By Julian Koroma

CLAIM: An image posted by K TOWN BLOG purportedly shows the APC presidential candidate Samura Wilson Kamara and Mayoral candidate Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr staring at a dancing stripper.

VERDICT: MISLEADING! The original image was doctored.

Methodology: 

Last week, a blog known as  K TOWN BLOG posted an image of Samura Kamara, Yvonne Aki-Sawyyer, and other key All People’s Congress (APC) stakeholders staring at a stripper while smiling. The said photo was also shared widely on WhatsApp.

The caption of the photo stated: “Na this wan bi President?”…

The blog in question has a history of posting disinformation as can be seen in another instance where they also posted a picture of a red and white building on fire, claiming it was the APC office and it was on fire.

The page has a very small following, but it is also littered with hate speech and a lot of disinformation that could cause problems in the future.

To fact-check this, the SLAJ/NDI SuperNewsRoom team looked online for the original image and also tried to keenly observe inconsistencies in the picture.

A very close observation is that the Samnura Kamara image in question was photoshopped. A quick zoom-in on the picture shows an image where APC’s presidential and mayoral candidates were standing at a particular angle was cropped and placed in a photo where some men in a club were gazing at a strip dancer.

A zoom-in shot of the picture 

A keen observation of this zoom-in shot shows the man with the red cap’s shirt does not match the bottom part of the image. And a close inspection of the angle of the presidential aspirant Samura Wilson Kamara’s gaze does not match the angle where the striper is bending.

The top of the Samura Kamara photo was taken and then merged with the bottom half of the stripper photo. Further observation also showed that the few people on the left were in no way connected to the Samura Kamara photo, they were the original onlookers of the stripper, while Samura and others were looking forward, instead of downwards.

Conclusion: The image is misleading. Samura Kamara and Yvonne Aki-Swayerr were not looking at a stripper as the picture was purporting.

This fact-checked story is a product of the SLAJ/NDI SuperNewsRoom on Combating Disinformation in Sierra Leone’s 2023 electoral cycle. The project is supported by Global Affairs Canada to enable citizens to have access to credible and accurate information during the elections.

The SuperNewsRoom is powered by Africell SL.

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