FACT CHECK: Is Lauretta Onochie’s picture of Atiku’s Sokoto rally fake?
Lauretta Onochie, a media aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, has claimed that PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, distributed cash and food at his Sokoto rally.
Onochie tweeted an image supposedly from the Sokoto campaign rally that held on Monday, December 3.
CrossCheck Nigeria, a fact-checking collaboration between Nigerian newsrooms, including TheCable, found that the image was recycled and miscontextualised.
⛔He loots billions
⛔Buys the PDP candidacy in Billions.
⛔Spends millions of dollars chasing impossible forgiveness from AmericaAdvertisement⛔Plans to scrap the poverty alleviation programmes of the @MBuhari Administration
⛔So he can continue to insult Nigerians. #NextLevelWithBuhari pic.twitter.com/2dCrbdsv4W
— Lauretta Onochie (@Laurestar) December 4, 2018
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Also, one Facebook user, named Zara Gift Onyinye posted the same picture and tagged it “This is how it happened in Sokoto today…Shameless to say the least”.
The post has since garnered over 1,800 shares.
Having reversed search the image, we found that the same first appeared online in February 2017 when a Lagos-based Charity foundation, released photos from an outreach: here.
The same image was reused to publicise a Nollywood actor’s orphanage visit, two days later also in February 2017.
This image does not support the claim that presidential hopeful Atiku, induced voters with cash or gift at his December 3, 2018, Sokoto campaign rally.
This is clear and simple counter allegation/accusation journalism from the Cable. Kudos.
Exactly such is expected from the presidential media group to counter the Accusation that;The man in Aso-Rock at present that claims to bear the name “Mohammadu Buhari” is not the “Mohammadu Buhari” that was sworn in as the president of the Nigerian Enclave in 2015.
The Ball remains in their court.
Nothing more to add.