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 […]
No, companies are not giving away thousands in anniversary celebrations
Image: Namibia Fact Check / WhatsApp Viral WhatsApp and social media posts falsely claim that companies are giving away money prizes if people answer a fake survey. In what is a typical online or social media phishing scam, people are invited to participate in a ‘survey’ by clicking on a link. Various company names and […]
Unclear whether private medical aids existed before independence
Image: Namibian Broadcasting Corporation The leader of the official opposition claimed there were no private medical aid funds before independence. The claim by the president of the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), McHenry Venaani, has attracted some attention and was forwarded to Namibia Fact Check to verify whether the politician’s claim was true. Venaani made the […]
No, a New Zealand court did not rule vaccine roll out as illegal
IMAGE: Namibia Fact Check / WhatsApp A viral post in Namibian WhatsApp groups falsely claims a lawyer won a case in New Zealand by arguing COVID-19 vaccines were in “trial phase”. The post was ‘Forwarded many times’ in Namibian WhatsApp groups before being forwarded to Namibia Fact Check in early November 2021. The post was […]