post, which has gone viral, reads, “Breaking news: Delegates sent from Nigeria by the FG to get a lawyer that will defend Ike Ekweremadu, have all been arrested by the UK government.

“All the delegates sent were arrested, UK government narrated those delegates sent were on the UK wanted list for sponsoring Boko Haram.”

Verification: Investigation of the claim by our partners at Daily Trust, revealed that the claim is misleading as the Twitter user claimed that the Senate sent a delegation to get a lawyer for Ekweremadu. However, the Senate sent members of its committee on foreign affairs to find out more details on the case.

Why We Checked This: The law suit against Ike Ekweremadu, former Deputy Senate President of Nigeria on the count of organ harvesting in the UK has caused a social media uproar and as such brought about several fake news. CDD fact checked this claim to give the people the facts on the case.