Zimbabwe crisis: Reality Check debunks false rumours and fake photos
- Published
After reports emerged of the military seizing control in Zimbabwe, social media was full of stories about what was happening during a stunning 24 hours, but not all were accurate.
Robert Mugabe, the country's leader for more than three decades, was put under house arrest, and he wasn't the only government figure to be swept up in the military's action.
The Finance Minister, Ignatius Chombo, had also been detained, a government source told the Reuters news agency, external.
And it's been reported, external that one Zimbabwean MP told al-Jazeera that $10m (£7.5m) had been recovered from Mr Chombo's house.
This claim of a vast stash of cash in the home a politician in poverty-stricken Zimbabwe sparked anger in some corners of the online press, but it also led to the use of incorrect photos.
Allow Facebook content?
This article contains content provided by Facebook. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Meta’s Facebook cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
While we do not have confirmation of whether the money was found at the home of Mr Chombo, the suitcases displayed in the Zimbabwe Today post definitely weren't.
That photo was taken after a police raid in Brazil earlier this year, as reported by Bloomberg, external.
The story in full
Some Twitter users found the incident quite amusing.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
A second pile of money also featured in some of the news reporting of the raid, but that wasn't in Zimbabwe either.
The same photo appeared in a CNN story from April, external about a discovery made by an anti-corruption unit in Nigeria.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
There was also a case of mistaken identity after one user wrongly identified Mr Chombo. The following photo isn't Mr Chombo, it's the former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, in 2011.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Meanwhile, the British embassy in Harare was also flagging up "fake news" having noticed an image of a letter purportedly from the UK Border Agency circulating on some Zimbabwean WhatsApp groups.
Despite containing spelling errors and inappropriate language for an official document, it has still been widely shared.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
- Published17 November 2017
- Published16 November 2017
- Published16 November 2017