In Kenya, Safaricom gives subscribers Sh2,500 COVID-19 relief.
A post claiming that Safaricom is giving a Ksh2,500 cash relief to its subscribers to cushion them against the economic disruption caused by COVID-19 is FALSE., The post, shared through a website link, asks people to click on gift boxes in order to get the money., However, Safaricom has distanced itself from the site, terming it fraudulent., Through a message sent to PesaCheck via Facebook’s Messenger app, the mobile service provider said it is currently investigating the site., “Do not click on unknown links and always share such info on SMS to 333 (free)…,” warns the organization in the message., A WhoIs search on the Safcomgifts.com website shows that it was registered on April 13, 2020, while the official Safaricom PLC website was registered on February 12, 2003., Kenya has recorded 216 cases and nine deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic as of April 14., PesaCheck has looked into the claim that Safaricom is giving out a Sh2,500 cash relief to its subscribers to cushion them against the economic effects of COVID-19 and finds it to be FALSE., This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms., By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds., Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content., This fact-check was written by PesaCheck Fact-Checker James Okong’o and edited by PesaCheck News Editor Enock Nyariki., PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator: Code for Africa. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation. PesaCheck also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org., PesaCheck is a joint initiative of Code for Africa, through its innovateAFRICA fund, with additional funding support from the International Budget Partnership (Kenya) and Twaweza, in partnership with a coalition of local media organisations, and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ)., Written by, Written by
FALSE: Safaricom is not giving Ksh2,500 COVID-19 cash relief to subscribers