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July 26. DEBUNKER New Edition (Text)
“Hello and welcome to the Fake News Debunker of West Africa Broadcast and Media Academy, WABMA is a professional media training institute and a finishing school for aspiring and current media practitioners; offering short and long-term certificate courses at the basic, intermediate, and advanced levels.
First up – Is Ademola Adeleke giving out N10,000 grants to Nigerians?
A VIRAL post has claimed that Ademola Adeleke Osun’s Governor-Elect is giving out N10,000 campaign grants to Nigerians.
The post which was retrieved from a WhatsApp group claimed that the grant is given through Ademola Adeleke Support Group as part of his campaign funds.
THE FINDINGS
A check on the link attached to the post shows that it is a phishing website similar to the ones earlier debunked.
The claim that Ademola Adeleke is giving out N10,000 campaign grants to Nigerians is FALSE; findings revealed that it is a phishing website.
Next stop, Did the former Kano Emir, Sanusi endorse Peter Obi?
A VIRAL article attributed to the former Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, analyzing the uniqueness of at least three presidential candidates contesting Nigeria’s 2023 election has surfaced on social media.
In the article attributed to Sanusi, he analyzed the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
A news blog, Naija24news, published the article with the headline: “Emir Sanusi Endorse Peter Obi for 2023 presidency.”
The article also appears on other blogs with titles suggesting that Sanusi authored the quotes in support of Obi’s 2023 presidential bid.
Munir Sanusi Bayero, Danburam Kano, and Chief of Staff to His Highness, Khalifa Muhammad Sanusi II, CON in a statement published by Daily Trust debunked the article.
He stated emphatically that the said piece was not authored by His Highness, Khalifa Muhammad Sanusi II as is being widely attributed.
Similarly, we observed that none of the social media users who posted the article disclosed their source(s) publicly, thus raising a red flag.
Also, a keyword search on Google did not reveal anywhere or when the former Emir made the statement.
The claim that the former Emir of Kano authored the viral article attributed to him is FALSE; as Sanusi’s spokesperson debunked the claim.
Were the FG delegate sent to UK for Senator Ekweremadu arrested?
A Facebook user, Inakede Denis, on Sunday, July 3, 2022, in a post claimed that the delegates sent from Nigeria by the Federal Government to get a lawyer for Mr. Ekweremadu were arrested by the United Kingdom (UK) Government.
The facts are…
A keyword search showed no news report of this claim either by local or international media.
The chairman of the Senate committee on foreign affairs, Adamu Bulkachuwa, who is also the leader of the delegates was reached via a WhatsApp message. Mr. Bulkachuwa responded debunking the claim while noting the team is yet to leave Nigeria for the UK.
“I am the leader of the team and I am leaving tomorrow,” he said. How then can a team that has not left Nigeria already be arrested in the UK?”
The senate president Ahmed Lawan said the delegates are to visit Mr. Ekweremadu, not get him a lawyer as claimed in this post.
Mr. Lawan also disclosed that the Nigerian High Commission had engaged the services of lawyers in the UK to defend the former Deputy Senate President when he appears in court.
Our findings and confirmation from the leader of the delegation that they are still in Nigeria show that this claim is false.
[Remember to fact-check anything before you share it. Don’t engage, Don’t amplify]
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A series of images circulating across Facebook, Instagram, X, and WhatsApp appears to show women displaying underwear branded with the photograph of Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf.
The images sparked widespread reactions.
Some social media users accused the governor of turning empowerment programmes into political propaganda. Others mocked what they described as an unusual and inappropriate distribution of government items.
The photographs seemed convincing.
Women could be seen holding up underwear allegedly bearing the governor’s image during what appeared to be a public gathering.
But did the governor actually distribute such items?
WABMA Debunker investigated.
The first step was to determine where the images originated.
A reverse image search led investigators to a video posted by Kano-based influencer and political supporter Fatima Nasir, popularly known as “Teemah Cool.”
The original footage showed women displaying underwear during a political gathering.
But there was a crucial difference.
The underwear visible in the original video did not contain Governor Abba Yusuf’s photograph.
This raised an important question.
If the governor’s image was absent in the original footage, how did it suddenly appear in the viral pictures?
To answer this, further forensic analysis was conducted on the circulating images.
The findings were revealing.
Digital examination showed signs of image manipulation. Analysis using SynthID Verifier detected evidence that portions of the viral images had been edited and artificially generated.
The governor’s photograph appeared to have been digitally inserted into the underwear after the original footage was recorded.
In other words, the images circulating online were not an accurate representation of what participants displayed at the event.
Investigators also examined claims that the underwear formed part of an official empowerment programme sponsored by the Kano State Government.
No evidence was found to support this assertion.
There were no government announcements, policy documents, media briefings, or credible news reports indicating that such items were distributed as part of any state empowerment initiative.
Further checks showed that the original gathering was linked to a political event in Kano during a visit by Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu.
Participants reportedly engaged in symbolic political displays connected to local political rivalries.
Nothing in the available evidence suggests that Governor Abba Yusuf authorized, distributed, or endorsed underwear bearing his image.
So what is really true here?
The gathering shown in the original footage did occur.
Women were seen displaying underwear during the event.
What did not occur was the distribution of underwear branded with Governor Abba Yusuf’s photograph.
That element was added later through digital manipulation.
VERDICT
FALSE.
There is no evidence that Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf distributed women’s underwear branded with his photograph as empowerment items.
The viral images were digitally altered, with the governor’s image inserted into the original footage after it was recorded.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Manipulated images can spread rapidly online and create false impressions about public officials, government programmes, and political events.
As election related discussions intensify across Nigeria, altered photographs and AI generated content are becoming increasingly common tools for misinformation.
Verifying the source of an image and examining whether it has been digitally modified remain essential steps before sharing sensitive political content.
CONCLUSION
The claim is False. Reverse image searches traced the content to an original video posted by influencer Fatima Nasir (“Teemah Cool”), where no governor’s image appeared on the underwear. Forensic analysis found evidence of digital manipulation, and no official government records or credible media reports support the claim.
DID KANO GOVERNOR ABBA YUSUF DISTRIBUTE BRANDED UNDERWEAR TO WOMEN AS EMPOWERMENT ITEMS?
⚧️ Ep. 121–WABMA Fake News Debunker;
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