Africa Check

04/06/2026

In our newsletter, we unpack:

✔ Viral claims making the rounds
✔ Health and scam misinformation
✔ Practical tips to fact-check for yourself

📧 Get the facts — with context.

👉 Subscribe: https://africacheck.info/newsletter_sign_up
Check out past editions: https://africacheck.org/newsletter

02/06/2026

False claims can travel fast during election season. Facts need to move faster.

That’s why Africa Check’s Ester Levinrad trained 71 journalists in the Western Cape on how to identify and debunk misinformation ahead of South Africa’s local government elections later this year.

📰 Stronger journalism starts with stronger verification skills.

This work is made possible in partnership with Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) SAEditorsForum - SANEF South African Local Government Association (SALGA) Community Media Development - CMD Moxii Africa

02/06/2026

📣 Call for Proposals: Africa Facts Summit 2026

We’re inviting submissions for presentations, panels, workshops and more for this year’s summit.

💡 Topics include AI, disinformation, elections, media literacy, financial scams and more.

🗓 Deadline: 30 June (midnight)
🔗 Submit here: https://africacheck.info/summit_proposals
📧 [email protected]

Be part of shaping conversations on information integrity in Africa.

31/05/2026

AI-generated images and deepfakes are becoming harder to spot — and they’re spreading faster than fact-checkers can keep up.

From fake Met Gala celebrity photos to sophisticated audio and video manipulation, misleading visual content is blurring the line between what’s real and what’s synthetic online.

In this piece, The Conversation Africa explores why traditional verification methods are struggling to keep pace with rapidly advancing AI-generated media.

Fact-checking can take hours or days while fakes can be created in seconds. So, what do we do?

30/05/2026

In Ethiopia, misinformation can have deadly consequences.

This powerful piece from Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism explores the realities of fact-checking during conflict — from debunking false claims that fuel panic and violence, to facing harassment, burnout and threats simply for trying to establish the facts.

It’s a reminder that fact-checking is more than correcting falsehoods online. In some contexts, it can be a matter of life and death.

As reports of drone strikes and fresh clashes between Ethiopian government forces and Tigrayan fighters surfaced in late January, fears of a return to full-scale war spread quickly. Flights to northern Ethiopia were cancelled, and tensions rose ahead of the national elections in June, bringing renew...

29/05/2026

Against the backdrop of recurring concerns about xenophobia, posts circulating online claim that Tanzania’s president Samia Suluhu Hassan has ordered South Africans to leave the country and closed borders with South Africa.

But Tanzania and South Africa do not share a border, and Tanzanian officials have dismissed the claim as intended to damage relations between the two countries.

A post circulating on Facebook claims that Tanzanian president Samia Suluhu Hassan gave South Africans 48 hours to leave the country and ordered the c...

29/05/2026

Fake learnership opportunities on social media can cost you your time, money and personal information. So how can you protect yourself online? We’ve got a few tips. 👀

One Facebook post circulating in South Africa falsely claims that Bidvest is offering a learnership programme through the platform. But the post is a scam designed to drive clicks and mislead users.

READ MORE: https://africacheck.info/bidvest_scam

29/05/2026

A graphic circulating on South African social media in May 2026 quotes health minister Aaron Motsoaledi as saying: “99.5% of immigrants targeted in Durban are legally in SA and allowed to work and live as SA citizens.”

In the wake of surging anti-migrant demonstrations across the country, the graphic quickly gained attention.

But Motsoaledi did not say this, and there is not enough evidence for this statistic.

A graphic circulating on South African social media in May 2026 shows a photograph of health minister Aaron Motsoaledi, overlaid with text t...

28/05/2026

Videos and images, apparently related to an incident at South African-owned grocery chain Shoprite in Nigeria, are going viral across social media platforms, claiming to show a May 2026 incident where Nigerians responded to xenophobic demonstrations.

This did take place, likely in retaliation for xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa – but in 2019, not 2026.

Videos and images, apparently related to an incident at a Shoprite grocery store in Nigeria from May 2026, are going viral across social media pl...

28/05/2026

A single fact can stop misinformation in its tracks.

Get bite-sized debunks and scam alerts on WhatsApp — ready to forward.

📲 Join our WhatsApp channel: https://africacheck.info/ac_whatsapp_channel