Question

Kenya sold 20 counties to China.

Answer 1

On the website, AfricaCheck, pointed out the videos have poor grammar and claimed that some of the “counties” they named were actually cities. They also noticed that the broadcaster’s mouth did not match the voiceover, and the voiceover they used in the video did not sound like the broadcaster, Eric Latiff. Another website, Medium, stated that the public communications at the State House, Wanjohi Githae, dismissed all rumors about Kenya making concessions to China. There are also no credible sources that are reporting about this, which makes this video false. 

https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/meta-programme-fact-checks/misleading-tiktok-videos-falsely-claim-kenya-has-sold-20

https://pesacheck.org/altered-this-video-claiming-that-kenya-sold-20-counties-to-china-is-doctored-8266fc0405c4

Comments

I agree. This is good, but just to doublecheck and make sure those sources are credible I would provide links to the sources they cited, such as the public communications statement. This way you have a primary source to back your argument.

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I like how your fact-check was rigorous in depicting the falsified video itself. However, I wonder why you didn't provide the primary source of the video. This would have been a more efficient way of finding out if the video was fake or not instead of going to second-party sources. I did a simple search of the news channel (KTN) and its headliner in the video "Ruto in China" which provided me with the initial sourced video that explained that Kenya and China signed business deals. The video goes on to report that these deals are worth 63 billion Shillings that cover a multitude of different sectors including pharmaceuticals, engineering, and ICT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE864F7CdME

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Great job on the fact-check! I agree with some of the other comments that you should have linked the original video that was dubbed over,  but the two sources you did provide I thought were pretty credible and well-done. From my own research, I would agree with you that this is false as there is no evidence or information online about it other than other people fact-checking this claim (and proving it false).

Answer 2

This is misleading content. Just from watching the video I can tell that the TikTok contains real news footage, but does not provide information of what was actually said on the news and just plays a voice over. The voice over seems to be AI generated, for I have found on the app and on other sites that anyone can type something on TikTok and then an AI generated voice says what you typed. The voice over also does not match up with the newsreader lip movement as well.

When I researched this topic online, the first few sources to come up were all fact checking sites claiming that this was not true for the reasons listed above and more. The sites claimed that two of the counties listed in the video were not counties in Kenya, and that no such news had been reported on this topic. When researching more, I did find an article from the African Defense Forum stating that "Debts to China put 20 African Countries in Financial Distress, IMF Says," but this has nothing to do with the 20 counties in Kenya. This article was also posted in February 2022 long before this video was created. I could find no other information on this topic besides fact checking sites claiming that this is false.

Sources: https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/meta-programme-fact-checks/misleading-tiktok-videos-falsely-claim-kenya-has-sold-20

https://pesacheck.org/altered-this-newscast-is-not-about-kenya-officially-selling-four-tribes-to-china-874af8d106b7

https://micmonster.com/how-do-i-add-ai-voice-to-tiktok/#:~:text=TikTok%20has%20an%20“AI%20voice,text%20you%20want%20to%20speak.

https://adf-magazine.com/2022/02/debts-to-china-put-20-african-countries-in-financial-distress-imf-says/

Comments

This topic seems incredibly tricky due to the lack of credible information surrounding it. However, I think you have done the best fac-checking possible. I like how you mentioned the creation of the video and the techniques they used which can easily be used to mislead viewers. Although the sources you cite here are not very credible, it is the lack of credible information in support of the claim that can lead to the conclusion that it is indeed false.

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I think you made solid points and approached a complicated subject really well. I'm a bit confused, what does "sold" mean in this context? Your fact check is really good, and lists good sources.

Answer 3

This is an example of manipulated content. When you watch the video you can see it is a clip of an actual Kenyan news station (KTN news), however, the voice-over does not match what the broadcaster is saying or the news headline at the bottom of the screen. The headline states that William Ruto, Kenya's President, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The voice-over states that Kenya sold 20 counties to China, yet the broadcaster's words do not match that conclusion.

According to AfricaCheck, the video also uses poor grammar and lists places that are not in fact counties in Kenya. Moreover, the original KTN clip is on YouTube and only discusses how Ruto signed business deals not involving the selling of counties. Thus, this original content was used to spread false information.

Sources:

https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/meta-programme-fact-checks/misleading-tiktok-videos-falsely-claim-kenya-has-sold-20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE864F7CdME&t=4s

Answer 4

Taking a close look at this TikTok, one can see that the audio (which sounds AI-generated) does not match up with the speaker's lips. There are also typos in the TikTok which undermines trust in its validity even more. After I did some more research, I found out that the video was taken from a newscast explaining a business deal between Kenya and China that had nothing to do with Kenya selling its land. There are no credible news outlets reporting on what would be considered pretty big news, which also adds to its untrustworthiness. 

Answer 5

Both AfricaCheck and PesaCheck debunk many of the falsities that are found in this TikTok video, foremost the claim that "Kenya has officially sold 20 counties to China." The TikTok video shows a news broadcast of KTN News and news anchor, Eric Latiff, reportedly making this claim. However, the voiceover on the news broadcast does not lip-sync to the movement of Latiff's face at all nor does it match his actual voice. Additionally, the headline of the report reads "RUTO IN CHINA" which is an actual news broadcast from KTN News on October 17, 2023. The broadcast deals with the president of Kenya, William Ruto, traveling to the Belt and Road Initiative in Bejing, China to oversee bilateral deals. There is no claim on any of KTN News social media or website in which they support the initial claim. Furthermore, Wanjohi Githae, the Public Communications Director at the State House, also refuted these claims. He stated that Kenya never made any such concessions with China. In terms of smaller grammatical errors, the TikTok video classifies Naivasha and Limuru as counties when they are actually cities.

Misleading TikTok videos falsely claim Kenya has sold 20 counties and four tribes to China - Africa Check

ALTERED: This video claiming that Kenya sold 20 counties to China is doctored | by PesaCheck | Dec, 2023 | PesaCheck

Ruto in China: Kenya- China sign deals worth Ksh 63B (youtube.com) (The real KTN News Broadcast)

Kenya is a great champion of renewable energy - President Ruto (youtube.com) (Video of President Ruto at the Belt and Road Initiative)

Kenya-China sign business deals worth Sh63 billion (the-star.co.ke) (Evidence of Bilateral deal between China and Kenya)

Comments

This is a great fact check. You had some really good sources and did lots of research cross referencing from all your sources. Shutting down tik tok rumors is always needed. I really appreciated you quoting Wanjohi Githae and stating their relevance.

Answer 6

This is a completely false statement, According to Altered on pasa check that the video was "doctored up"

https://pesacheck.org/altered-this-video-claiming-that-kenya-sold-20-counties-to-china-is-doctored-8266fc0405c4

The real issue is that 20 countries in africa are under financial distress because of the debts to china. Kenya was one of the countries that are in debt to china according to America defense forum magazine "One example of this is Kenya, where authorities are refusing to reveal the conditions of the Chinese loan that funded the country’s $4.7 billion Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) between Mombasa and Naivasha. They say confidentiality clauses block them from making loan details public." The altered video probably came from this information or was mis interpreted from it. 

https://adf-magazine.com/2022/02/debts-to-china-put-20-african-countries-in-financial-distress-imf-says/

Answer 7

This title is misleading. First of all, the source is a TikTok, and social media posts like TikTok, credit threads, or Twitter posts are not reliable sources. When you look at the video closer, you can tell that it is dubbed over, most likely from AI. The talking in into the actual newscaster. When you look deeper into the information, you can find articles about Kenya attempting to pay off debt but putting citie into financial stress but nothing about whole countries being sold

https://pesacheck.org/altered-this-newscast-is-not-about-kenya-officially-selling-four-tribes-to-china-874af8d106b7

Answer 8

AfricaCheck, a reputable website specializing in fact-checking, has drawn attention to the videos' poor grammar and raised concerns about the accuracy of the locations mentioned. Notably, it has been pointed out that some of the "counties" referred to in the videos are actually cities. Furthermore, discrepancies have been observed between the movements of the broadcaster's mouth and the voiceover, suggesting a potential mismatch. The voiceover used in the video also does not bear resemblance to that of the broadcaster, Eric Latiff. Add to that, Medium, another reliable online platform, has reported that Wanjohi Githae, the public communications representative at the State House, has categorically dismissed all rumors regarding Kenya's concessions to China. It is important to highlight that there are no credible sources supporting the claims made in the video, further undermining its credibility. 

https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/meta-programme-fact-checks/misleading-tiktok-videos-falsely-claim-kenya-has-sold-20

https://pesacheck.org/altered-this-video-claiming-that-kenya-sold-20-counties-to-china-is-doctored-8266fc0405c4

 

Answer 9

 

Answer 10

The claim that Kenya sold 20 counties to China is false. While the TikTok does provide real news footage, the text and audio doesn't provide insert or match what is being said in the news coverage. The TikTok shows Eric Latin, a KTN News anchor, actually discussing Ruth's visit to China rather than Kenya selling counties. Multiple fact checking websites have also said that this claim is false such as Africa Check, AFP, and Pesa Check. This video is altered to provide a false claim. There aren't too many credible sources that mention this piece of misinformation, but there aren't any sites that are providing information on why this TikTok is true. 

https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.347B98J

https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/meta-programme-fact-checks/misleading-tiktok-videos-falsely-claim-kenya-has-sold-20

https://pesacheck.org/altered-this-video-claiming-that-kenya-sold-20-counties-to-china-is-doctored-8266fc0405c4