Impostor Facebook page falsely claims senior Ethiopian politicians met in US in 2023
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on September 26, 2023 at 15:11
- 4 min read
- By Tolera FIKRU GEMTA, AFP Ethiopia
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A Facebook post published on September 21, 2023 in Afaan Oromoo reads: “I have met with honourable Dr. Lemma Megersa in America earlier today, and conducted a fruitful discussion, after a long period of time.”
The post has been shared more than 180 times and directs users to another Facebook page for further information.
The account behind the post uses the name and profile photo of Bekele, who is an opposition figure from Oromia, home to the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia.
The post also contains a photo that includes Bekele and Lemma along with other senior Oromo opposition political leaders.
In August 2023, Bekele told AFP that he had resigned (archived here) from his position as vice president of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), a major opposition party in the Oromia region, and had sought asylum in the US.
“The political landscape isn't conducive for the peaceful struggle we aspire to at OFC,” Bekele said.
Lemma, who served as president of the Oromia region and is a former Ethiopian defence minister, was a key ally of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed until he was removed (archived here) from office in August 2019.
The relationship between the two men broke down over Abiy’s new political philosophy, which is called "Medemer" in Amharic and means “synergy” (archived here).
Since then, Lemma has been out of the public eye but he remains popular in Oromia where his supporters yearn for his return to political life.
However, the claim Bekele met with Lemma in the US in September 2023 is false.
Oromo leadership
AFP Fact Check conducted reverse image searches and established that the photo in the post was taken at an event in 2019 when Lemma and other political leaders agreed to establish an umbrella organisation.
The search revealed that an almost identical image appeared in the beginning of a news report published on YouTube by independent broadcaster Oromia Media Network (OMN) on October 3, 2019 (archived here).
The news item reported on a memorandum of understanding signed two days earlier between the leaders of multiple Oromo political organisations.
The memorandum of understanding (archived here) set the framework for a new umbrella organisation known as “Gaaddisa Hoggansa Oromoo” in Afaan Oromoo, meaning “Oromo leadership council”. At the event, Lemma represented the ruling Oromo Democratic Party at the time, which was later rebranded as Oromo Prosperity Party.
Impostor page
Bekele told AFP Fact Check that he has no presence on Facebook.
“I have no Facebook account or pages. All pages or accounts that use my name and photo are fake.”
As an influential figure in Ethiopia, Bekele’s name and image are used by Facebook scammers to help boost their social media interactions and, in turn, grow their base of followers.
AFP Fact Check found a number of Facebook pages using this tactic.
We also reviewed the transparency section of the impostor page and established it was created earlier this year, in February 2023. It has more than 25,000 followers.
A photo of Bekele occupies the cover page.
The page posts different stories about Oromo people, most of them pro-Oromo opposition politicians and activists.
Bekele also denied the purported meeting took place.
“This is fake. I didn’t meet with Lemma in the US,” Bekele said.
AFP Fact Check previously debunked Facebook claims about Lemma here and here.
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