Claim: Ex- Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is dead
Source: Social Media Users
Verdict: False
Full Text: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. She was the first elected female head of state in Africa.
Social Media Users widely reported that Johnson-Sirleaf had passed away due to an illness.
While they did not divulge the details, this shocking development triggered a series of posts by media across the world, including posts from Youtube, with 12k views; before the News Break, world view had 16 comments and 71 shares posted on social media.
Also, several other media outlets posted about the death of the Nobel Peace laureate.
Verification:
When the news broke, George Werner, former education minister, posted a screenshot of a planned event that Johnson-Sirleaf expects to participate in with Linda Thomas Greenfield, US Ambassador to the U.N, on his timeline.
The Stage Media reached out to the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia to confirm if the event is pre-recorded or live-streamed.
The Press and Public Affairs section of the U.S. Embassy said no knowledge if the event would be recorded/live-streamed but requested our reporter to ask the organizers!
We have written to the organizers, and we will add their responses.
The event is titled “Breaking the Barriers of Entry for Women Leaders in Africa; A Discussion with Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and U.S. Permanent Representative to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield is scheduled for December 6, 2022, at 7:00 Liberian time.
The former Liberian President also tweeted on December 5, 2022, that she would be speaking at the event on December 6, 2022. “ I am looking forward to speaking @USIP tomorrow with @USAmbUN Linda Thomas-Greenfield ahead of the US-Africa Leaders Summit. We will discuss how to empower and inspire the next generation of African #WomenLeaders. I hope you can join us: https://usip.org/events/breaking-barriers-entry-women-leaders-africa.
Conclusion: The claim that ex-President Johnson-Sirleaf is dead is False.
