PropertyValue
?:author
?:datePublished
  • 2021-03-29 (xsd:date)
?:headline
  • This 2014 image shows protesters in Burkina Faso, not Nigeria (en)
?:inLanguage
?:itemReviewed
?:mentions
?:reviewBody
  • An image of heavily-armed soldiers facing a group of men with their hands in the air has been shared multiple times on Facebook, alongside claims it shows the Nigerian army shooting at protesters calling for a separate state. But this is false: the picture is from a 2014 protest in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. The image, which has been frequently misattributed in posts about Nigeria, has again been shared in this post alongside claims that it shows fearless IPOB members handsup in protest demanding for Referendum as Nigeria military shoots them (sic). IPOB refers to the Indigenous People of Biafra -- a political movement that seeks a separate state for the Igbo people of southeast Nigeria. A screenshot taken on March 26, 2021 showing the false post The picture has been used in posts criticizing the Nigerian army since 2015 , and more recently here and here . Image from Burkina Faso A reverse image search reveals that the image appeared on the internet as early as 2014, and therefore could not show events in 2015, 2017 or 2020, as some of the posts suggest. It also led us to the source of the original picture in the archives of the news agency Reuters. The caption explains that the photo was taken by Reuters photographer Joe Penney on October 30, 2014. Soldiers attempt to stop anti-government protesters from entering the parliament building in Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso, October 30, 2014, reads a part of the caption. Thousands of protesters marched on Burkina Faso's presidential palace after burning the parliament building and ransacking state television offices on Thursday, forcing President Blaise Compaore to scrap a plan to extend his 27-year rule. A screenshot taken on March 26, 2021, showing information about the Reuters image The picture shows a slice of an extraordinary week of violent protest against the 27-year rule of former president Blaise Compaore. The protesters stormed parliament and set it ablaze, causing the president to step down and flee, as AFP reported in 2014. Pro-Biafra groups have repeatedly used the picture from Ouagadougou without the original context. In September 2017, the military clashed with protesters in some states in southern Nigeria, where people were protesting for an independent southern country to be called Biafra. The protesters were motivated by IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, whose home was reportedly attacked by the army. The protesters claimed that the military killed five people who were IPOB members, which the army denied. After the attack, Kanu left the country , but continues to call for secession. His followers have repeatedly shared misinformation on social media, some of which AFP Fact Check has debunked. here , here , and here . (en)
?:reviewRating
rdf:type
?:url