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• A viral poll falsely portrayed former Senegal president Macky Sall as the frontrunner to become the UN secretary-general.
• But tracing its origins reveals a web of opaque actors and suggests it forms part of a coordinated campaign to shape opinion in favour of Sall.
• Claims that the African Union backed the former president are also false. 20 member states reportedly opposed endorsing him. 
• Similar fake polls by the same actors have surfaced in other African countries, often favouring eventual election winners.

• A politician and a regulator recently clashed on live television over a familiar question: why do fuel prices in Kenya seem to rise quickly when global oil prices increase, but fall slowly, if at all, when they drop?
• The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) director Edward Kinyua is right that crude oil prices have trended upward since February 2026, but skirts over the sharp spike and subsequent drop that have informed Kenya’s fuel pricing.
• Kenyan lawmaker Ndindi Nyoro accurately cited peak oil prices during the 2022 surge and the subsidised pump prices Kenyans paid at the time.
• However, he overstated his case by calling those the highest prices ever paid in 2022. In fact, fuel costs rose significantly higher in the months that followed, even as global oil prices eased.

Recommended reading

• Explainer: Why fuel is so expensive in Kenya – and where your money goes. Consumers have been hit hard by rising pump prices. What’s driving the pain? We explain.
• The price of a ‘middle-income’ economy? Fact-checking 6 claims about Kenya’s economy and the paved roads network in Kenya compared to its East African neighbours.
• A tale of twists and turns in Kenyatta’s claims about improving Kenya’s roads.
• President William Ruto used his third state of the nation address to claim major progress in his first term. We dug into the numbers to see if his facts held up.

A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, despite being widely shared. 

MISSING CONTEXT:A deadly shooting in Kraaifontein, Cape Town sparked a wave of viral claims online. While the incident did happen, many of the details remain unverified – and some of the videos and images circulating as “evidence” are AI-generated fakes.

FALSE: A viral claim warns people to rinse soda cans because mouse urine can cause leptospirosis. Leptospirosis is not realistically spread via sealed drink cans. With recent Hantavirus cases on a cruise ship, concern about rodent-borne diseases is rising, but it’s important not to amplify unsupported health claims.

FALSE: A viral audio claiming Coca-Cola has been poisoned in South Africa and is killing Nigerians is FALSE. There is no credible evidence or official confirmation from health authorities supporting this claim.

FALSE: The claim that a “Seismic Waves CARD” file linked to the Myanmar–Thailand earthquake can hack your phone in 10 seconds is false. This is a recycled hoax that changes real disasters to appear new, but there is no evidence such a file exists or can cause harm. 

Kenya 🇰🇪

FALSE: A video is circulating online with a claim it shows Nigerian Jews rallying in support of Israel and the US during the 2026 war on Iran. But this is misleading. The video has been online since 2020 and is unrelated to the current conflict.

FALSE: Two images circulating on social media that appear to show Kenyan lawmaker Linet Chepkorir as having gained a significant amount of weight are being used to body-shame her. However, the images have been altered.

FALSE: A viral screenshot has been shared on social media, with claims it shows presidential aspirant Fred Matiang'i asleep during a live TV interview. But the image has been altered; the original has his eyes open.

SCAM: A Facebook post claims the Teachers Service Commission, Kenya's largest civil service employer, is hiring 20,000 teachers on permanent and pensionable terms. However, the advert is fake. 

Nigeria 🇳🇬

FALSE: A viral anti-vaccine video in Nigeria uses unrelated clips of children in rehabilitation to scare parents about vaccination. But evidence shows vaccines are rigorously tested, closely monitored and vital in protecting children from serious diseases. Side effects are rare and usually mild.

FALSE: A number of social media posts claim activist Omoyele Sowore is now working for president Bola Tinubu, sharing an image of them appearing to shake hands as proof. But the image is AI-generated, and Sowore dismissed it as fake. 

SCAM: Online claims that Fidelity Bank has partnered with the Youth Economic Intervention and De-Radicalisation Programme to provide Nigerian youths with training and grants of up to N500,000 are false.

According to StatsSA’s 2022/23 Income and Expenditure Survey, white-headed households had the highest average annual income of any racial group in South Africa. The nationally representative survey covered nearly 20,000 households.

White-headed households earned an average of R676,000 per year, higher than all other racial groups and the national average of R204,000. 

StatsSA groups households into five income quintiles. According to the survey, households in the top 20% earned at least R106,000 per year, while those in the bottom 20% earned R14,000 or less annually.

About three quarters (73%) of white-headed households fell in the top income quintile, while only 1% were in the bottom 20%. Compared with other racial groups, white-headed households were far more

concentrated in the top two income quintiles, and far less represented in the bottom two quintiles. 

Explore more facts with Africa Check’s Info Finder. Empower yourself with verified information today.

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Your weekly dose of facts in newsletter form is created by Laura Kapelari (@laurakapelari). It is edited by Lee Mwiti (@LMAfrican) and Cayley Clifford (@cayleyclifford).