Robbery using a baby as a lure is not happening in Windhoek
Image Courtesy: WhatsApp / Namibia Fact Check A viral crime scare message in Windhoek neighbourhood watch groups has been floating around social media for over a year. The viral message that was forwarded to Namibia Fact Check in early August 2022 claims that a baby, wrapped in white cloth, and left in driveways was the […]
No, José Mourinho did not donate items to less privileged in Namibia
Image Courtesy: Namibia Fact Check / WhatsApp A false claim that Mourinho spent his brief holiday in Namibia donating to the needy has gone viral in social media in June 2022. From what Namibia Fact Check could establish, the false claim was first published in a Facebook group called World of Football on 19 June […]
No, the WHO will not take over the world
Image Courtesy: WhatsApp / Namibia Fact Check False claims about the global health body grabbing power continue to circulate despite no evidence of it happening as per a claimed timeline. So, this is a version of the ‘pandemic treaty’ conspiracy theory that keeps surfacing in different forms. Last month, on 3 June 2022, Namibia Fact […]
No, the UN did not issue an organ trafficking alert
Image Courtesy: WhatsApp / Namibia Fact Check A fake alert about people being trafficked to the Middle East for organ harvesting has been circulating in Namibian social media spaces. The viral social media post has been shared around for months as a warning from the United Nations (UN) that people are being misled through supposed […]
No, no WhatsApp group is distributing free school books
Image Courtesy: Namibia Fact Check A link invites pupils to join a chat group that probably serves as a way to scam them or exposes them to pornographic material. A viral chain message on WhatsApp invites pupils to join a chat group called ‘O&A Level Books and Notice’ group, where they will be supplied with […]
No, there is no ‘pandemic treaty’
Image courtesy: Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) False claims and conspiracy theories about such a treaty emanate from what are called ‘right wing’ or ‘conservative’ media in the US. The false claims and conspiracy theories have been circulating on social media worldwide through May 2022 and have filtered into Namibian social media spaces. According to […]
SCAM ALERT: There is no UN compensation grant
Image: Namibia Fact Check A WhatsApp message falsely claims the receiving number has won hundreds of thousands of Euros in a bogus UN charity program. The scam message came to Namibia Fact Check on 16 May 2022 via a South African cell phone number. The message reads: “Please be informed that your NUMBER has been […]
No, there is no ‘Nuremberg 2’ trial over COVID-19 interventions
A viral post falsely claims the World Health Organization and ‘Davos Group’ are being sued for crimes against humanity over global COVID-19 interventions. The conspiracy theory driven post claims that German lawyer Reiner Fuellmich, who apparently founded something called the “German Crown Commission of Inquiry”, is suing the WHO and the “Davos Group” over “scientific […]
No, Paracetamol P-500 does not contain a deadly virus
A viral social media post rehashes an old false claim of the medication containing a rare South American virus. The post has been circulating in Namibian social media spaces throughout March 2022, but the claim has been floating around on social media for about five years. The post warns people against using “the paracetamol that […]
No, we will not be experiencing an aphelion until August
A viral social media post falsely claims the aphelion phenomenon will last several months and will cause colder than usual temperatures. In another example of how misinformation spreads virally globally across various social media platforms, a false post about what is referred to as the aphelion phenomenon has now also been shared in Namibian social […]