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False! Man in viral video, not ECC’s Oscar Bloh

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Claim: The Secretary General of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) on Nov. 10, 2023, posted a video on his Facebook account. In the footage, he accused the Chairperson of the Elections Coordinating Committee, Oscar Bloh, of participating in election malpractice with Amara Konneh of the Unity Party. 

False! Man in viral video, not ECC's Oscar Bloh

Verdict: False! The man in the video is not ECC Chairperson Oscar Bloh. 

Full Text 

The Election Coordinating Committee (ECC) is an independent electoral body sponsored by USAID to effectively run local elections activities in the country. Established in 2010, ECC is Liberia’s largest domestic elections observation network. 

However, on Nov. 10, 2023, Jefferson Koijee, Secretary General of the Coalition for Democratic Change, posted a video on his official Facebook page accusing Oscar Bloh, Chairperson of ECC, of plotting with Senator-elect Amara Konneh of the opposition Unity Party to rig the election run-off.

The post from Koijee was also reported in other media platforms, including Hot Pepper and Freedom Radio. 

The viral video questions the integrity and independence of the ECC and threatens transparency and credibility in the 2023 run-off elections. The rising concerns led DUBAWA to fact-check the claim.

Verification 

DUBAWA  used digital tools to assess the originality and authenticity of the video. 

In doing this, DUBAWA employed the Invid verification tool, which subjected the frames to a Reverse Image Search and Tineye. However, it provided zero match to the circulating footage. 

DUBAWA then examined the conversation in the video to determine if it was about elections, as claimed. 

Below is a conversation our fact-check gathered. 

Amara: When do you think you can review this thing and finish it? 

Man: Yeah, I can work on it tonight because tomorrow I don’t know. 

Amara: Are you teaching tomorrow or Saturday? 

Man: Hmm, can we meet at 10 o’clock tomorrow? 

Garfee: Same exercise, to go through it. 

Another voice in the background: If we meet tomorrow latest in the morning hours. 

Amara: No, we can come tomorrow morning. if you come at 10 o’clock, 11, 12, you know, because Sunday is the presentation. 

Our findings proved that the conversation between the two people in the room was not about election but rather teaching. 

Moreover, DUBAWA tried to ascertain if Mr Bloh has taken to teaching as a side job or has been a teacher before, none of which was the case. 

The researcher further did a manual image comparison between the man in the video and a picture of Mr Bloh to see if there was any resemblance. 

See the images below. 

False! Man in viral video, not ECC's Oscar Bloh
Photo of the man in the video
False! Man in viral video, not ECC's Oscar Bloh
Photo of Oscar Bloh 

Our analysis shows that the man in the video is dark and slim, while Oscar Bloh looks chubby and light-skinned. 

At the same time, The ECC, on Nov. 10, released a disclaimer on the video. The ECC, in the release, denied its Chairperson of having any link to the viral video. 

“The ECC wishes to make it absolutely clear that the video is fake and malicious and that the person in the video is not Cllr. Oscar Bloh. Cllr. Bloh has never visited the data centre or “war room” of any political party, including the UP, and he has never had any conversation or meeting with Mr Konneh,” ECC released quoted. 

Additionally, the US Embassy Charge-D’ Affaires released a statement on Nov. 10 stating its confidence in the ECC boss. The US Government strongly believes that the man in the circulated video is not Oscar Bloh.

“The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is proud to have been supporting the ECC since 2011 to provide objective and evidence-based observation of Liberia’s electoral procedures. ECC has been a trusted partner and a leader in Liberia’s civil society community for over a decade. USAID stands by ECC and its commitment to promoting a free, fair, and peaceful electoral process.

USAID has no intention of reducing or stopping funding to the ECC based on a misleading video. The U.S. Embassy is confident in ECC’s ability to report fairly and accurately on Liberian elections, including the upcoming presidential run-off,” the statement reads.

Conclusion 

Based on our verification, the man in the viral video is not Oscar Bloh of ECC.  Also, we cannot ascertain that the footage came from the Unity Party’s war room. 

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