Fact Checks of the Week

• Purported CNN bulletin photo claiming vaccinated COVID-19 patients eat other patients in hospital is fabricated

Following the roll out of COVID-19 vaccination by a number of countries, including Ghana, to help reduce the transmission of COVID-19, a photo of what appears to be a surgical ward with blood spills went viral on social media in Ghana and elsewhere. The photo came with an accompanying allegation that hospitals are on…

• Nigerian Ex-lawmaker makes spurious claims about Astrazeneca vaccine, mostly false

Following the roll out of COVID-19 vaccination by a number of countries including Ghana to help reduce the transmission of COVID-19, a photo of what appears to be a surgical ward with blood spills is circulating on social media in Ghana and elsewhere with an accompanying allegation that hospitals are on lockdown.

• Is there an ‘Economic Restructuring Bill’ to bring Nigerian states to 42?

A viral WhatsApp post which has been forwarded/shared many times as indicated by the instant messaging application, claims that Nigeria will be made up of 42 states with seven per… 

QandA

• Is the AstraZeneca Vaccine safe and effective? 

This question about AstraZeneca’s efficacy against the covid-19 gained prominence after former lawmaker, Dino Melaye inferred, in a circulating video, that the vaccine is the least effective when compared to Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson Johnson vaccine.

While this is true, Dubawa stated that the fact that AstraZeneca vaccine is the least effective doesn’t make it ineffective, adding that the WHO does not list a vaccine without accessing its quality, safety and efficacy. Data published by the Lancet medical journal on December 8, 2021, the vaccine is “safe and effective”. Also, according to the WHO document on the vaccine, it is 63.09% effective.

Tip of the week

#FakeNewsAlert

‘ I have just been given N500,000 grant by UBA in collaboration with CBN.  Apply Here ’ – SOURCE: Viral WhatsApp Message

On Wednesday 3rd of March, Dubawa received a circulating WhatsApp Message which conveys a testimony of a grant beneficiary. According to the beneficiary, he/she had just gotten a grant from the United Bank for Africa (UBA) in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). He further enjoined readers to apply through an attached link.

The RedFlag: Dubawa had checked similar claims in the past (as seen here, here, here and here); they all turned out to be false and misleading. This is a technique mostly adopted by fraudulent websites looking to pull traffic to their platforms.

What you should do: resist the urge to share until proper verification has been done.

Other Fact Checks

• A post on USSD codes to lock bank accounts went viral recently – we checked if they are functional

• Incident where “Armed robbers tie-up staff, sell fuel for 3 hours,” occurred in Zimbabwe, not Nigeria

• Photo used to depict Marcus Rashford as suya seller fake

• This picture of cows eating tomatoes is not from Nigeria