FALSE: These images do not show drought in Ethiopia’s Somali region in 2022
The images have been published to illustrate other incidents.
These images shared on Facebook claiming to show drought in Ethiopia’s Somali region in 2022 are FALSE.
The photos show a person seated on the scorched ground raising her hands. Several cattle lie dead, and one of those standing is visibly skinny.
“The humanitarian crisis owing to the drought in the Somali region is worsening. Domestic animals are dying. People are suffering from thirst and hunger. The regional government is not explaining the urgency of the situation. The federal government is not taking action either. The people are being hurt, Please share this,” the post in Amharic says.
However, Google reverse image search results, as seen here, here, and here, reveal that the images have been used online illustrating different incidents.
The first image shows a person affected by a water shortage in Puntland, Somalia.
The Kirkens Nodhjelp website published the photo, and its description from Google translate reads, “Mother Xaalima Ahmed Farax with baby Osman Mahammud Hussein on her way to a mountain outside the camp to pray for water outside Garowe in Puntland, Somalia, March 2019.” Image credit is given to Håvard Bjelland / Norwegian Church Aid.
The second image was shared on Fana Broadcasting Corporate’s (FBC) verified Facebook page. It shows the drought in Borana, in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, on 15 October 2021. Also, other websites, as seen here and here and the Al Ain Amharic verified Twitter page used the image.
PesaCheck has previously debunked the third image, and it is not related to the drought in the Somali region.
The Somali region is experiencing a devastating drought, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and The United States Agency for International Development reports, as seen here and here. However, the photos in the claim do not show the situation in the said region.
PesaCheck has looked into Facebook images claiming to show drought in the Somali region of Ethiopia in 2022 and found them to be FALSE.
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 a PesaCheck fact-checker based in Ethiopia (name withheld for security reasons)and edited by PesaCheck chief copy editor Rose Lukalo. The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck’s acting managing editor Doreen Wainainah.
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.
