Claim: Boakai project in Lofa after 42 years
Source: Veronica S. Mulbah, a Journalist with Freedom FM
Verdict: misleading; the image is not from Liberia.
Full text: Boakai project in Lofa after 42 years in government My nick will break. achieved by a running emoji.
The former vice president of Liberia and current head of the Unity Party, which is the country’s main opposition group, is Joseph Boakai. He is currently running for the highest office in the country. Amb. Boakai has remained a top electoral contender ever since 2017. Like in 2017, Boakai has persisted in receiving support from citizens in all fifteen counties, placing his party in front of many other political parties in the nation. On Friday, September 22, 2023, journalist Mulbah posted false information about the statesman on her social media account, as usual. She said that the photograph was of a project that Boakai had started 42 years earlier.
The post had gotten 33 replies and 20 comments as of the check.
Verification: We did a Google image search and found that the image has no link to Liberia and that it was extracted from a fact-check done by Congo-Checks regarding a claim made about President Fe’lix Tshisekedi’s project.
President Félix Tshisekedi was confronted with a frustrating truth following his visit to Mbuji-Mayi: the execution of his initiatives in his home region will suffer from the misappropriation of funds in practically all the many projects he inspected. A picture that claims the Kasai people have chosen to take care of themselves by paving their roads on their own has been circulated on social media in this context.
“Mbuji-Mayi: Tshilejelu Project: Tired of waiting for the Tshilejelu project, the population of Mbuji-Mayi is taking care of themselves,” is the caption given to this photo by Jérémie Kapend Kayombu. In just five days, the post garnered 1,091 likes, 867 comments, and 158 shares.
Internet users in Congo took the explanation given to this photo at face value to the point where it exploded into virality.
Conclusion: With the research done, it is safe to say that the post by Mulbah is false and that it is meant to mislead the public.
This story was produced with the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID)’s support.
