Factcheckzw

09/01/2024

Are you in any of the 6 constituencies and 28 local authority wards affected by the 2023 CCC recalls, and were unable to vote in the August 2023 election due to late voter ragistration? If you registered to vote before 3 December 2023, here is your chance now: you are now eligible to vote in the February 3 2024 by election. While 18 parliamentarians were recalled only 6 elections are being held, with the rest of the seats being filled in by nominees from the party.
If you are an Econet or NetOne subscriber, you can verify your voter registration details by dialling *265 #. ZEC is also mandated to display the voters’ rolls at every polling station two days before polling day to enable voters to confirm their correct polling stations.

Zimbabwe is due to hold by elections on February 3 2024. These will be for 6 National Assembly seats and 28 local authority wards. On 14 November Sengezo Tshabangu recalled 13 National Assembly Members, 5 senators and 31 councillors belonging to the Citizens Coalition of Change. Of the 13 National A...

14/12/2023

09/12/2023

CLAIM: Passports no longer required when travelling between Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 and Botswana 🇧🇼. SOURCE: Dr Anywhere Mutambudzi on X (formerly Twitter) VERDICT: Misleading Zimbabwe and Botswana have been trending following reports that the two countries have suspended the use of passports for it...

08/12/2023

Travelling to Botswana and thinking of not carrying your passport? Not so fast. While an announcement has been made by President ED, no formal agreement has been announced yet nor signed.

CLAIM: Passports no longer required when travelling between Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 and Botswana 🇧🇼. SOURCE: Dr Anywhere Mutambudzi on X (formerly Twitter) VERDICT: Misleading Zimbabwe and Botswana have been trending following reports that the two countries have suspended the use of passports for it...

24/11/2023

FunCheck Friday: Painting planes is not just about looking good. While many may love the colours on the AI generated AirZim designs, white rules the skies. It is worth its weight in gold when it comes to safety and efficiency.
The claim that ‘There is a reason why most airplanes have the white color. These machines take a lot of paint and it increases the drag and messes up the aerodynamics’ has been rated as true. While it is not clear whether white paint weighs more than other darker colours, it is clear that adding more colours, consequently more paint, to an airplane will add more weight. This in turn will reduce efficiency.

SUMMARY: It’s not by chance that most planes are white with splashes of color on logos and tails. The white color contributes to the safety of the plane. Additional colors add weight, and mess up the efficiency of the plane. CLAIM: There is a reason why most airplanes have the white color. These m...

17/11/2023

Fancy some donkey milk? Can’t hurt. There have been reports of a company dealing in donkey milk and cosmetics coming to set up shop in 🇿🇼. Claims are that it is pure and can help prevent cardiovascular diseases. Research has shown that it indeed has low fat content compared to cow and human milk. However, while it has a low bacterial content, it is not pure. But all research agrees that, it will not hurt.

CLAIM: Donkey milk is characterized by its purity, containing no bacteria and boasting low fat content… research has indicated that donkey milk contains essential amino acids that support cardiovascular health, help in the treatment of thrombosis, and combat common ailments like colds. SOURCE: Tak...

14/11/2023

Beware of images that have been taken out of their original context and reframed for an entirely different purpose or narrative frame. While cheap fakes, more broadly, alter the media, recontextualized media uses unaltered images, video, or audio but presents them in a new or false context according to the manipulators’ agenda.
This picture is not of Nkosilathi Ndlovu whose mother had just been shot during Gukurahundi or from the current Congo conflict. It is of a man who died of cholera at a refugee camp in the then Zaire.
Please follow our channel on: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DthYGzzKc30Q57t13

https://factcheckzw.org/no-picture-is-not-from-gukurahundi/

CLAIM: Picture is of ‘Nkosilathi Ndlovu a victim of Zimbabwe’s Gukurahundi’. SOURCE: on X (formerly Twitter) VERDICT: False Recontextualised images have become quite common on social media platforms. Recontextualized media is any image, video, or audio clip that has been taken out of it...

25/10/2023

What you need to know about prior judgements on Parliamentary recalls.
For the full fact sheet: https://factcheckzw.org/explainer-parliamentary-recalls-what-role-does-the-speaker-play/

24/10/2023

Ever wondered whenever you buy fuel how much other people in the region pay for their petrol and diesel? Less than Zimbabweans do. The money you spend on a litre of diesel in Zimbabwe gets you 11 litres in Angola.

24/10/2023

12/10/2023

Watch out for social media scams. Post on $450m grant for entrepreneurs is a hoax. Government is not offering such a grant at the present moment. Read this and more fact checks on our website.

CLAIM: CALL FOR APPLICATIONS. We are delighted to announce approval of $450M grant from the World Bank. This is an incredible opportunity for entrepreneurs, investors, innovators, traders and SMEs. This grant is targeting to boost entrepreneurship, innovation, investment, and trade in the country. S...

04/10/2023

04/10/2023

A claim by Rutendo Matinyarare that ‘ever since sanctions … 56 children per 1000 births die, up from 38/1000’ has been rated as false. Data from the Zimbabwe Government through surveys carried out by ZimStat, shows that the infant mortality rate has actually come down from a high of 60 at the time of the imposition of sanctions (not 38) to an all time low of 24.2 when the census was conducted in 2022, not 56, as reported by Matinyarare.

Zimbabwe has seen a decline from a high of 60 in 2001-2 to 24.2 in 2022 CLAIM: Ever since sanctions … 56 children per 1000 births die, up from 38/1000. SOURCE: Rutendo Matinyarare on X VERDICT: False A post on how a father lost a child in a Zimbabwean hospital degenerated into a discussion on […...

14/09/2023

In Nyanga engaging with the community and doing our part to balance Brandolini’s law. Also known as the asymmetry principle, Brandolini’s law says, ‘The amount of energy needed to refute bulls**t is an order of magnitude bigger than that needed to produce it.’
Met with journalists from Nyangani FM and community members from Nyanga to discuss fact checking and how to combat the spread of false information. Because

31/08/2023

CLAIM: Cabinet was dissolved, therefore it is unclear in what capacity the former Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi is throwing a tantrum. SOURCE: X, formerly Twitter VERDICT: False One of the questions that arise with the holding of elections is around the tenure of Cabinet ministers and deputy mini...

28/08/2023

ZEC says their mathematics is perfect. Tells those who disagree to take their time and do the math 😂😂. And yes, the ZEC figures do add up to 100%, not 103% as claimed.

CLAIM: break the world record of pple who have voted ZANU PF 52,6℅ CCC 44℅ Other parties 6,4℅ Totally 103℅ 😂😂😂 Just a clear sing of rigged election , SOURCE: WhatsApp VERDICT: False A WhatsApp message has been forwarded claiming that the presid...

27/08/2023

27/08/2023

According to S108 of the constitution, cabinet remains in place until a new president is sworn in. While parliament is dissolved, cabinet is not. Ziyambi Ziyambi remains Minister until the swearing in of the President-elect.
VMCZ Zimbabwe Community Radio Harare ZimFact Kasambabezi FM - KFM Communitypodium

CLAIM: Cabinet was dissolved, therefore it is unclear in what capacity the former Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi is throwing a tantrum. SOURCE: X, formerly Twitter VERDICT: False One of the questions that arise with the holding of elections is around the tenure of Cabinet ministers and deputy mini...

27/08/2023

Hello , have you been wondering what you can do to stay connected, safe, and informed online?

Take a look at these digital security tips that we created 👩🏿‍💻together with our partners and collaborators!

https://localizationlab.org/blog/2023/8/15/navigating-the-internet-safely-during-elections-a-short-guide-for-users-in-zimbabwe



ZimFact Factcheckzw Centre For Innovation and Technology MISA Regional Zimbabwe Association of Community Radio Stations - Zacras Accountability Lab Zimbabwe Open Parly ZW Matobo Youth Development Initiative Communitypodium Gender & Media Connect Media Monitors Zim

01/08/2023

Contrary to popular belief, the ZW Constitution does not state that the VP succeeds a sitting President. The ruling party can choose its nominee from anywhere.
VMCZ Zimbabwe Community Radio Harare ZimFact

CLAIM: By law, this man was supposed to have legally taken over after Mugabe’s “resignation,” as he was the sole VP, as Mnangagwa had long been fired by RG. SOURCE: Twitter VERDICT: False A user on Twitter commenting on former Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko’s presence at a ZANU PF rally c...

26/07/2023

CCC banned rallies - The Herald’s claim that more Zanu PF gatherings than CCC gatherings have been blocked is built on a faulty premise. Dr Gwinji figures actually show that the police have blocked 16% of CCC gatherings as compared to 6% of gatherings for the ruling party. VMCZ Zimbabwe Community Radio Harare

CLAIM: Police block more Zanu PF gatherings than opposition SOURCE: The Herald VERDICT: False The Herald newspaper published a story headlined ‘Police block more Zanu PF gatherings than opposition’ on July 25. The story was also published on Afro Gazette here. The article reported that ‘Po.....

22/07/2023

Zanu PF’s Richard Stone is not who he says he is or who he appears to be. He is a what. An AI generated face. Videos and images that seem lifelike enough can rapidly spread misinformation. How can you spot AI generated images?

CLAIM: Richard Stone, the Political Analysts (sic) shared his views on the policies spearheaded by the Second Republic for the past 5 years. Give credit where it is due. SOURCE: Twitter VERDICT: Misleading A ‘political analyst’ breaks down the successes of President Mnangagwa’s last six ye.....