Get verified news and tips straight to WhatsApp – subscribe for free!

But there's another side to the story: another month of fact-checks, investigations and media literacy work made possible by people who choose facts over fiction.

Africa Check exists because readers believe accurate information matters, especially in a world where false claims spread faster than the truth.

Help us keep holding the line against false claims, scams and harmful misinformation.

A weekly guide to spotting, understanding and stopping viral misinformation.

A video clip circulating on social media appears to show Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng spokesperson Michael Yao-Heng Sun endorsing anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa.

Posts sharing the clip claim Sun was speaking about migrants from other African countries living in South Africa, with captions like:

• “Chinese people telling Africans to leave South Africa?!”
• “Asians are now telling Black South Africans to chase away Black Africans”
• “THANK YOU DUDULA”

The posts surfaced amid heightened anti-migrant rhetoric and protests in South Africa in 2026, making the clip especially inflammatory.

What the facts show

The clip is real, but it has been stripped of context. A longer version of the speech, published on the DA Gauteng Facebook account in August 2025, shows Sun was actually speaking about violent crime and policing failures in Gauteng.

In the full video, he refers to murders in communities including Eldorado Park, Orange Farm and Ivory Park, while criticising the provincial government’s response to crime. He does not mention foreign nationals or migrants.

Additional statements published by the DA before the event also show the gathering focused on crime, policing and community safety, not immigration.

The clip only began circulating widely months later, repackaged with captions linked to anti-migrant narratives and Operation Dudula.

Why this misinformation spreads

Old clips are often recycled during periods of social tension because they can easily be stripped of context and reframed to fit current narratives.

This clip combines several elements that are designed to provoke outrage and rapid sharing:

• A politician speaking passionately
• References to anger and frustration
• Misleading captions added later
• Existing tensions around migration in South Africa

By removing the original context, the posts falsely suggest Sun was endorsing xenophobic views when he was in fact discussing crime and policing.

Context matters, and without it, genuine footage can quickly become misinformation.

More fact-checks on recycled videos and xenophobic misinformation:

• Video doesn’t show South African health workers celebrating after local group denied migrants access to hospital.
• Beware the deepfake: viral video falsely shows South Africa’s anti-migrant group leader saying her parents are Zimbabwean.
• No, South Africa’s EFF party was no caught making fake IDs for migrants, photos claimed to be evidence were taken during a police raid on an alleged forger’s flat.
• South Africa’s Department of Health is not providing ‘medical treatment’ to migrants in their homes.
• This photo of a pregnant woman doesn’t show a Zimbabwean mom who ‘came to South Africa in a wheelbarrow and left with R17 million’.

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. 

FALSE: Images and clips circulating on social media in May 2026 claim to show a recent attack on South African-owned grocery chain Shoprite in Nigeria. The incident did happen, likely in retaliation for xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa – but in 2019, not 2026.

SCAM: Beware online scams offering “Gauteng EMS training opportunities”. The South African provincial health department has debunked them as fake and urged social media users to verify learnerships and job opportunities through official platforms.

Kenya 🇰🇪

FALSE: An image of a van is going viral on social media in Kenya with claims that it was used in attempts to kidnap school children. But the image was created using AI and there is no evidence for the claim.

FALSE: An image claims to show a protester throwing a bottle at Kenyan president William Ruto at a Nairobi rally. A bottle was thrown in the direction of the president, but this image does not show the actual incident and was likely AI-generated.  

FALSE: A graphic circulating in Kenya, appears to quote senator Samson Cherargei mocking protests by public transport drivers over rising fuel prices. The graphic and quote are fake.

FALSE: A graphic doing the rounds on Facebook quotes French president Emmanuel Macron as criticising Kenyans for being badly behaved. There is no evidence he said this.

MISLEADING: A video shows a lawmaker being attacked while addressing a crowd, with claims he was urging re-election support for president Ruto when chaos recently broke out. But the footage is from 2021 and had nothing to do with campaigns. 

SCAM: Several Facebook posts claim that Manji Food Industries Limited, a large biscuit maker in Kenya, is recruiting for various jobs across Kenya. The adverts are fake and should be ignored.

Nigeria 🇳🇬

FALSE: A disturbing video claims to show students kidnapped in Oyo state in May 2026 being tortured. But Africa Check found the footage was online weeks before the abductions.

FALSE: A viral video claims to show a fresh attack in Oyo state after the May 2026 kidnappings. But the video was posted weeks earlier and is unrelated to attacks in Nigeria. 

FALSE: Several Facebook posts falsely claim students and teachers kidnapped in Oyo state in May 2026 have been freed. Police and state authorities say they remain in captivity.

FALSE: Several Facebook posts claim Nigerian police have released a medical screening schedule for recruits. But this is false – police say no screening dates have been announced.

FALSE: Posts falsely claim Nigerian president Bola Tinubu plans sweeping constitutional reforms, including renaming Nigeria, abolishing Sharia law in the north and devolving federal powers to states. 

MISLEADING: Numerous Facebook posts claim that Anambra state in Nigeria has passed a new burial law, banning midweek burials and expensive condolence gifts. But the law dates back to 2019 and was not introduced by governor Chukwuma Soludo.

Love this newsletter? Please take a moment to forward it to your friends or family, or they can subscribe here.

Thanks for reading!

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).