No, the vaccinated are not dying in droves and Africa is not being depopulated
Image: Namibia Fact Check / WhatsApp A video clip of controversial personality Michael Amushelelo making false COVID-19 vaccine claims continues to circulate virally on WhatsApp. In the eight-minute and 45-second (08:45) video clip, which first went viral in March 2021 shortly after Namibia’s COVID-19 vaccination drive started, Amushelelo makes various claims which are demonstrably false. […]
No, Singapore did not perform an autopsy that showed COVID-19 is bacterial
Image: Namibia Fact Check / WhatsApp The viral false post that is poorly written also claims that Singapore discarded WHO protocols for treating COVID-19 patients. Another day, another anonymous post making false claims. This one was going around in Namibian WhatsApp groups in late May to early June 2021 and repeats claims made in earlier […]
No, an Indian student didn’t invent a concoction to cure COVID-19
Image: Namibia Fact Check / WhatsApp A viral message has been doing the rounds about an Indian student having discovered a cure for COVID-19 that has been approved by the WHO. The ‘third wave’ falsehoods continue to swirl unrelentingly. The latest falsehood to enjoy virality in Namibian social media groups is one about an Indian […]
No, COVID-19 vaccines do not cause coronavirus variants
IMAGE: Namibia Fact Check / WhatsApp Viral posts quoting a Nobel laureate on social media have falsely claimed that COVID-19 vaccines are causing coronavirus variants to emerge. Viral posts that have been circulating on social media and in WhatsApp groups claim that French Nobel laureate Luc Montagnier stated that everyone vaccinated against COVID-19 would be […]
No, steaming every day for a week will not cure COVID-19
IMAGE: Namibia Fact Check / WhatsApp A viral social media post falsely claims that steaming daily for a week is an effective treatment for COVID-19. In another one of those ‘we-thought-this-would-have-been-dead-by-now’ episodes, we’re back to debunking steaming as a cure or treatment for COVID-19. A post that has been viral on Facebook and in WhatsApp […]
No, the US Supreme Court has not canceled COVID-19 vaccinations
IMAGE: Namibia Fact Check / WhatsApp A viral anti-vaccine post containing various false claims wrapped in emotive language is spreading among Namibian social media and WhatsApp groups. So, here’s some more American anti-vaccine disinformation swirling around in Namibian social media and WhatsApp groups. In this latest viral post, the anti-vacciners claim the US Supreme Court […]
No, WhatsApp hasn’t changed its privacy settings overnight
IMAGE: Namibia Fact Check / WhatsApp Viral social media posts claim WhatsApp privacy settings for groups have changed overnight recently, but this isn’t true. Viral messages circulating on social media and WhatsApp in May 2021 misleadingly claim that the messaging platform recently changed its group privacy settings overnight. The messages that have been going around […]
No, COVID-19 vaccines do not make people magnetic
IMAGE: Namibia Fact Check / WhatsApp Viral videos show people sticking ‘magnets’ to where they were supposedly vaccinated, but there is no proof that vaccines cause a magnetic reaction. Video clips of people sticking what they claim to be magnets to where they claim a COVID-19 vaccine was administered on their upper arms have been […]
No, there is no ‘COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund’ grant
IMAGE: Namiba Fact Check The COVID-19 relief grant scam continues to circulate, despite having been debunked months ago already. Here’s another scam that refuses to die down because people keep on sharing links in especially WhatsApp groups. A message being shared around in WhasApp groups states: “Apply For The Government Phase 4 Covid-19 Relief Fund […]
FALSE: A 19-year-old is not a Rwandan minister
Image courtesy: Namibia Fact Check / Canva A false claim about Rwandan president Paul Kagame appointing a 19-year-old to his Cabinet has gone viral on African social media. From what Namibia Fact Check could establish, there is no 19-year-old Rwandan minister named Patrick Nkuriza and there is no ‘Ministry of New Technologies and Development’ in […]