Claim: “President Joseph Boakai’s trips to China and Indonesia were canceled due to a strong warning from the U.S. Ambassador, Mark Toner.”
Source: Aloysius Howe
Verdict: Misleading, the government of Liberia and the United States response contradict Howe’s claim.
Full Text: Aloysius Howe, special assistant to Samuel Tweah, Liberia’s ex-finance minister, posted on his Facebook page on Thursday, August 29, 2024, that President Boakai’s relationship with the United States government entered free fall.
Howe claimed that Mark Toner, United States ambassador to Liberia, cautioned Boakai to cancel his trip to China and Indonesia or there would be consequences.
The post generated 80 reactions, 242 comments, and 18 shares as of the time of this check.
Liberia has had a longstanding relationship with the United States as its “founding father.” The nation has looked up to the U.S. to a greater extent for almost everything.
Liberia’s historical relationship with the US dates back to the early 19th century, with the country receiving economic and diplomatic support from the US.
Verification: To fact-check this claim, we first contacted Robert Clarke, a communication specialist at the U.S. Embassy in Liberia.
In response to our communication, Mr. Clarke sent us a communication from the Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism informing the public about President Boakai’s planned trip to China. Kindly find below a copy of the communication.
Clarke went further to ask whether there is anything to fact-check when the government has already issued a press release that the president and his delegation will be leaving for China and India. Kindly see the below screenshot of our conversation with Clarke.
We also found live coverage by Kool FM on the 1st day sitting of the extra session of the 55th National Legislature in which that president’s communication regarding his travel was one of the agenda items read for consideration before members of that August body.
Part of the communication said that the president is off to Indonesia for the 2024 African Forum on September 1-3, 2024, and thereafter he will head to Beijing, China, for the African-China corporations on September 4-6, 2024.
We also reached out to Mr. Aloysius Howe to provide evidence to his claim but failed to do so; instead, he referred us to a previous post where he claimed President Boakai pleaded with the U.S. Ambassador to Liberia to allow him to travel.
Conclusion: Based on our research, we found that Howe misled the public. Therefore, the claim that the U.S. Ambassador to Liberia warned President Boakai against his trip to China is false.
Written by Watson Richards, Grant Fellow
