Fact-Check: Viral Image Falsely Linked to Gembu, Taraba State
By: Oluwaseye Ogunsanya
Claim
An X user posted an image of a road claiming that it is located in Taraba state, Nigeria.
Verdict
False
Full Text
An X user, @Joe_Bassey, posted an image of a road claiming that it is located in Taraba state, Nigeria.
Naija Stories and African Hub also posted the image with the same claim.
As of press time, the claim garnered on X and it has so far amassed over 2,000 retweets, 16,000 likes and 1,000 comments on one of the handles that shared it.
FactCheckAfrica decided to work on the claim due to its evident virality.
Verification
FactCheckAfrica subjected the image to a Google Reverse Image search and it was discovered that the image has been on the internet as far back as 2016. However, a further search on Tineye shows that the image is as old as 2013.
Moreover the image is not located in Gembu, Taraba state as widely claimed. According to Alamy, a stock image platform, the road is located in Flinders Chase National Park, Kangaroo Island, South Australia.
In 2020, the Island experienced a bushfire which destroyed the national parks and wiped out wildlife. According to 9news the fire destroyed 56 homes, damaged hundreds of vehicles and burned through 160,000 hectares of land, causing extensive damage to the Flinders Chase National Park.
Conclusion
Therefore, the image is not from Gembu, Taraba state as claimed.