Africa Check

Africa Check and the European Union equip Kenya's media, researchers, diplomats, civil society and public officials to build defence against foreign information manipulation

For a week, Africa Check, the continent’s leading organisation in information integrity and resilience, strengthened Kenya’s media, research ...
Africa Check

LIVE REPORT: Tracking the disinformation circulating during anti-migrant protests in South Africa

Anti-immigrant groups have set 30 June 2026 as a “deadline” for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa. This is not a government directive, and it has no effect on anyone’s immigration status.
Africa Check

South Africa’s home affairs department NOT offering cash reward for ‘anyone who can catch and bring [in] an illegal foreign national’

IN SHORT: A poster circulating on social media in South Africa claims that anyone who “catch and bring an illegal foreign national” to the department of home affairs will receive R250 per “illegal ...
Africa Check

Four ways disinformation about migration is circulating in South Africa

In 2026, anti-migrant groups have organised dozens of protests and demonstrations across South Africa, calling for stricter action against undocumented migration. The country has a well-documented ...
Africa Check

From presidential farm robbery to impeachment enquiry: a moving timeline of Ramaphosa's Phala Phala scandal

What has become known as the Phala Phala scandal has followed South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa through his second term in office, drawing in some of South Africa's most powerful institutions ...
Africa Check

Botswana has not cut off electricity supply or closed borders amid anti-migrant action in South Africa

IN SHORT: As anti-migrant demonstrations continue to shake South Africa in May 2026, claims about neighbouring Botswana taking action are circulating online. But there is no evidence the country has ...
Africa Check

No need to fear the perfume seller – 1990s hoax about fainting after sniffing perfume still not backed by evidence

IN SHORT: A hoax message with its origins in 1990s email chain letters has once again resurfaced. Social media posts describe horror stories of women fainting and being robbed after sniffing perfume ...
Africa Check

South Africans, beware: ‘Police Officer Trainee Learnerships for 2026’ ads circulating on social media are a scam

IN SHORT: The South African Police Service is not recruiting police officer trainees for 2026 through Facebook posts, comment-section links or private inbox messages. Posts making this claim show ...
Africa Check

Are foreigners ‘bleeding’ South Africa’s Road Accident Fund ‘dry’? Numbers don’t back the claim

South Africa’s Road Accident Fund has paid out R18 billion to non-citizens from 2019/20 to 2023/24. Various public officials, media and members of the public (since May 2024) Collins Letsoalo, then ...
Africa Check

Fact-checking Helen Zille’s claims about Johannesburg’s water crisis

Veteran South African politician Zille clashed with radio host Anele Mdoda, making claims about water infrastructure in Johannesburg and Cape Town. We tested them for accuracy. Zille was correct about ...
Africa Check

Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper didn’t publish viral obituary claiming governor faked death in 2008 to evade arrest

IN SHORT: An apparent obituary circulating on social media claims Kiambu county governor Kimani Wamatangi faked his death to start afresh. But no official records support this, and the Daily Nation ...
Africa Check

FACTSHEET: Nigeria rebases its economy again – here’s what sets it apart

In mid-2025, Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) updated how it calculates gross domestic product or GDP, changing the base year from 2010 to 2019. Even so, the new figure fell short of ...