China

Claim: A user on Facebook claims China has implanted chicken organs in pigs to make them produce chicken eggs.

The image used to support the claim was extracted from a different context and doctored to suit the bogus narrative. This claim is false. 

When a user on Facebook, Uchenna Dike,  shared an image of what he claimed to be pigs laying eggs, alongside the heading:  “China plants chicken organs in pigs for faster and more eggs production,” the comment section of the post became hilarious. 

“Making us to realise; or to understand that some scientific knowledge is purely satanic, i.e. please add chicken-pig egg to my rice,” one user, Cyprian Ajunwo, commented. 

However, some doubts raised by other users stirred some questions. “Mammal animals can never lay eggs… I still remember that one very well. It is impossible,” Asiwaju Olajide Toby, contested. 

Not entirely surprising, the post garnered over 5000 re-shares and close to over 2000 reactions within just two days of its appearance. Notably, the claimant and the commenters could not point to the actual source of the narrative, as most of the users apparently seem to believe it. 

The same narrative made headlines on a Ghana-based news website, Vimbuzz: “China plants chicken organs in other animals for faster egg production,” featuring the same image as the one shared on Facebook. 

But still, what is the probability of such a great invention taking place? 

No doubt, great scientific and technological inventions have been referenced to the Chinese and in the past also, the world has witnessed great revolutions in different areas, yet,  the claim that pigs are genetically modified to lay eggs seems to be a question that requires more answers than the one that already meets the eyes. 

Uncovering the Facts

When a Yandex reverse image search was conducted on the alleged image, the results showed the image was taken out of context and manipulated to cast a new and bogus narrative around it. 

Originally, the alleged image appeared on a Ukrainian agricultural promotion website. The image was used, along with a post that was promoting ‘common’ individuals to venture into cattle ranching.

Apparently noticeable is that even the alleged pigs, as initially claimed in the image, were actually a group of ranch cows.  

This is not the first time the image was used to spread false claims. In 2018, a Ukrainian-based news site, Top news debunked a claim that used the image of the cows to allege that cancer was implanted in cows to boost their growth.  

Do mammals lay eggs?

“Pigs or mammals can not lay eggs. The possibility is just not feasible,” Dr Jeremiah Milon, chief veterinarian at Animal first, said. 

Also, according to Scientific American, “Only two kinds of egg-laying mammals are left on the planet today—the duck-billed platypus and the echidna, or spiny anteater. These odd “monotremes” once dominated Australia, until their pouch-bearing cousins, the marsupials, invaded the land over 71 million to 54 million years ago and swept them away. New research suggests these two kinds of creatures managed to survive because their ancestors took to the water.”

Conclusion 

Pigs can not lay eggs and mammals in general cannot. DUBAWA has uncovered that the image used to spread the alleged narrative was doctored. This claim is false. 

This fact-check was produced by DUBAWA in partnership with Code for Africa’s PesaCheck, with support from ICFJ. 

Claim: In a Facebook post, Joe Igbokwe, an APC chieftain and Special Adviser, Office of Drainage Services to the Lagos State Governor, claimed that China has delivered 100 new armoured vehicles to the Nigerian Army.

Verification by Dubawa shows that 60 armoured vehicles were delivered to Nigeria by China, not 100 as claimed by Mr Igbokwe. The claim is, therefore, inaccurate and misleading.

Full Story

A Facebook post recently claimed that China has delivered 100 new armoured vehicles to Nigerian Army. The post which had garnered 312 reactions, six comments and 62 shares when it was made on Tuesday, 9th November 2021, was made by Mr Joe Igbokwe, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Special Adviser, Office of Drainage Services to the Lagos State Governor.

He wrote; ‘China delivers another 100 new armoured vehicles to the Nigerian Army. May Nigeria Succeed (sic).’

This researcher, upon sighting the post by Mr Joe Igbokwe, set out on a search to verify the claim. The search was informed by the fact of Mr Igbokwe’s strong political posture and the growing influence of social media.

Verification

Did China deliver armoured Vehicles to Nigeria Recently?

A text message and email sent to him to request his source were not replied. This researcher then put a call to him and when confronted with the question that he substantiated his claim, he gave a terse response and hung up.

“Go and investigate,” he said.

However, media reports as recent as 28th October 2021 confirmed that the Nigerian Army took delivery  of ‘60 new VP – 1 Type Tracked Armoured Personnel Carriers manufactured in China to boost the ongoing war against Boko Haram insurgency and banditry in the North-East and North-West.’

As a follow up to the delivery and receipt of the armoured vehicles, it was also reported that the Nigerian Army also commissioned the 60 new VP – 1 Type Tracked Armoured Personnel Carriers from China to tackle the country’s insecurity challenges. 

The report noted that the inauguration of the armoured vehicles was done at the Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Jaji, Kaduna, by the Commandant of Infantry Corps, Major General Victor Ezugwu, who represented the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya.

Also, in a video on YouTube, Channels Television reported that the Nigerian Army inaugurated the 60 armoured vehicles. The video, posted on 29^th October 2021, had been viewed 5,321 times as of the 9^th of November. 

Among the many media reports viewed by this reporter, and in a similar confirmation of the figures, another major national television station in Nigeria in a broadcast, indicated that the Nigerian Army had started deploying the 60 armoured vehicles in the fight against insurgency. 

The report had been watched 10,950 times and liked 52 times on YouTube since 28th October 2021. In fact, a fuller bulletin of the story stated that the Nigerian Army had in over three months trained 106 personnel on the use and maintenance of the military hardware. 

Meanwhile, in a rather speculative report, a news blog Defence Web, claimed that the Nigerian Army ‘may have acquired 100 additional CS/VP3 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) from China’s Poly Technologies and Type 89 tracked Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) from Norinco.’ 

Conclusion

Media reports from credible platforms indicate that the Nigerian Army received 60 armoured vehicles delivered by China, not 100 as claimed by Mr Joe Igbokwe. The claim is therefore inaccurate and misleading.

The researcher produced this fact-check per Splash FM 105.5, Ibadan with the Dubawa 2021 fellowship partnership, to facilitate the ethos of truth in journalism and enhance media literacy in the country.

Claim: Viral Whatsapp messages claim thousands of mosquitoes inoculated with Viagra have escaped from a high security laboratory in China

The report is a satire and should not be taken seriously.

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A viral message relating to the COVID-19 infodemic circulating on Whatsapp in Sierra Leone purports that thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes inoculated with Viagra have escaped from a high security laboratory in China and that their bite can lead to continuous erection and increase libido in men. 

The introductory message accompanying the link reads: 

“the effect of one mosquitos bite can last up to 40 hours and symptoms include an increase in libido, sexual arousal and possibly a very large erection”-Dr. Wengi Ying Yin Jing”. 

Verification

The viral claim of inoculated mosquitoes with Viagra escaping from a security laboratory in Wuhan Institute of Virology was published by the World Daily Report website. 

We found it to be a satirical website. The site has under its logo the disclaimer “Where facts don’t matter”. The “ABOUT US” section on the website also states the following: “WNDR assumes however all responsibility for the satirical nature of its articles and for the fictional nature of their content. All characters appearing in the articles in this website – even those based on real people –  are entirely fictional and any resemblance between them and any persons, living, dead, or undead is purely a miracle.”

However, the introductory paragraph before the viral link that has gone viral on social media does not indicate that the content is satirical, thereby unintentionally misleading readers. 

Moreover, the image of a purported 87 years old Wuhan resident attached to the article who is purported to have been hospitalized because he was bitten by one of the genetically modified mosquitoes has been wrongly used. The image is originally a Japanese super century who was aged 114 years before he died on September 28, 2003. Yukichi Chuganji was long dead before this claim appeared on their website as a victim of the genetically modified mosquito bite.

New studies suggest coronavirus (COVID-19) appeared in the U.S. as early as December 2019, weeks before cases were first recognised.

A report by Associated Press (AP), quoting some studies, noted that while some experts are skeptical, federal health officials are beginning to accept a timeline in which small numbers of COVID-19 infections may have occurred in the U.S. 

These infections according to the studies were found in five U.S. states; Illinois, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Recall that coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China in late 2019 while the first record of the virus in the U.S. was in a traveller who returned from Wuhan on January 15, 2020.

While CDC officials at first said the U.S. outbreak occurred from mid-January to early February, these research including the one by the CDC suggests infections occurred earlier.

The CDC-led study published in December 2020 suggested the virus infected some Americans as early as the middle of December 2019. This study analyzed 7,000 samples from American Red Cross blood donations.

Another recent study published on Tuesday June 15, 2021, by the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases and a team including researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)  analyzed blood samples from more than 24,000 people across the country. 

This was collected in the first three months of 2020 as part of a long-term study called “All Of Us” seeking to track 1 million Americans over years to study health. 

While it is difficult to distinguish antibodies that neutralize SARS-CoV-2, and the virus that causes COVID-19, from antibodies that fight other coronaviruses, researchers in both studies used multiple types of tests to minimize false positive results.

According to the AP, Natalie Thornburg, principal investigator of the CDC’s respiratory virus immunology team said the earlier cases were not widespread.

“There were probably very rare and sporadic cases here earlier than we were aware of. But it was not widespread and didn’t become widespread until late February”.

A  claim that recently went viral, suggesting that over 7,200 human penises were seized from a Nigerian cargo ship by Chinese authorities has caught the attention of the Nigerian House of Representatives. 

The House has now resolved to investigate the claim about illicit trade on human organs between Nigeria and China. 

The call was as a result of a unanimous adoption of a motion by Rimamnde Kwewum (PDP-Taraba) and co-sponsored by Olajide Olatubosun (APC-Oyo), at a plenary on Thursday.

Mr Kwewum, who moved the motion, said that about two weeks ago, Chinese authorities seized a cargo ship that sailed from Nigeria with 7,200 refrigerated human penises.

The  Committees on Human Rights and National security and Intelligence have already been mandated by the House to investigate the issue. 

Prior to the House of Representatives’ call for action on the matter, the viral claim was widely circulated on social media arousing massive traction and reactions which might have, perhaps, caused the lawmakers into calling for action. 

It featured on Twitter , Instagram and WhatsApp and even a prominent Nigerian politician also shared it. 

However, DUBAWA’s findings regarding the claim showed that the story was a hoax as it was originally first shared on a satire website.  

The website, World News Daily, posted a related story of the recovery of 7,221 human penises from a cargo ship.  Even more, the site bore  the motto “Where facts don’t matter,” and headlined the article as “Chinese Authorities Seize Over 7,200 Human Penises On a Cargo Ship From Nigeria.” 

The claim also carried a picture that was alleged to be of Chinese authorities scanning the cargo of the confiscated human penises.

To make its claim appear genuine, the outlet quoted Chinese General Administration of Customs spokesman, Li Wu, as saying, “These organs are common commodities now, but they were certainly harvested in unsanitary conditions or contaminated at some point, so we can’t let them out on the Chinese market.”

DUBAWA also uncovered that the picture used in the satire article was originally related to a story that saw Chinese authorities seizing parts of endangered pangolin on March 9, 2020.  Further, Yandex reverse image search traced the image to four other China-based websites which had also reported on the endangered pangolin back in 2020.  Apparently, it turned out that the Nigerian parliament members had merely fallen victim to the satire website’s frivolous claim on the importation of human penises from Nigeria to China. 

Motion not about penis importation – Lawmaker

When reached Friday afternoon, Olajide Olatubosun (APC-Oyo), a co-sponsor of the motion, explained that although the news may be fake, it was not the crux of the motion. 

“The essence of that motion is not to focus on the 7,200 penises,” he said. “It can be a fake news most likely but if you look at that motion, it is an investigation into organ harvesting. It has  been an issue especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and the place of Nigeria.”

As regards the claim in question, he explained that “we are not really focusing whether or not they caught 7,200 penises in China but the major issue is about organ harvesting, can we look at it more critically?” 

“Anything that comes on social media these days the average Nigerian tends to believe it but we are more concerned with other Nigerians that have probably been kidnapped and their organs harvested for ritual purposes_ what are doing as a people to prevent this criminality.” 

Rimamnde Kwewum (PDP-Taraba), the other lawmaker who co-sponsored the motion, promised to get back to Dubawa but has yet to do so as of press time.

Nigerian lawmaker, Ben Ibakpa, said that China issued loans to Nigeria, signed in their native tongue. He also stated that the World Bank blacklisted China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, a company that has executed projects in Nigeria under foreign agreements with China.

Findings show that this claim is very unlikely as the claim-author is yet to provide proof. Conversely, Dubawa found Mr Igbakpa’s claim that CCECC, a major Chinese company that executes projects in Nigeria to have been blacklisted by the World Bank to be true.

Full Text

While he appeared on television last week, a Nigerian lawmaker, Ben Ibakpa, said some of the loan documents obtained by Nigeria from China were written in Chinese.

Mr Igbakpa, who represents the Ethiope federal constituency of Delta State, has been widely reported to have said this. He also shared this on his Twitter wall.

“Some of these loans are actually written in (the) Chinese language,” he alleged.

In the complete video of Mr Igbakpa’s TV appearance, he also claimed that China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), the Chinese company that recently sparked controversy for inviting 15 Chinese doctors to Nigeria, has been blacklisted by the World Bank.

As Mr Igbakpa’s statement comes at a period when there’s been growing conspiracy theories regarding the perceived dominance of China in Nigerian affairs, it calls for a thorough verification. More so, given the platform on which the statement was broadcast, it has become an issue of national discourse. Dubawa consequently decided to drop its two-cents. Did Nigeria accept loans from China written in Chinese?

Verification

Firstly, Dubawa asked Mr Igbakpa if he could share the document he spoke about. He said he did not speak authoritatively but rather casually on “allegations from petitions sent to the House.”

Chinese loans

Next, we proceeded to check  records in the Ministry of Finance’s debt management office. As it turns out, Nigeria has obtained 17 Chinese loans to fund projects across sectors since 2002. The document also showed that China’s EXIM Bank is Nigeria’s biggest bilateral creditor in 2 decades, having lent Africa’s largest economy $6.5 billion (about N1.9 trillion) since 2002.  

Usually, for project-tied bilateral agreements, loan funds are released by the EXIM Bank of China to China’s ministry of commerce, which in turn contracts it to a Chinese company.

But are these agreements written in Chinese?

Hassan Adebayo, a journalist who did academic research on Chinese loans, said: “it’s not likely.” 

He said the loan documents he worked on for his research work, despite being sourced from China were written in English, “so why should those sent to Nigeria be different?” He also noted, “Chinese loan documents are rare in public.”

After all, China, a developing nation with some infrastructural and economic challenges, seldom publicly displays its private documents to avoid causing tension in the country, Mr Hassan told Dubawa.

Sun Saixiong, spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria also described the claim as unfounded since “there is no proof” from the lawmaker or those who petitioned the National Assembly.

“We need proof. Let’s even use common sense. Nobody would sign a document that was written in a language (they) don’t understand.”

Also, Tanko Abdullahi, spokesperson of the finance minister, said it’s all speculation. “He who alleges must prove. The office or the ministry has no comment on the issue.”

The World Bank blacklisted the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation

In August 2019, the World Bank blacklisted CCECC, alongside five other Chinese companies, for various infractions bordering on violations of its fraud and corruption policy in its contracting process.

This sanction consequently debarred all six companies from awarding any World Bank-financed contracts for at least a year, between June 4, 2019 and March 3, 2020.

My Igbakpa also said that “project-tied loans do not go through procurement processes, as the bureau of public procurement is sidelined,” thereby making the projects overpriced.

But the spokesperson of the Bureau, Segun Simmons, told Dubawa that the Bureau was not a party to the negotiation that brokered the loan deals. 

In addition, Mr Adebayo said the Chinese deals are largely on the terms set by China: “Nigeria’s role is mainly to supervise, to see if the projects meet the specification set.”

He noted that the execution, procurement of materials and financing are sole responsibilities of the Chinese parties to the loan.

Conclusion

A Nigerian lawmaker, Ben Igbakpa, alleged that some of the Chinese loans signed by the Nigerian government were written in Chinese. Findings show that this is very unlikely as the claim-author is yet to provide proof. Conversely, Dubawa found Mr Igbakpa’s claim that CCECC, a major Chinese company that executes projects in Nigeria to have been blacklisted by the World Bank to be true; the blacklisting was consequent on fraud, according to World Bank reports. More so, the Bureau of Procurement’s spokesperson, Mr Simmons told Dubawa that the bureau has no role to play in procurement processes, thus giving some weight to Mr Igbakpa’s statement regarding the sidelining of the agency during transactions. As always, we will update the fact-check if any new information arrives.

• China supplied 2 million masks to Africa;
• WHO says Africa must (should) prepare for the worst;
• China plans to distribute “infected” masks.

While parts of the chain message are true, the author distorted the context. Findings show that in total, over 6 million masks have been shipped to several countries in Africa. And while there are reports of some returned medical-masks, it was because they were defective, not infected. Further, the author took out of context, the WHO Director-General, Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ cautionary message; although factual, his advisory was not to bolster the need to reject “infected shipped masks” from China. He instead, implored the health care systems in African countries against the imminent pandemic. 

 Full text:

According to WHO, COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. The condition which is akin to SARS-CoV1 virus has killed many people all over the world, including China- ground zero, November 2019.

Interestingly, China is one of the technologically advanced countries in the world, and also among the renowned producers, users and suppliers of surgical masks. Recall, the WHO already recommended use of masks among the protective measures to be taken to contain the spread of COVID-19. We guess that this could be the reason social media posts, in recent time, got an influx of both factual and malicious reports on China and masks.

Verification

Did China supply 2 million masks for Africans?

Following and before the declaration of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the WHO recommended medical masks for health practitioners. These mask usually made of fibre, fabrics or gauze are one of the protective equipment to avoid spreading of coronavirus to others. The WHO, among other things, also urged doctors and other caregivers handling COVID-19 patients to wear medical masks with other protective kits, like hand gloves, gowns, etc. 

Further, reports show that any country, state or individual using approved guidelines can manufacture these masks. Not to mention, the claim that China supplies or have supplied 2 million medical-masks to Africa is not clear as the continent has 54 countries. Also, the report did not state its source(s) or at least name any of the nations that received said masks. This omission calls the report’s integrity to account; for it is necessary, considering that all the countries in Africa now have confirmed COVID-19 cases. More so, some including Nigeria had equally banned travel to China, amongst other risk countries. 

Similarly, the report was not clear on who supplied the mask; whether it was the Chinese government, NGOs or individuals from China? 

Nevertheless, available records show that  Chinese billionaire, Jack Ma has supplied 1.1 million testing kits, 6 million masks, and 60,000 protective suits and face shields to 54 African countries. Also, the Chinese government’s official website says that the country has offered aid to countries in Africa and others like Ukraine.

Be prepared!

Yes, on March 18, 2020, the WHO Director-General, Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said Africa should prepare for the worst as the coronavirus begins to spread locally. Ghebreyesus, an Ethiopian (East Africa,) reportedly said, “I think Africa should wake up. My continent should wake up,” He was reacting to spread of coronavirus all over the continent as South Africa that day had 116 cases. Similarly, South Africa’s health minister, Zweli Mkhize, described the outcome as explosive”; as fourteen of the cases reported that day were from local transmission out of which six patients were children under ten years. New York Times and Aljazeera also published the said report.

Defective masks not “infected” masks

Premium Times reported that countries like the Netherlands rejected or recalled face masks imported from China for discovering that they were substandard (the manufacturers did not adequately cover their defective filters). Spain, Turkey, Australia and others equally rejected and banned protective kits for various reasons; not that they were “infectious”. New York Times has similar reports of how some companies in China and the US started churning out substandard COVID-19 protective kits and vaccines. 

But, the Chinese government, through its official website, claimed the government was supplying quality COVID19 kits to the globe. However, the government later placed a ban on unauthorised exports of coronavirus kits; as some of these masks were not for medical use. In truth, the WHO already intimated the terrible implications that abound from improper use of these medical masks.

Conclusion

This WhatsApp chain message is a textbook case of information misappropriation- an instance of stretched-out truths, inferences and outright lies. In reality, this is the sort of format, falsehoods have assumed in this period.

So to recap: The WHO Director-General entreated healthcare systems in the Global South regarding the pandemic; China shipped some COVID-19 kits, also noting some to be substandard; both unrelated incidents. Yet, through imagination and malicious intent, the author managed to juxtapose both occurrences into one sensational circular. And, what was the binding agent? A lie!

This account, emphasises the need to verify a message before sharing; this is especially true for chain messages with a variety of claims- the chances are that the author intermingled a lie with truths placed out of context. So, when you see such, ensure to send us these claims, and we’ll do our best to set the record straight.

Chinese Doctors confirm African skin resists Coronavirus infection, says newswatchnigeria.com and other sites. 

There is no evidence to suggest “black people’s” immunity to the virus, or conversely “white people’s” vulnerability to it. The World Health Organisation (WHO) already stated that anyone in proximity to an infected person is at risk of contracting it (COVID-19). 

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The major outbreak of the coronavirus in Wuhan China has caused pandemonium with countries setting measures in place to curb its spread. Other than tackling the epidemic, the media now faces an onslaught of resultant misinformation.

Recently, a blog post said that Chinese doctors have confirmed that Africans have skin layers that are immune to the deadly covid-19.

Other African platforms also published the story; platforms like CityScrollz, GHGossip, Kenyan Bulletin, Nairaland, CameroonIntelligenceReport amongst others.

According to the post, a Cameroonian college student studying in China who contracted coronavirus quickly recovered “because of his blood genetic composition, which is mainly found in the genetic composition of Subsaharan Africans.”

Verification

Coronavirus, which was renamed Covid-19 recently by the World Health Organisation (WHO), is a virus that infects humans; leading to an upper and sometimes lower respiratory tract infection. 

Does it mean Africans are safe? NO

Findings suggest otherwise. While the premise is correct, the claim is baseless; just another conclusion circulated by online blogs. Moreover, no credible news platform published it. Besides that, no health authority announced this alleged discovery.  

Isolated Incident

Nonetheless, it is accurate that a 21-year old Cameroonian, Kem Senou Daryl studying in China became ill and was hospitalized shortly after contacting coronavirus. He was the first African in China to contract the disease and report a full recovery.

Reports have it that the young man who was under a 14-day quarantine in the university dormitory said:

“No matter what happens I don’t want to take the sickness back to Africa.” 

Initially, he suffered from a fever, dry cough and flu-like symptoms; then was in isolation for 13 days in a local Chinese hospital. The doctors in the hospital administered antibiotics and HIV retroviral medication on Daryl for two weeks, after which he began to show signs of recovery. The hospital cleared Dary after the doctors conducted a CT scan and found no traces of the illness. The Chinese state also covered his medical care.

Possibly authentic image, still

Dubawa also performed reverse image verification on the pictures attached to the claim. Results revealed that they did not exist before February. Yet, to reiterate what we’ve established, it is an isolated incident!

Black or White? Don’t Matter

There is no evidence that black people were or are less susceptible to the disease. Anyone regardless of race who comes into close contact with an infected party is at risk. 

If indeed it is true that people from African backgrounds are more resistant to coronavirus than others, one should expect it to be a significant news story. Instead, we found the story only on a handful of online blogs, calling its trustworthiness to question.

PesaCheck interviewed a Medical practitioner, and the Doctor in a fact-check they published said:

Conclusion

While Senou was the first African to contract the virus and recuperate from it, one cannot attribute his recovery to just genetics or a superior immune system. His healing was instead a function of medication administered, according to new reports. Although, according to Dr Kitheka, a healthy immune system does play a role in recovery.

Twitter posts suggest a multitude are converting to Islam in China for fear of COVID-19 outbreak.

Both videos concerning the purported mass conversion occurred at least a month before the COVID-19 outbreak. Chinese officials confirmed the latter to be on 31 December 2019. Thus, the viral video cannot be related to Coronavirus.

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Following the World Health Organisation’s declaration of COVID-19, as an international health emergency, and prior, the release of relevant and inconsequential information regarding the issue has stayed constant. Some may say, the proliferation of misinformation even outweighs credible intel.

More so, social media is likely one of the biggest propagators of false narratives related to Coronavirus; among which comes fabrications connecting the disease with religion.

Last week, a video surfaced on Twitter allegedly showing hundreds of Chinese citizens converting to Islam. The claim further said that Chinese people are switching to Islam in fear of Coronavirus as none of the followers of Islam was affected by the virus.

The post reads “Chinese converting to Islam after realizing that no Muslim was affected by #Coronavirus #COVD19 in the country.”

Chinese converting to Islam after realising that no muslim was affected by #Coronavirus #COVD19 in the country pic.twitter.com/svpL2i1MEU

— Engr. Muhd Suleiman (MNSE) (@Diced__) February 16, 2020

https://twitter.com/AzareBappha/status/1229382825314586629

Verification

Firstly, Fact Crescendo, verification platform traced the video to a 2019, 30 June upload. The platform used verification tool- Yandex Reverse image search. The resulting YouTube video headlined in Arabic, translated in English as, “People enter the religion of Islam, Glory be to God.”

Further, findings led to yet another YouTube video uploaded on 7 November 2019 with the headline “MashaaAllah hundreds converted to Islam in Philippines.”

Conflicting Dates

From the above, it is clear to see that both incidences are unconnected. Both videos concerning the purported mass conversion occurred at least a month before the COVID-19 outbreak. Chinese officials confirmed the latter to be on 31 December 2019. Thus, the viral video cannot be related to Coronavirus.

Besides, there is no official research or record present that would suggest that the disease is related to any religion or community for that matter.

This Fact-check is an edited version of the original by Fact Crescendo, verification platform. 

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Adding to the wave of misinformation on the new Wuhan Coronavirus is this publication by CityNews. The news platform claimed that China is seeking approval from its Supreme Court to kill over 20,000 coronavirus patients.

City News published this report on the 5th of January 2020 with the byline, ‘Local Correspondent’. It also surfaced on GistLover, AbujaPress, itrendnaija amongst others.

As the number of infected people keeps increasing, so does the number of people dying from the novel coronavirus. Not to mention, reports suggest the virus has beat its sister virus- SARS- in a death toll surpassing 900. As a result, fear has ensued as relevant health authorities are yet to zero in on a permanent solution to this crisis.

Thus, if this claim turned out to be true, efforts to find the cure would prove a Sisyphean. This is especially true for a country like Nigeria whose health sector may be ill-equipped to handle a viral outbreak when compared to China. 

Verification

To start with, no credible news platform has reported this claim. Moreso, the report has no proof to corroborate its claims, it has no mention of any source for its claims. This is of course besides the fact that the article has no byline, only “Local Correspondent’’, not to mention the error in the spelling of china – “Chhina”.

Moreover, the carrier of this claim – CityNews – is unreliable. Snopes, in this publication, has pointed out the inadequacies in some of its (CityNews) early reports. Also, our findings show AB-TC news site is not the most reliable. It had published an erroneous report about a New York coach and articles about a restaurant allegedly encouraging cannibalism which Snopes rated false.

While revealing the results of its findings, Boom gave details about the shady website here and rated its claim false. The Indian fact-checking platform further revealed pertinent intel regarding AB-TC (City News).

According to Boom, Guangdong China is the registration point for City News; set up just seven months ago in June 2019.

The Times of India has also taken time to debunk this viral report, calling it a rumour. “No credible media house has reported this; the claim is at best a rumour.” 

Last but by no means least, the website of the Supreme People’s Court of China has made no mention of the claim.