ALTERED: This image of sex workers supporting William Ruto’s presidential bid is doctored
An internet search shows that the photo is from 2012 and Kenya Sex Workers Alliance whose name is used in the banner has dismissed the claim.
A photo shared on Facebook claiming to show the Kenya Sex Workers Association (KESWA) endorsing Deputy President William Ruto’s candidature for the 2022 presidential election is ALTERED.
The photo shows a group holding a KESWA banner with a message expressing gratitude to the DP for ‘supporting’ their work as they march along a street.
The post accompanying the image states that the Deputy President has been at the forefront in championing the welfare of ‘hustlers’ (a term used by politicians to refer to Kenyans who work informal and uncategorised jobs to make a living), including sex workers.
KESWA’s ‘endorsement’ is a major boost to Dr Ruto’s presidential bid, the post adds, and concludes that the association will rally their members to support him.
The image has been shared by other users of Facebook including by ODM Communications Director Philip Etale on Twitter as well as another Facebook page called Mwitito Magiri EBS MBS.
However, an internet search shows that the photo is not a recent one and the text on the banner is fabricated.
The photo was first shared online on a blog dated September 19, 2012, with an article about a peaceful protest by commercial sex workers in Thika, Kiambu county, after the killing of their colleague. The blog post links to a YouTube video of the event uploaded on September 20, 2012.
Citizen TV also posted a news piece of the same event on September 18, 2012. A careful look at the videos and the photo on the blog reveals that the appearance of the individuals holding the banner match those in the image in question.
However, the text on the banner reads “Stop killing sex workers. They are human”, and says nothing about political campaigns nor supporting the deputy president as claimed in the post.
In a Facebook post on September 28, 2020, KESWA distanced itself from the claim that it had endorsed Dr Ruto’s presidential bid, saying it does not engage in politics or endorse any political party, candidate or person.
While the association acknowledged that the photo was from one of their previous protests, it disowned the political messaging on the banner shown in the image.
“We wish to call on the relevant authorities to investigate the source of these images which have been used to malign certain individuals. We are committed to supporting sex workers rights in Kenya and wish to do so in non-violent means and we will not be used for ulterior motives,” reads KESWA’s post in part.
PesaCheck has looked into a photo claiming to show members of KESWA marching with a banner endorsing DP Ruto’s presidential bid and finds it to be ALTERED.
This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.
By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.
Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content.
This fact-check was written by PesaCheck Fact-Checker Simon Muli and edited by PesaCheck Deputy Editor Enock Nyariki.
PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator: Code for Africa. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water/sanitation. PesaCheck also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org.
PesaCheck is an initiative of Code for Africa, through its innovateAFRICA fund, with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie, in partnership with a coalition of local African media and other civic watchdog organisations.
