This week, the information landscape was marked by digital manipulation tactics, including AI-generated content used to downplay and exaggerate attacks, and recycled protest footage used to influence public discourse.
As political campaigns intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections, misleading assertions continue to circulate across social media.
Below are some of the claims verified by DUBAWA in the last week:
- Social media users circulate AI-fabricated newspaper covers ahead of the 2027 election
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, partisan accounts on X and Facebook circulated synthetic newspaper front pages featuring fabricated quotes and policy pledges falsely attributed to political figures, including President Bola Tinubu and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
The viral manipulations falsely attributed sensational promises and statements to leading contenders. DUBAWA’s visual forensics revealed that the front pages were generated using AI design tools, complete with mismatched political party branding and fake mastheads from some established media outlets. Find out more here.
- Nasarawa Governor Abdullahi Sule claimed Sokoto State is banditry-free
During a public event, Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule claimed reports of banditry in Sokoto State were false. He said anyone reporting armed banditry in the state was lying because his convoy drove peacefully from Sokoto to Silame.
DUBAWA verified security records and confirmed the governor’s claim is misleading. An incident-free trip conducted under heavily armed executive security escorts along a single major highway does not reflect the broader security environment across the state.
Read our complete fact-check here.
- Facebook user claims over 100 bandits attack Katsina community
A viral Facebook post by an online platform, Spy Nigeria, claimed that a convoy of over 100 motorcycles carrying armed bandits was seen attacking Funtua Local Government Area in Katsina State.
DUBAWA conducted on-the-ground verification in Funtua, interviewing eyewitnesses, the Katsina Community Watch Corps, and the area police command. Findings revealed that the incident began when a lone suspect buying shoes in a local market was apprehended by a mobile police patrol, prompting six accomplices who arrived in a Volkswagen Golf to open fire in an attempt to free him.
Find more information here.
- AI-generated video falsely presented as terrorists crossing into Nigeria
A viral Facebook video claimed to depict foreign terrorists infiltrating Nigeria’s borders.
Reverse-image searches and deepfake analysis using InVID revealed that the video was not an authentic live recording. Instead, it was an AI-animated montage generated from static domestic file photos that news outlets had published as early as March 2023 to illustrate local security reports.
Deepfake forensic detection tools identified the video as synthetic motion generated from older stock images.
- Video does not show a Fulani boy training to kill Nigerian Christians
An X user @VOLTOXf shared a video alleging it shows a young Fulani boy undergoing training to slaughter Christians in Nigeria. The visual showed a young boy seated on the sand firing a rifle at a target fixed to a tree.
DUBAWA’s audio-visual verification found the claim misleading. Forensic audio analysis showed that the adults directing the child were conversing in colloquial Sudanese Arabic rather than Fulfulde, Hausa, or any indigenous Nigerian language.
Check the findings here.
- Old 2024 footage recirculated as Sokoto residents demanding Peter Obi replace Tinubu
A video circulated across Facebook claiming that residents of Sokoto recently marched in mass to the Sultan of Sokoto’s palace demanding the resignation of President Bola Tinubu and an immediate takeover of government by Peter Obi.
DUBAWA discovered that the clip dates back to the nationwide #EndBadGovernance demonstrations of August 2024, where protesters stormed the palace over soaring living costs and hunger, with no connection to Peter Obi.