A video circulating online claims to show former U.S. President Barack Obama supposedly endorsing Deputy President William Ruto’s presidential candidacy ahead of the 2022 Kenyan general elections.
The video shows Barack Obama being invited to unveil a portrait, which turns out to be a portrait of DP Ruto.
Background
Misinformation regarding the Kenyan-born former U.S. president’s relations with Kenyan politics has previously been debunked by Piga Firimbi as well as other platforms. Such include fake reports that Obama announced his intention to run for president in Kenya, as well as a doctored image claiming to show Obama and current U.S. President Joe Biden holding up a photo of DP Ruto.
Far from the physical political battles such as the incident that saw ODM leader Raila Odinga’s entourage stoned by Githurai residents said to be DP Ruto’s supporters, online political battles have proven to be even more fierce. A report by The East African indicates that the recent rise in politics-related fake news is akin to the Cambridge Analytica scandal that was found to have influenced public opinion in the 2017 general elections through online misinformation.
Verification
Besides the writing displayed on the video, none of the speakers mention that Barack Obama is endorsing DP Ruto’s presidential candidacy. The only person seen speaking in the video only mentions that he is inviting the former U.S. president to unveil a portrait.
Piga Firimbi found that the video is doctored, as the original clip is from a 2018 portrait-unveiling event. A post on the Obama Organization website contains videos of the event that took place at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in February 2018.
The video making rounds also contains a BBC News logo in addition to writing claiming that Obama allegedly unveiled his 2022 presidential candidate endorsement. However, the original BBC video as published on the BBC News YouTube channel does not contain this writing and shows a portrait of Obama in the place of DP Ruto’s photo.
Moreover, the alleged endorsement by Barack Obama has not been reported on any local or international media. The former U.S. president has also not announced this via his Twitter handle, where he routinely posts major announcements.
Verdict
The video claiming to show Barack Obama endorsing DP Ruto’s presidential candidate is FALSE.
Add comment