By Ajibola Osungbohun
Claim: A WhatsApp user posted an image with an inscription on a group called Elite of Osun claiming that INEC state commissioner was wearing Bola Tinubu’s cap.
Screenshot from the WhatsApp group
Verdict: The viral image claiming to be INEC State Chairman of Rivers State is Altered! The said image in circulation is that of Tony Okocha, APC Rivers State Chairman. The background and context of the image has been altered!
Full Text:
On the 3rd October, 2024, we found an image posted on a WhatsApp group by a user, the image which had an inscription Rivers State INEC Commissioner wearing Bola Tinubu’s cap.
The post which was seen to have been gaining reaction by other users on the group with replied like “Stop spreading fake news”, “That is Tony Okocha, the Rivers APC party chairman, I think🤔”, “Na Tinubu head he collect am. Lolz. That caption though”.
Screenshot of reactions
However, we saw that this image have been trending and posted by these X users Unwana Assam and it was also seen to be posted also by a AriseTv presenter Oseni rufai on the 3rd October, 2024, the post was seen as at the time of research to have gathered 46 reposts, 42 retweets, 6quotes, 103 likes and and 15.8 views.
Screenshot
It was also seen that the tweet and post was reacted to also in the comment sections which are toxic and cannot be published due to the code of ethics of journalism. Hence these reactions can be seen here, here, here and here to mention a few.
Is this claim true, we carried out a check on it .
Verification:
In checking the veracity of this claim we carried out a Google image search on the image. We found a similar picture of the viral image link to a YouTube channel owned by SYMFONI posted on the 3rd October, 2024. In the body of the writeup “Rivers Factional APC Begs Tinubu To Save Them From Fubara – Okocha Faction of Party Threatens Civil Disobedience If Fubara Fails To Obey Justice Lifu’s Court Order On Local Government Elections In Rivers State”.
In a more in-depth finding we also found out that the said image in circulation is Tony Okocha, APC Rivers State Chairman and he is known for adorning Tinubu’s symbolic cap.
We also noticed that this was altered by cutting out other people who were with him and also the APC banner behind him.
Conclusion
As the media is trying to fight against the prevalence of misinformation and disinformation it is important to note that actors in the media sector should be able to do due diligence to check information before posting either on their platforms or personal pages as they are seen to be custodian of real information and source. So therefore the claim is false and altered.
