Facebook posts falsely claim that the US opened a consular office in Ethiopia’s Tigray region

The post, published on Facebook on February 22, 2022, and archived here, was shared more than 150 times before it was removed.

“US embassy has allegedly opened a consular office in Mekelle, capital city of the State of Tigray (sic),” reads the post’s caption.

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Screenshot of the false Facebook claim, taken on February 23, 2022

The post also features a screenshot of an article published by Wazema Radio, which describes itself as a media organisation founded by exiled Ethiopian journalists.

The article’s title translates into English as: “The US embassy has opened an office for consular services in Mekelle”, and goes on to claim it would be a new temporary office offering consular services in the Tigrayan capital.

The same claim was also shared on Facebook here, here, and here.

The claim surfaced soon after Ethiopia’s parliament announced it was lifting the state of emergency imposed since November 2021 when Tigrayan rebels threatened to march on Addis Ababa.

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Map of the Tigray region in Ethiopia

Fighting broke out in Tigray in November 2020 after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops to topple the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the region’s former ruling party, saying the move came in response to rebel attacks on army camps.

However, the claim that the US embassy has started offering consular services in Mekelle is false.

Firm denial

The US embassy in Addis Ababa has not made any announcements on its official website or social media channels regarding the opening of any consular office in Tigray, temporary or otherwise.

“The claim about the US embassy opening an office in Mekelle is false,” said an embassy spokesperson in an email to AFP Fact Check on February 23, 2022. “Please visit US embassy digital platforms for accurate information about our operations and programmes and advise your audience to do the same.”

The embassy also denied any future plans “at this time” to open a consular office in Tigray.

The last two press releases published by the embassy prior to the publication of the false Facebook post had discussed USAID’s donations in response to the drought in Ethiopia and a statement on the lifting of the state of emergency in Ethiopia.