By Kevin Philips Momanyi
Social media is a hotbed of misinformation and disinformation especially in conflict areas.
This is noticed in the ongoing fighting between Sudan's army and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces.
Spreading fake news is believed to be fueling panic, hatred and violence during armed conflicts especially those shared on social media.
TRT Afrika has fact-checked some videos widely shared on social media purported to show scenes of violence in the ongoing fighting. They have been found to be from elsewhere not from the current crisis in Sudan.
Sudanese army destroying RSF headquarters?
A video tweet purporting to show the Sudanese army destroying the headquarters of rival paramilitary group RSF is false.
The original video was uploaded on YouTube in Yemen two years ago by a channel with the name Ana_Al_Fahad.A pink writing with the signage "@Ana_Al_Fahad" can be seen at the bottom right of the video.
Lion escape fact-checked
A tweet of a video claiming that a lion ran away from a zoo and was seen wandering down the street in Khartoum, Sudan, during the ongoing conflict is misleading.
A google reverse image search shows that the amateur video was taken in February 2021 from inside a vehicle in Benghazi's Benina district in Libya.
Ethiopia-Sudan mix-up
This tweet with images supposedly of Sudanese troops withdrawing from Ethiopia due to the conflict in their country in April 2023 is FALSE.
The first photo was first shared by Getty Images website here on 3 May 2015, and Sudan Tribune website here on 19 March 2022,here on 5 March 2023 and here on 6 August 2022 respectively.
Another video doing the rounds on Twitter claiming that military in Sudan have started killing civilians is false.
The Gambela region of Ethiopia, not Sudan, is where the video was shot in 2022. The film contains all the evidence we need to back up our conclusions.
One of the troops in the video is seen carrying a water bottle that is made by the "Mogle Bottled Water Manufacturing" company, which produces bottled water under the "One Water" brand name and is based in Sebeta, southwest of Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian flag of the Gambella region is visible on the upper left of the soldier's clothing as he enters the video. The unrest in Somalia has nothing to do with the video.
Helicopters flying claims
Some claims made in a video purportedly showing military helicopters flying over Sudan during the current conflict were false.
Although aircraft have been used in the conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, this particular video was not from the current violence.
The video was first published by an Arabic news channel on the first day of the 68th anniversary of the Sudanese armed forces in 2022. It was a military parade but falsely presented as from the ongoing he unrest.
Experts urge social media users to always double-check information being shared before acting on it. This is because of the dangers of fake news especially in a delicate situation as the one currently unfolding in Sudan.
