የተጠቀሰው መረጃ፡ ጎንደር ላይ ፋኖን የሚቃወም ሰልፍ እንደተደረ የሚገልጽ ጽሁፍ ከቪዲዮ መረጃ ጋር በ “X” ማህበራዊ ሚዲያ ላይ ተጋርቷል።

ብያኔ፡ የተጋራው የቪዲዮ መረጃ በራያ አላማጣ የህወሃት ታጣቂዎችን በመቃወም የተደረገ ሰልፍን የሚያሳይ ነው።

ሰኔ 2 ቀን 2016 ዓ/ም Habitsh Gurmu የሚል ስያሜ ያለው የX ማህበራዊ መገናኛ ዘዴ አካውንት “ፋኖን የሚቃወም ሰልፍ በጎንደር” የሚል መረጃ ከቪዲዮ ማስረጃ ጋር አጋርቷል።

የ 22 ሴኮንድ ርዝመት ባለው ቪዲዮ በመቶዎች የሚቆጠሩ ሰልፈኞች የተለያዩ መፈክሮች ይዘው ይታያሉ። በዚሁ ቪዲዮ ላይም አንድ ግለሰብ “የታጠቁ ኃይሎች ፥ ትምህርት ቤት ላይ የመሸጉ ኃይሎች በ24 ሰዓታት ውስጥ ለቀው ይውጡልን” የሚል መፈክር ሲያሰማ ህዝቡም ሲያስተጋባ ይደመጣል።

MFC የመረጃውን ትክክለኛነት ለማጣራት የGoogle Reverse Image መረጃ ማጣሪያን የተጠቀመ ሲሆን ቪዲዮው የተቀረጸው ሰኔ 2 ፣ 2016 ዓ/ም ቢሆንም በጎንደር ፋኖን በመቃወም የተደረገ ሰልፍ አለመሆኑን አረጋግጧል።

ቪዲዮው ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ የተጋራው በአማራ ሚዲያ ኮርፖሬሽን “የአላማጣ ከተማ ነዋሪዎች በሕወሓት እየተፈጸመ ያለውን ግፍ በሕዝባዊ ሰልፍ አውግዘዋል” ከሚል ርዕስ ጋር ነው።

በተጨማሪም ከዚህ በታች ባለው ምስል እንደሚታየው የሰልፉ ተሳታፊዎች በእጅ የያዟቸው መፈክሮች ሰልፉ ህወሃትን ለመቃወም የተካሄደ እንደሆነ መገንዘብ ይቻላል። 

በመሆኑም የፋኖ ሃይሎችን የሚቃወም ሰልፍ በጎንደር ከተማ ተካሄደ በሚል ከቪዲዮ ማስረጃ ጋር የቀረበውን ልጥፍ ሀሰት መሆኑን MFC አረጋግጧል።

ሰላማዊ ሰልፉ ከመደረጉ አስቀድሞ ግንቦት ወር ላይ የህወሃት ኃይሎች በአላማጣ ከተማ በሚገኙ ትምህርት ቤቶች ውስጥ መስፈራቸው ተዘግቧል።

የትግራይ ክልል ጊዜያዊ አስተዳደር ርዕሰ መስተዳደር አቶ ጌታቸው ረዳ የትግራይ ኃይሎች ከሰፈሩባቸው የአላማጣ ከተማ አቅራቢያ ስፍራዎች ለቀው እንዲወጡ አስተዳደራቸው መወሰኑን ይፋ አድርገው ነበር።

የትግራይ እና የአማራ ክልሎች የይገባኛል ጥያቄ በሚያነሱበት የራያ አካባቢዎች ባለፉት ጥቂት ወራት በነበሩ አለመረጋጋቶች ከ50 ሺ በላይ ሰዎች መፈናቀላቸውን የተባበሩት መንግስታት መረጃ ያሳያል።

The post ቪዲዮው በጎንደር ፋኖን በመቃወም የተደረገ ሰልፍን ያሳያል? appeared first on MultiFactCheck.

Claim: An X account shared a video with the caption “Breaking: Fano/Amhara forces captured 100+ ENDF Oromo soldiers after several days of fighting.”

Verdict: False.

On June 5, 2024, an X account named Amhara News Service, with over 14,200 followers, shared a video with the caption “Breaking; Fano/Amhara forces captured 100+ ENDF Oromo soldiers after several days of fighting.” The post was retweeted over 190 times and received more than 31,000 views. The tweet garnered over 170 reposts, over 478 likes, and more than 33,000 views by the time this article was published.

However, the footage is actually from the “Northern Ethiopia war” (the war in Tigray ), which erupted on November 3, 2020, between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). The war ended on November 2, 2022, when a peace agreement, commonly called the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) was signed by both parties in Pretoria, South Africa.

MFC examined the video using reverse image search tools. However, due to the low quality of the video, finding its source through reverse image search proved difficult.

To further investigate, we searched YouTube using the Amharic keyword “የተማረኩ” (Captured). This led us to a video clip containing the same footage as the one shared on X.

The video was shared on a YouTube channel named Marda Times on Sep 25, 2022. 

Based on this information, the post shared by the X account claiming that the video shows 100+ ENDF (Ethiopian National Defense Force) soldiers captured by Fano is false.

Context

The conflict in the Amhara region, which began in April 2023, is part of a broader pattern of instability and violence in Ethiopia. The conflict was triggered by the Ethiopian military’s raid on the Amhara region to disarm regional forces and the Fano militiamen. This action sparked resistance and clashes with the Fano militiamen, who claimed to capture towns in the region forcing the federal government to take further military action. The situation remains tense, leading to death of civilians, causing significant damage to properties, and displacing hundreds of thousands of people. This post, which falsely claims to show footage of a conflict in the Amhara region, is part of a larger trend of misinformation and disinformation circulating online in relation to the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia.

The post Shared Video Misrepresents the Conflict in the Amhara Region appeared first on MultiFactCheck.

Claim: An X account claimed that “members of the 51st Regiment were destroyed in today’s battle and that the pictured individuals were captured during an operation in Gondar.”

Verdict: False. The image is outdated and unrelated to the current conflict in Amhara.

An X account named “የአማራ ፋኖ ጠቅላይ እዝ Official Page!” with over 21,000 followers shared an image with an Amharic caption in which a soldier appears to narrate that they could not anymore fight against the Fano militiamen and members of the 51st Regiment were destroyed in a battle. The tweet gave an impression also that the pictured individual(s) was (were) captured during an operation in Gondar, a city located to the north of the Amhara Regional State. The post received over 87 retweets and 8,000 views(see image below).

However, the image is outdated and unrelated to the ongoing conflict in Amhara Region – the conflict that erupted in April 2023 between the Ethiopian government and Fano militants. MFC observed that the aforementioned Twitter account repeatedly spreads disinformation.

Three weeks ago, on May 2, the same image was shared by a Facebook account named Mereja Tv, which has over 1.2 million followers. The post claimed that the image was related to the current conflict in Amhara, which is untrue (see image below).

However, this image too is outdated and unrelated to the current conflict in Amhara.

A Google Reverse Image Search reveals the image was first shared on social media on October 30, 2021, by a social media account named Stalin Gebreselassie. This individual is known for expressing support for the TPLF/TDF – a political party and an armed group – during the war in Tigray region of Ethiopia. Currently, he is based in Washington DC, USA, and works at Zara Media Network, a media that he reportedly founded. 

Based on the result of the tool we used, MFC confirmed that the image shared by the X account claiming that “members of the 51st Regiment were destroyed in today’s battle and that the pictured individual(s) was (were) captured during an operation in Gondar” is false. 

Context

The conflict in Amhara Regional State began in April 2023 when the Ethiopian military raided the Amhara region to disarm regional special forces and Fano militias – who disregarded the government’s announcement of disarming and integrating them into its formal security forces. This sparked resistance with the Fano Militiamen, finally leading to clashes with the federal government’s military forces. The situation remains tense, which has been resulting in death of civilians, causing significant damage to properties, and displacing hundreds of thousands people. Thus, the post has been circulating in this context. 

The post Image of Captured Soldier Not Fit the Claim appeared first on MultiFactCheck.

Claim: A Twitter account shared an image claiming to be a letter by Daniel Bekele, Chief Commissioner of Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), to the President of Columbia University, Mayor of New York City, and the New York Police Department.

Verdict: False. The image is a manipulated photoshop creation.

On May 2, 2024, an account named “Pulp Faction” with over 13,500 followers shared an image on X, formerly Twitter. The image purported to be a letter from Daniel Bekele, condemning alleged incidents of police brutality at Columbia University campuses in New York City. The post gained significant traction before it was debunked (see image below).

The letter contained a lengthy texts that started speaking “on behalf of the African Union” and other international organization and condemning what it said “incidents of police brutality that have occurred at Columbia University campuses in New York City”. It then urged the university to take immediate and decisive action to address four listed issues.

However, the image used by the X account was a photoshopped content. 

MFC used three methodologies to verify the claim: observation, use of tools, and communication with the EHRC and Chief Commissioner Daniel Bekele.

1. Observation

Fake news generators and imposter content creators often make mistakes that can be easily spotted by users.

Error 1:

As shown in the image below, the creators of the fake letter used a photo of Daniel Bekele on the letter header in order to deceive users. However, institutions like the EHRC do not use such images on their letterheads.

Error 2:

Every professional letter is written with even spaces left and right (2.5 cm). As you can see in the image below, the fake letter is unprofessional and amateurish in its formatting.

Error 3:

The first sentence of the first paragraph of the fake letter claims that “On behalf of the African Union and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, an international non-governmental organization…”. However, this is incorrect on several counts.

• Daniel Bekele is the chief commissioner of the EHRC. He has no affiliation with the African Union and has no authority to write a letter on its behalf.

• The EHRC is a national institution that serves Ethiopia. It is not an international organization.

• The EHRC is not a non-governmental organization. It is an independent federal state body established by the Ethiopian constitution and reporting to the House of People’s Representatives.

Error 4:

At the end of the fake letter, the creators wrote “Ethiopian Human Rights Watch Commission”. However, there is no such institution. The “Watch” is an error.

Additionally, we obtained a formal letter format from the EHRC. As shown below, the difference between the fake letter and the real letter is visible.

1. The real letter has a formal and professional header and footer. (See number 1 and 5)

2. The real letter has an EHRC stamp. (See number 2)

3. The real letter has a date and letter number. (See number 3)

4. The real letter has a subject line.  (See number 4)

5. The real letter has a formal footer with information including email, phone, fax, address, and organizational motto. (See number 5)

2. Tool

MFC also used the Fake Image Detector tool to check if the image had been modified. The tool returned the result: “Looks like Computer Generated or Modified image” (see below).

3. Email communication with the EHRC, Chief Commissioner Daniel Bekele

MFC communicated with Daniel Bekele via email in order to confirm whether the letter was genuine or false. He replied, “This is completely a fake letter.”

Based on the gathered evidence, MFC confirmed that the image shared by the X account claiming that the Chief of EHRC wrote a letter to the President of Columbia University, the Mayor of New York City, and the New York Police Department is false.

Context

On April 17, students at New York’s Columbia University set up the Gaza Solidarity and encampment on campus to protest against Columbia’s response to Israel’s war on Gaza. About 2,500 people have been arrested at campuses nationwide, according to an Associated Press count. On April 30, Columbia called in the police to clear pro-Palestinian protesters from its campus in Upper Manhattan, leading to more than 100 arrests. Demonstrators had occupied Hamilton Hall, renaming it Hind’s Hall, after a six-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed in Gaza.

The protesters are demanding an end to Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 people since October 7, and are calling on their universities to sever ties with companies and institutions that have links to Israel.

The post circulated in this context.

The post Image Shared as Letter from Chief Commissioner Ethiopian Human Rights Commission is Photoshopped appeared first on MultiFactCheck.

Claim: A Twitter account shared an image claiming to be a screenshot from The Economist website, titled “Ethiopia’s restless prime minister is modernizing Addis Ababa too fast.” 

Verdict: False. The image is a manipulated photoshop creation.

An X account with 6,900 followers named CHERBOLE shared an image on April 27, 2024 with an Amharic caption that translates to “[t]hat’s it. Abiy Ahmed Ali (the prime minister of the FDRE) has impressed the world this much.” This post has received more than 20,000 views and has been shared more than 78 times as of the publication of this article.

However, the image used by the account is a photoshop creation.

The image in question contains a photo of demolished houses with a title of “Ethiopia’s restless prime minister is modernizing Addis Ababa too fast.” The subtitle reads “Abiy Ahmed is making the city is too clean for Africa”.

MFC used three methodologies to verify the claim: observation, use of tools, and communication with the media/journalist of The Economist.

Observation

MFC first searched the title in The Economist website but found no matching article. 

We then reviewed recent articles written about Ethiopia and found an article titled “The historic heart of Addis Ababa is being demolished: Abiy Ahmed is imposing his vision on Ethiopia’s capital” (see screenshot below).

The claim carried the same cover photo, date of publication, image, and image credit as with the above original one.

When we examined the image shared by the X account, we also noticed a grammatical issue in the subtitle, which is unlikely for such a large international media outlet to make such an error (see screenshot below).

Tool

MFC also used the Fake Image Detector tool to check if the image had been modified. The tool returned the result: “Looks like Computer Generated or Modified image.”

Communication

MFC contacted a correspondent journalist at The Economist, who confirmed that there is no article with the title “Ethiopia’s restless prime minister is modernizing Addis Ababa too fast”.

Based on the gathered evidence, MFC confirmed that the image shared by the X account claiming that The Economist wrote an article with the title “Ethiopia’s restless prime minister is modernizing Addis Ababa too fast” is false.

Context

The Ethiopian government, through the Addis Ababa City Administration, has been demolishing buildings in the Piassa area as part of the Addis Ababa Corridor Development Project. The government says the project aims to modernize the city and achieve international smart city standards. However, critics argue that the demolitions are destroying historical heritage. This tweet was circulated in this context.

The post The Economist Didn’t Publish an Article on PM Abiy Ahmed “Modernizing Addis Ababa Too Fast”  appeared first on MultiFactCheck.